About This Book
MURDER IN VENICE Like The Maltese Falcon that has become a cinema classic, this action-packed caper seethes with the same suspense, humor and intrigue of a deadly quest for a priceless historic treasure. This time it's the Temujin , a gold and jewel-encrusted miniature ship that dates back to Genghis Khan and the 13th Century Venetian Doges. Enlivening the plot is a set of unforgettable estranged twins, Phillip and Paul Santori, who share no brotherly love and mirror each other but for a neck mole on one twin. But is it real? If not, they could be one and the same. When Phillip Santori comes to Hank Tower, ex-spy and Manhattan PI, for help avenging his brother's alleged embezzlement from their company, Hank becomes embroiled in Phillip's twin?s dangerous hunt for the Temujin and the millions he could make from selling it to a billionaire Austrian who is determined to own it. But Paul isn't the only one after the Temujin, as Hank Tower learns. The international treasure hunt for it takes the ex-spy to luxurious haunts in London and Venice and finally to a centuries-old Venetian convent and into the arms of a sensuous ex-nun who tempts him to leave his beautiful live-in woman in New York. Putting Hank Tower's life on the line are greedy European art dealers, a deformed hired killer, selfish private collectors, a cagey Mother Superior and an Italian Don Juan who discovered the location of the Temujin. All are vying to profit from this priceless artifact. In an ingenious, death-defying confrontation at the convent, in which a statue of Mary Magdalene plays a pivotal role, Hank Tower discovers that the search for the Temujin is a treasure that marks men for death, including his own.
