Language : English
Hardcover : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 1448306566
ISBN-13 : 978-1448306565
Book Blurb
Venice is a city full of secrets. For hundreds of years it has been the scene of scandal, intrigue and murderous rivalries. And it remains so today.
1548, Lorenzino de Medici, himself a murderer and a man few will miss, is assassinated by two hired killers.
Today, Marmaduke Godolphin, British TV historian and a man even fewer will miss, is stabbed by a stiletto blade on the exact same spot, his body dropping into the canal.
Can the story of the first murder explain the attack on Godolphin? The Carabinieri certainly think so. They recruit retired archivist Arnold Clover to unpick the mystery and to help solve the case. But the conspiracy against Godolphin runs deeper than anyone imagined.
My Review
I am a huge fan of David Hewson’s Nic Costa crime series that is set in Rome so jumped at the chance to read The Medici Murders set in Venice. The protagonist is Arnold Clover, a retired archivist who is enlisted by Carabinieri Captitano Valentina Fabbri to help in the investigate the murder of Historian Marmaduke Godolphin. With plenty of suspects and a link to the murder of Lorenzino de Medici in 1548 this is a complex thriller set against the beautiful La Serenissima.
I love my history, I love Italy and the fascinating Medici family so this book was perfect for me. I was hooked from the first page as I fell into the beautiful world of Venice and David Hewson’s wonderful prose. I have always been a fan of how detailed David Hewson’s writing is, he really captures the atmosphere of both periods, Venice during Carvival season, surprisingly during the colder months, and the the intrigue of 1548. His knowledge of the mid sixteenth century and inparticular the Medici family is shines through. I was drinking in the history, the betrayal and intrigue of the period that saw one cousin kill another before being killed himself. David Hewson manages to weave together the murder of Lorenzino de Medici and Marmaduke Godolphin, moving between the two timelines, building up the suspense until the brilliant ending. This plot has has many twists and turns as Venice’s streets and alleyways leading you to many dead ends.
Arnold Clover is an interesting choice to help solve the the murder. He is intellectual and a man of simple pleasures, a widower who has retired to Venice for a quiet life. He knew Godolphin when he was a Cambridge University and always fascinated with his ‘Golden Circle’ of acolytes who were also at Cambridge but have no memory of Arnold who watched from afar.
It is from Arnold’s point of view that we are told the story, we see his thought process, his opinion of the suspects from ‘The Golden Circle”, and through him we get a tour of the stunning city of Venice. I really warmed to him as the book progressed, and towards his friend and fellow archivist Luca Volpetti, the two make for an intriguing mystery solving duo.
The Medici Murders is a compelling and immersive crime thriller. David Hewson’s detailed prose makes you feel you are in Venice with the characters, seeing the stunning art and architecture that makes up this beautiful setting. The two storylines both gripped me, but loving my Renaissance history and the fascinating Medici family I was probably most invested in that part of the book. David Hewson is a masterful storyteller, taking the reader on a journey with the characters, capturing the atmosphere, both culturally and socially of the city and writing a complex and intelligent plot. I’m really excited to see this is the first of two books, and fingers crossed there maybe more.
I’d like to thank Anne Cater and Severn House for mycopy of this book in return for my honest review.
