PINDAR DIAMOND

IN A SMALL TOWN ON THE ITALIAN COAST, A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN WASHES ASHORE. SHE IS CRIPPLED, MUTE, AND CLUTCHES A BUNDLE TO HER CHEST - A BABY THE TOWNSPEOPLE INSIST IS A REAL-LIFE MERMAID. IT CAN ONLY BRING BAD LUCK; THEY PAY A TROUPE OF ACROBATS TO CARRY MOTHER AND CHILD AWAY. IN THE BUSTLING TRADE CENTER OF VENICE, MERCHANT PAUL PINDAR IS THE SUBJECT OF HIS COLLEAGUES' CONCERN. SINCE HIS RETURN FROM CONSTANTINOPLE, THEY HAVE FOUND HIM CHANGED; RAGING OVER THE LOSS OF HIS BELOVED, CELIA, HE HAS GAMBLED AWAY HIS FORTUNE AT THE GAMING TABLES. BUT WHEN A PRICELESS BLUE DIAMOND SURFACES IN THE CITY, PINDAR RECOGNIZES THE OPPORTUNITY TO REGAIN EVERYTHING HE HAS LOST - INCLUDING, PERHAPS, THE WOMAN HE LOVES. A CELEBRATED WRITER OF HISTORY AND TRAVEL BOOKS, KATIE HICKMAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MASTER OF EVOKING TIME AND PLACE. WITH THE PINDAR DIAMOND, HER FOLLOW-UP TO THE AVIARY GATE, SHE BRINGS EARLY-SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ITALY VIVIDLY TO LIFE, AND ALSO DEMONSTRATES HER MATURITY AS A NOVELIST. A TALE