Girl from Venice (Smith)

Book Reviews
“Evocative.... Smith conjures the time and place with a generous dose of what the novelist Evan Connell called ‘luminous details."... The Girl from Venice’s vivid treatments of a timeless trade and certain little-known aspects of World War II make it well worth your time.
Dennis Drabelle - Washington Post


You think you've read every permutation of a World War II novel possible—then along comes a Venetian fisherman and his unlikely first mate, a beautiful Jewish teenaged girl on the run from the last few Nazis occupying Italy.... Suspense, romance, spying, action—this novel has a little bit of everything, and it works. Cruz Smith is a master of quick scene changes . . . [who] has chosen, in The Girl from Venice, to put aside his usual spy stories for a straightforward wartime chase-cum-romance, a slice of La Serenissima life so perfectly researched that details melt into action like the local goby fish into risotto.
Bethanne Patrick - NPR


[A] clever, well-crafted, and exciting blend of WWII romance, suspense, and intrigue.... Capture, escape, a hoard of stolen gold, a forger, and a Swiss movie producer add action and passion to the novel’s unexpected plot twists, and its most satisfying conclusion.
Publishers Weekly


A strong, atmospheric.... However, Cenzo and Giulia's relationship doesn't feel fully fleshed out, making it hard to be invested in the risks he takes to find her. Cenzo is often catching up to the action, not driving it, keeping readers at an arm's length against. —Emily Byers, Salem P.L., OR
Library Journal


[A]n Italian fisherman and the Jewish girl he finds floating in the sea.... How he meets that challenge both illuminates his humanity and entertains the reader. In fact, all the characters come alive.This is a thoughtful and engrossing novel with more than enough action to keep the pages turning.
Kirkus Reviews