My new Nora Baron thriller, THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, is set in Venice, Italy, in the dead of winter. Nora is an actor and college drama teacher, the wife of a CIA operative, and her husband’s people recruit her to supervise the defection of a famous Russian actress with information vital to American security. Posing as a TV journalist, Nora goes to Venice to interview the star—and bring her “in from the cold.” But the operation doesn’t go as planned, and soon the two women are on the run from Russian security agents in the world’s most mysterious city.

To inspire and prepare myself while I was writing, I collected pictures of all the places that figure in the story. Here is my photo gallery. (Click on each image for a larger view.)

“Venice’s front door,” the Grand Canal entrance to Piazza San Marco

The Basilica and Doge’s Palace in Piazza San Marco

A convent courtyard and garden

Teatro La Fenice

A Venetian alley at night

Fondamente Nove vaporetto station

Museo del Vetro, the Murano Glass Museum

Three religious sisters walking in Venice

Lobby of Hotel Danieli

Salone Marco Polo banquet room, Hotel Danieli

A Venice footbridge at night

A Venetian mask shop

Rialto Bridge, one of the world’s most famous footbridges

A snowy day in Venice

Evening in La Serenissima

All these photos are of places Nora Baron visits during the course of her dangerous–and eventually deadly–secret mission in Venice. To order the ebook, click on the image below. Enjoy!