The female main character of a Match Made in Venice is Deirdre York (Didi), a level-headed visual merchandiser who lives in London. She’s self-sufficient, pragmatic, unapologetic and ambitious, but, as the story progresses, the reader gets a glimpse of her hidden vulnerabilities and the caring nature she can’t suppress, even when it creates dreaded complications.
Didi has diabetes, which is simply a fact of life for her and she manages it with disciplined acceptance. But it’s something that’s shaped who she is, especially because she knows how much of a strain it put on her chaotic mother.
Her relationship with her mother Saffron is particularly fraught and when Christmas brings a surprise Didi could have done without, she finally has to face the lifetime of bitterness she harbours towards Saffron.
But it turns out she doesn’t have to do it alone…
On the surface, Piero brings her nothing but inconvenience and difficulty, with his stubborn refusal to do things the way she would like. But she also sees through his chaotic thoughts to his heart, which is big and vulnerable and true and she can’t help but be touched.
Leonie Mack 