Language : English
Hardcover : 432 pages
ISBN-10 : 1529038820
ISBN-13 : 978-1529038828
Synopsis
Florence. Spring, 1537.
When Cesare Aldo investigates a report of intruders at a convent in the Renaissance city’s northern quarter, he enters a community divided by bitter rivalries and harbouring dark secrets.
His case becomes far more complicated when a man’s body is found deep inside the convent, stabbed more than two dozen times. Unthinkable as it seems, all the evidence suggests one of the nuns must be the killer.
Meanwhile, Constable Carlo Strocchi finds human remains pulled from the Arno that belong to an officer of the law missing since winter. The dead man had many enemies, but who would dare kill an official of the city’s most feared criminal court?
As Aldo and Strocchi close in on the truth, identifying the killers will prove more treacherous than either of them could ever have imagined . . .
Review
Last year I read and reviewed City of Vengeance , the first book in the Cesare Aldo Series, and it was one of my best reads of 2021. D.V.Bishop has now published the second book in the series The Darkest Sin which is set a couple of months after the end of the first book. This historical thriller sees Aldo investigating the murder of man in one of the cities convents, probably murdered by one of the nuns in a shocking manner. Getting acess to the convent is not easy, but once inside Aldo finds himself looking for secrets that put his own life in danger. Whilst Aldo is at the convent, constable Strocchi finds himself looking into the murder of Officer Cerchi, a man hated and feared by many. Two mysteries to solve in this fantastic historical thriller set in Renaissance Florence.
I loved the first book in the series and The Darkest Sin lived up to all my expectons. The setting of 1537 Florence is a fabulous backdrop, a city where there is a huge lifestyle gap between the rich and the poor, the streets in some areas have sewage running in the streets, whilst the rich live in grand palazzo. At this time the Catholic Church had a lot of infuence in the Italian City states, so a muder of a man in a convent was shocking to all. Interstingly whilst murder would be investigated by the Otto, the judicial body, murder in a convent is under the duristriction of the Church. D.V.Bishop’s knowledge of this period is excellent, capturing the atmosphere of the period as well as the sites and smells of Florence; I actually walked the streets in my head with the characters taking it all in. It was interesting to see the hierarchy of the convent, from the abbess to the servant nuns to the day students who come from good families to be educated. The convent is a community in itself, self sufficient, growing their own food and herbs for the apothecary, an infirmary and a school.
It was wonderful to reconnect with Aldo and learn a bit more about him. I found his beligerance to finding out the truth at all costs and his lack of respect for those in charge admireble and make him likeable as a character. In The Darkest Sin we learn a bit more about Aldo’s background and family, meeting his half sister and niece. This brings out a different side to his character, he obviously cares about his sister and his backstory helps us understand how this has made him the man he is. Fom the previous book we see the return of the merchant Ruggerio who he crossed words with previously and who seems to be pulling strings with the Otto and Aldo still in this book. There is also the return of Constable Stocchi, recently married and tasked with finding the murderer of Otto Officer Cerchi. Stocchi is now married, and like Aldo is a firm believer in justice and dogged in his investigation. Unlike Aldo however, he is naive in a city that has many factions at odds and corruption in places, he only sees black and white, an attitude that could put him in danger.
The Darkest Sin is an amazing sequel to City of Vengeance . Set in my favourite historical period and city this is the perfect historical thriller for me. Rich in detail, beautifully crafted and with an cast of fascinating characters. This compelling and addictive thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Can’t wait for book three!!!!
I would like to thank Pan Macmillan for my advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.
