The Absolution

British author Holt’s masterly sequel to 2014’s The Abduction concludes his Carnivia trilogy with a bang. Italian banker Alessandro Cassandre, whose unusual portfolio consisted of sophisticated credit default swaps and tax planning for charitable institutions, has been murdered in a manner suggesting Masonic ritual. The case falls to Venetian carabiniere Kat Tapo, who soon finds that her probing into the financier’s affiliations isn’t universally welcomed by her government colleagues. Meanwhile, Kat’s close American friend, 2nd Lt. Holly Bolland, is determined to learn whether her father’s connection with a notorious U.S. covert spy operation in Italy was the cause of his sudden illness. And genius Daniele Barbo, creator of the website Carnivia, who survived being kidnapped as a child in Italy, is preparing to relinquish his interest in Carnivia. Holt manages to make the risks posed by the growing movement toward smart devices intelligible and chilling, bringing all the pieces together plausibly and enabling newcomers to immediately identify with the multifaceted leads. Agent: Caradoc King, A.P. Watt (U.K.). (Dec.)