Enter a world of glittering facades that cloak sexual perversion, art forgery & murder
Jenny Kidd
by Laury A. Egan
Genre: Thriller, Romantic Suspense
“A twisted and sinister affaire macabre.”—R.D. Hartwell
While spending autumn in Venice, a young American artist, Jenny Kidd, hopes to create a portfolio of paintings to launch her career and establish her independence from her tyrannical father. At the Guggenheim Collection, she encounters Randi, a colorful British woman, who invites her to a masked ball at the Palazzo Barbon. There, she meets the seductive Caterina Barbon and her brother, Sebastiano, who entice Jenny into a world of glittering façades that cloak sexual perversion, art forgery, and murder. As Jenny struggles between her attraction to Caterina and her growing awareness that she is in danger, Jenny discovers an inner strength and spirit worthy of her infamous pirate ancestor.
“A little gem…a top-notch thriller…Jenny Kidd spins its web as languidly as an afternoon by the canals. Egan’s descriptions of the food, the art, and the general atmosphere are as purposeful as they are evocative. Her prose is full-bodied and elegant, and she makes prosecco and prosciutto as sumptuous as the work of Titian and Tintoretto. As delicious as Egan’s writing is when it comes to describing masked balls, four-course lunches, and miniatures painted in pastels, she also knows how to propel a mean action scene. The last twenty pages or so are a breathless rush of dark passageways, tense interrogations, and perfectly executed gore that leave you gasping and satisfied.”
—Jerry L. Wheeler, Out in Print
“A very compelling suspense novel, rife with stunning imagery and shocking plot beats. An eerie, glittering world.”
—Jennica Dotson, author of “A Reaper’s Folly”
“The plot becomes…dizzying in its twists and turns. Not only does this book offer a riveting story, but her sentences have a cadence that will carry you along. Once I had reached the half-way point in the book, I found it impossible to put it down.”
—Martha Miller, G & L Review
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FR4GWMKP
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/jenny-kidd-by-laury-a-egan-2025-10-16
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241662188-jenny-kidd
Excerpt:
Jenny Kidd
Revised Edition
by Laury A. Egan
Spectrum Books
Publication date: October 18, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-915905-61-1
182 pages. $15.99 paperback, $5.99 eBook
While spending autumn in Venice, a young American artist, Jenny Kidd, hopes to create a portfolio of paintings to launch her career and establish her independence from her tyrannical father.
At the Guggenheim Collection, she encounters a colorful British woman, who invites her to a masked ball at the Palazzo Barbon.
There, she meets the seductive Caterina Barbon and her brother, Sebastiano, who entice Jenny into a world of glittering façades that cloak sexual perversion, art forgery, and murder.
As Jenny struggles between her attraction to Caterina and her growing awareness that she is in danger, Jenny discovers an inner strength and spirit worthy of her infamous pirate ancestor.
At the masked ball:
“Confused by her sexual reaction to the woman in pink and now this male Jester, Jenny wanted to respond. But to which person?
Suddenly, the Jester turned. Behind him stood a slender figure wearing a bauta mask, which was white except for grinning purple lips, crimson circles on the cheeks, and black brows edged in lavender.
The person wore a pale blue satin waistcoat, britches trimmed with silver, a lavender sash across the breast, white hose and gloves, a silver cockade hat, and diamonds on the shoe buckles.
The strings and flutes signaled the beginning of the barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann, and with that, Jenny’s hand was grasped.
The person in blue dipped his or her head, asking permission for the dance. Jenny nodded and was gathered up in the arms of her new partner and whisked across the room with dazzling speed.
Whether it was the wine, the smoothness of the figure in blue, or Jenny’s own skill, she seemed to be flying, her black cape flowing off her shoulders in the wind created by their movement.
As the salon blurred into sizzling burgundy and gold, Jenny’s exhilaration rose to a crescendo.
She thought about the opera, how Giulietta steals Hoffmann’s soul, runs away in a gondola, and laughs at his foolishness.
Was she a Giulietta or perhaps a pirate like her forebears? Jenny Kidd, thief of hearts? She wished she had chosen the Comedy mask so everyone could see her smile.
Happy and willing to take any partner—male or female. The new Jenny. Rigid ideas of sexuality melted in the golden light.”
About the Author
Laury A. Egan is the author of fifteen books of fiction: Jenny Kidd (revised edition); Fair Haven; Jack & I; The Black Leopard’s Kiss & The Writer Remembers; The Psychologist’s Shadow; The Firefly; Once, Upon an Island; Wave in D Minor; Doublecrossed; Turnabout; The Swimmer; The Ungodly Hour; A Bittersweet Tale; Fabulous! An Opera Buffa; and The Outcast Oracle.
Two collections have been published; Contrary: Stories and a Play and Fog and Other Stories. Her short fiction and poems have appeared in 90 literary journals and in multiple anthologies.
Two full-length poetry volumes, Snow, Shadow, a Stranger and Beneath the Lion’s Paw, were issued in limited editions, as were two chapbooks, Presence & Absence and The Sea & Beyond.
Laury is also a fine arts photographer, instructor, and former book designer. She lives on the northern coast of New Jersey.
Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads
Author Links
Website: https://www.lauryaegan.com/fiction.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laury.egan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurya.egan/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Laury-A.-Egan/author/B005IDKXRY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4090464.Laury_A_Egan
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