Venetian Mask — Michael Jan Friedman

Carnival in Venice, a time for masks and mystery and--sometimes--malice. When middle-aged American expatriate Tom, living in Paris, suggests to a group of friends that they gather in Venice for a mischievous challenge of wits, the game is on. Each will assume various disguises chosen to reveal their "true selves." The friend who recognizes the most of the "true" personae among the contestants will win.

But what is true, especially in Venice at Carnival? And how well does anyone know one's friends, even less their secret images of themselves? What starts as a puzzle soon turns to tragedy when one of the friends, dressed as Medusa, is found dead in a canal. Mickey Friedman fuses her masterly suspense-writing skills with a deep fondness for her Venetian setting in this classic novel of that magical city.