Five years after the murder of his
favorite son, Juan, Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, drags Damiata,
Juan's mistress, out of hiding and sends her off to gather evidence
against the condottieri, believed to be responsible for the
murder. Damiata herself is suspected by the Pope, so as assurance for
her good behavior he keeps her son, Giovanni, hostage. Arriving in
Imola, the seat of Cesare Borgia's army where negotiations with the
condottieri are
underway, she finds that more
horrible murders have been committed. She meets Niccolo Machiavelli,
a Florentine diplomat, and together they investigate the murders,
hoping to prove the condottieri guilty.
Another famous Renaissance personage, Leonardo DaVinci, is also
investigating the murders. They join forces trying to determine the
significance of the geometric design made by the burial of the body
parts at various points around Imola. As the investigation procedes
so does the attraction between Damiata and Machiavelli.
The book is well
researched and presents a lively picture of the political situation
in Italy in the 1500's. War was a constant with the condottieri,
professional soldiers, fighting first for one side then the other. At
the opening of the story, the condottieri are aligned against
the Pope and Cesare, commander of the papal armies, is trying to
negotiate a deal. I found it quite fascinating.
The historical
characters are not as I had envisioned them. Leonardo comes across as
an absent minded professor; Machiavelli, as the young lover. However,
it works well enough in the novel.
My main criticism
is the amount of pages it takes to solve the mystery of who murdered
Juan. To me it was fairly obvious from early in the book,
particularly since Damiata consistently flogs the hypothesis that it
has to be the condottieri and doesn't listen to anything else.
In my opinion, the chase went on too long, but I admit I kept on
reading to find how the author would unveil the murderer.
This is a well done
book. There's something for everyone: romance, mystery, murder, and
history. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or
even a good murder mystery.
I reviewed this
book for the Amazon Vine Program
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