JOHN BANVILLE, the author of numerous novels, has been the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Nonino International Prize, a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, and the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. He lives in Dublin.

★ "Celebrated and virtuoso novelist Banville entwines his gift for historical crime fiction with his most cunning literary artistry in this fever-dream of a tale. . . . Banville is at his Jamesian finest in this beguiling novel of diabolical gambits." --Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred)

"An intricate puzzle investigating the erotic yet toxic relationship between a perfidious woman and her susceptible victim." --Barbara Conaty, Library Journal

"An English writer and his secretive bride make a fateful visit to Italy in Banville's eerie latest. . . . Will linger in readers' minds. . . . He keeps the reader guessing." --Publishers Weekly

★"A trip to Venice takes a dark turn for a British writer and his American wife. . . . Banville once again proves himself a master of suspense, and he captures a noir version of Venice perfectly. Evelyn is a fascinating character: monstrous, certainly, but is he really being manipulated? Is he manipulating the reader? It's an open question, and a testament to Banville's considerable skill as a storyteller. Dark, twisty, and consistently smart: vintage Banville." --Kirkus (starred)

★ "A master of the twisty-turny plot and an able creator of atmospheric settings, Banville has written a stylish, skillfully crafted noir that is quite simply a pleasure to read, and will keep you guessing till the very end." --Lauren Bufferd, BookPage (starred)

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group

Pub date: 2025-10-07

Length: 320 pages