Venetian Bind by Lawrence E. Rothstein | Review and Character Guest Post

Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Venetian Bind by Lawrence E. Rothstein. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

Venetian Bind by Lawrence E. Rothstein

Venetian Bind
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Venice
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wild Rose Press (May 15, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 236 pages

In Venetian Bind, Detective Marko Korb and his associate Kelan Su, a Chinese-American woman, must hunt down a murderer and prevent a devastating terrorist attack in the romantic city of Venice.

Korb, a fat, egotistical, and brilliant detective, and Kelan Su, a former Chicago police officer, licensed attorney, and martial arts expert, arrive in Venice to investigate the murder of Stefan Pakulić, a former Serbian paramilitary leader and accused war criminal.The daughter of a Bosnian expat who had rescued Korb from Pakulić’s clutches during the war is a suspect in the killing. Korb is torn between finding the murderer and his sympathy for the Serbian’s killer—the Venetian bind.

The investigation leads to Pakulić’s connection with Italian neo-fascists planning a terrorist action in Venice. It takes Korb’s genius and the intrepid sleuthing of Su to find the murderer, forestall the terrorist action, and protect the daughter of Korb’s rescuer.

Character Guest Post: Kelan Su

In general, I am very happy about my relationship with author Lawrence E. Rothstein. He listens to me and Mr. Korb when we tell him that we would not do anything like he was planning. Often, he asks us first for our opinion of what the next steps in an investigation should be. After all, we are the criminal investigation experts. 

I also like that he has gradually let me overcome my basic shyness and low estimate of my attractiveness. I am starting to get used to the attention I often get from males and am feeling more confident in my fashion choices. However, for work I am still wedded to my black outfits.

There are times when he is not sufficiently aware of the needs for our safety. As a former police officer and martial arts expert, I am well equipped to fend off attackers. But, though I may at times take chances to get necessary evidence, I am more aware of the need for caution and back up than is Rothstein. In Venetian Bind, my first appearance in a Rothstein novel, I take a calculated risk to search the mask shop. It was worth it to uncover the evidence of a terrorist action. But in the novel Rothstein is presently working on, he has set me up as bait for thugs seeking a trove of art stolen by the Nazis. The gang involved has already been responsible for three murders. He at first sent me in without backup. Korb, Desmond, and I told him that was not what a professional would do. Fortunately, he listened, and our operation was successful.

I must remind everyone that I am A major character, not THE major character. In the novels, I share the exploits with the massive, mastermind detective Marko Korb and beginning in Ripped Genes the second novel in the series with Desmond St. Clair, a Tortolan, former British SAS commando, and our resident tech expert and gourmet chef. Because there are three of us, the series and our firm are called Tri-Star Investigations. However, I am the only major character who gets to tell the story in the first person. I like that very much. I think it allows me to establish a strong connection to the reader.

My relation to Marko Korb is a complex one. He is the boss. He is both brilliant and arrogant. I must give him a certain amount of deference but not at the expense of suggesting how an investigation should proceed if I have a strong opinion and letting him know when I disagree with his views. While he may give me the marching orders on some aspect of a case, he generally allows me to decide how these orders should be carried out and is respectful of my knowledge and skill in criminal investigation.

Furthermore, I sense that Korb takes an interest in both my professional and personal life. Of course, we live under the same roof and cannot help being involved in each other’s daily activities and experiences. But Korb, who seems aloof and prickly to outsiders, especially women, regards me with avuncular concern.

Korb has shown his confidence in my ability to handle myself from the time we first met. It was in a hospital where he was recovering from an operation. I trailed a bogus doc to his room and took him down as the Russian mob assassin was about to inject poison into Korb’s IV. Korb was impressed with my quick thinking and effective response. He offered me a job on the spot. It was well-timed as I had been questioning whether my career with the Chicago Police Department was meeting my expectations. 

I really should say that I was extremely frustrated with my experience with CPD. I was stereotyped as an Asian woman to working with the Asian gang task force and liaison with the Chinese community. I had a lousy, bent partner who wanted me to cover for his needless shooting of a suspect. I didn’t support his claimed justification, but I did compromise my integrity by saying I could neither refute nor verify his story. Because I didn’t back up my partner, I was regarded with suspicion by the other detectives. No one wanted to partner with me. 

So I’ve been with Korb for three years now. He is a better boss than my superiors at the CPD and the cases are definitely more complex and challenging than my police work. Most importantly Korb has taken on clients at my behest even if not the most lucrative cases. Along with the job comes interesting travel, a fantastic living space, and gourmet food and wine. In fact, I’m getting an education on haute cuisine and fine wines. 

I should say a few words about my relationship with Desmond St. Clair. We share the responsibility for Korb’s security. The man is brilliant both with regard to his tech prowess and his culinary talents. Furthermore, his SAS special ops training makes him the perfect back-up for any dangerous situations. I can count on him to have my back. I hope he feels the same about me. Tri-Star Investigations is a success because the three of us are a superb team.

My review of Venetian Bind

Venetian Bind by Lawrence E. Rothstein is the first book in the new cozy mystery series, Tri-Star Investigations. I enjoyed it so much! It’s filled with great characters and lots of mystery.

Venetian Bind stars the brilliant detective Marko Korb and his assistant Kelan Su. It begins with a bit of backstory regarding Korb – where he was in his “former” life – which is quite different from where he is now. I’ll leave that bit for you to find out on your own. To put it mildly, Korb loves food. There is so much food consumed in Venetian Bind that I’m pretty sure I gained weight just reading about it! Despite his 350 lb. frame, Korb gets around, but the more active investigating is left to his assistant Kelan Su, a former Chicago police officer. She’s a Chinese-American and is the perfect partner for Korb. Kelan makes friends with an officer in Venice, so I hope they keep in touch even though they’ll be on different continents. 

The book takes place in Venice, Italy. I love how much you can get to know a city through a book. Venetian Bind takes us through the canals several times. Korb hates traveling on the boats, but he does pretty well once he gets into them. I like that some of the areas they travel to are kind of sketchy, so you get to see some of the seedier side of the city along with the “bad guys.” Speaking of the bad guys, you can sort of figure out who’s bad, but it’s a little harder to figure out whodunit. I wasn’t sure until near the end. 

I really liked Venetian Bind, and I’m looking forward to reading more books in the series! I highly recommend it for its entertaining characters, Venice setting, and exciting mystery. 

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion

About Lawrence E. Rothstein

I am a retired lawyer and university professor who has published in constitutional law, privacy law, political theory and labor law. Born and raised in Chicago, I am now residing with my wife and family in beautiful southern Rhode Island.  I have lived and traveled widely in Europe.  As an avid reader of crime fiction, I have always wanted to write detective novels. As a lover of food and cooking, I include many scrumptious meals and some recipes in my novel and on my website.

Webpage: www.Rothsteinsmysteries.com;
Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/Rothsteinsmysteries;
GoodReads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209521954-venetian-bind

Purchase Links:    Amazon   B&N   

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Venetian Bind TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 8 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

July 9 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

July 9 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

July 10 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

July 10 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 10 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

July 11 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

July 11 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

July 12 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

July 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 13 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

July 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 14 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

July 14 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

July 15 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

July 15 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 17 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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