Review: Jenny Kidd by Laury A Egan

 

Jenny Kidd (revised edition)

by Laury A. Egan

Publication Date: October 18, 2025

Spectrum Books, London

ISBN: 978-1-915905-61-1

182 pages. $15.99 paperback, $5.99 eBook

Cover photo: St. Mark’s Square by Thomas Stewart

Available at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FR4GWMKP

“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 Collec-tion, 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 per-version, 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 after-noon 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 ca-dence 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

Laury A. Egan is the author of fifteen novels, including Fair Haven, Jack & I, The Psychologist’s Shadow, and The Black Leopard’s Kiss & The Writer Remembers in addition to two collections: Contrary: Stories and a Play and Fog and Other Stories, and four volumes of poetry. Laury is also a fine art photographer, who lives on the northern coast of New Jersey. Website: www.lauryaegan.com 

My Review: 

I have been a fan of Laury A Egan's books for awhile now. I was excited to have the opportunity to read her Jenny Kidd. I was far from being disappointed. Jenny's story had me holding on to the edge of my seat from the start. It was full of mystery, suspense, and intrigue. At under two hundred pages, I had it read in one sitting quickly. 

I am going to give Jenny Kidd four and a half stars. I believe those who love to read the genres of thriller, suspense, and mystery will not want to miss out on reading this one. As always, I will be eagerly awaiting more to come from the talented author, Laury A. Egan. 

I received a digital copy of Laury A Egan's Jenny Kidd from the author, but was not required to write a review, nor a positive one. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.