Interrupted Aria by Beverle Graves Myers

This novel is at once a neatly plotted mystery and a lacy confection worthy of the Baroque in gilded, dissolute Venice. The writing is so smooth as to become rapidly invisible, leaving me immersed in the world of Tito Amato: his home life, his singing background and aspirations, his adjustment to his new role as a fêted darling of the haughty ruling families of Venice.

The secondary characters are well rounded and believable. The investigation of a dire crime at Tito's first opera job is motivated and convincingly conducted.

It was not necessary to know anything about opera, and very little about Venice, to follow this tale, but I learned quite a bit about both without being at all distracted from Tito's travails. A wonderful book, and highly recommended to historical mystery readers and those looking for a solid mystery outside the usual.