The City of Falling Angels

I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil years ago and loved it, so I was excited when this book came out. Berendt really knows how to select a setting. He also knows how to seek out the local “characters” and bring them to life in print. Like Midnight, this book has a central mystery that's rather unsatisfactorily solved (in this case, the burning of The Fenice Opera House), fabulous descriptions of the city and its art and architecture, and lots of minor intrigues and petty infighting amongst the locals. It's like a really well written gossip column. And it's lots of fun.

I doubt I'll retain much of what I read, but I did really enjoy the book.