La città di acqua e vetro

Venice is divided into two cities that seem to have nothing in common. Upper Venice is all clear skies, white marble and sparkling glass. Lower Venice is perpetually shrouded in a murky fog and the smoke from chimneys that creeps through the narrow alleyways. Whilst Upper Venice exudes elegance and wealth, it is in Lower Venice that life and death pulse. Someone (or something) is killing the people of the Lower City, littering the streets with corpses that appear withered within minutes of death, as if drained of all life force. At first, all the evidence seems to point to the lamiae, mysterious women with serpentine tails who live in isolation amongst the canals of the Dorsoduro district. But the reality is far more disturbing. Detective Cornelia Furlan will uncover the truth, aided by Stefano Rosin, a Lord of the Night and an elite guard of the Council of Ten. Half-human and half-lamia, his mixed heritage means he is despised by both communities. In a phantasmagorical and incredibly vivid steampunk Venice – amongst scientists hoping to revive dead matter, dwarf inventors in search of the elusive phlogiston, glassblowers and warmongering councillors – will Cornelia and Stefano manage to catch the killer, saving Lower Venice and themselves in the process?