Faces Under Water: The Secret Books of Venus

The Secret Books of Venus series - each book woven around one of the four alchemical elements - begins with FACES UNDER WATER, set in the hedonistic atmosphere of 18th-century Venice, where Furian Furiano happens upon a mask of Apollo floating in the murky waters of the canals. The mask hides a sinister art, and Furian finds himself trapped in a bizarre tangle of love and evil as he stumbles upon a macabre society of murderers. In this brilliantly imagined world of terror, Furian must find a way to stem the obsession driving him toward his hidden destiny.