Venetian Mask

The decaying splendor of Venice forms the backdrop for a complex and unusual murder mystery in which six friends attend the city's famous carnival to play a unique game. They agree to meet at an appointed time wearing costumes that express their private concept of their inner selves; they will test their knowledge of one another by seeing who can be identified. The game never begins, for Brian, costumed as Medusa, is murdered. His estranged wife Sally, in the guise of a corpse, looks on in horror as the murderer, wearing a glass mask, flees the scene. As the carnival becomes more frenzied and bizarre, the group disintegrates into confusion and panic. Guises and identities are tried and discarded, reality and fantasy are intermixed as the five tormented friends come to grips with the people they thought they were and those they have now become. Friedman (Hurricane Season has written an elaborate, surrealistic book ripe with atmosphere, plot and characterization. (May 18)