Florence. Winter, 1536. A prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home, a death with wide implications in a city powered by immense wealth.

Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the Renaissance city’s most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder: catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany – or suffer the consequences.

During his investigations Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the volatile ruler of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city. But a rival officer of the court is determined to expose details about Aldo’s private life that could lead to his ruin. Can Aldo stop the conspiracy before anyone else dies, or will his own secrets destroy him first?

Reviewing my purchased copy of City of Vengeance

If asked, I’d tell you that I don’t really read a lot of historical fiction. However, over the last twelve months I seem to be spending far more time in the past and that’s been a bit of an eye opener for me. Suddenly it seems there’s a whole new range of titles calling out to me and I am going to make the time to read them.

Part of the reason behind my recent conversion towards historical crime is that I have chosen a few crackers to read. Just last week I was giving a five star review to a story set in occupied Paris of 1940 and today; another five star read but this time the story is set in Florence in 1536. Beautiful Florence but D.V. Bishop is going to show us the darker side of the city too. The action will move from the courts of the leaders of the city, to the brothels, the churches, the prison and the guardhouse. Some characters will appear in all of these locations – some will pop up in areas they really shouldn’t be and that will keep Cesare Aldo a busy man.

We meet Aldo as he is returning to Florence – he is escorting a wealthy businessman who has concerns about his personal safety (and that of his money) as he travels home from business meetings. Aldo is to see him safely through the dangerous paths and the open spaces in the Italian countryside. But in the opening paragraphs of City of Vengeance Aldo’s worst fears are realised and the two men are ambushed. A fight ensues and the reader gets to see Aldo in the thick of the action. He was a soldier, he’s now an officer in the city guard and as well as being an astute investigator he can more than handle himself in a fight. Usually. It is a terrific opening to the story and as the dust settled I knew I was going to get on well with Cesare Aldo.

When he is safely home the real intrigue begins.  A wealthy moneylender is murdered in the Jewish sector of the city. A young man is battered to death, his sexual preferences deemed an abhoration to soneone. Plots to disrupt the power at the top of Florence. Aldo will be drawn into each of these issues, his reputation and his life will be put on the line while he tries his best to execute his duties to the best of his abilities.

D.V. Bishop keeps multiple storylines flowing and interweaving without letting the pace drop or the action stagnate. There are clear villains for readers to oppose, you want to see them topple. But there is also a nice collection of allies for Aldo with an equally satisfying number of players that cannot be easily put into categories. This third group are the most intruging as their motives are not always clear and Aldo the least of their concerns – you can’t help but feel some of these characters will return in future and their interests will overlap with Aldo’s story again. It all feels part of the author’s broader plan to bring readers to sixteenth centrury Florence and get them invested in the life of the city and the players that will define its future. I am very much here for the ride.

I said that I was going to make time to read more historical fiction and that time starts immediately – I am returning to Florence and picking up Aldo’s story. The second book, The Darkest Sin, is going to be my next audiobook listen, I don’t want to wait any longer than is necessary to find out the consequences of Aldo’s decision right at the end of City of Vengeance.

City of Vengeance is available in paperback digital and audiobook. You can buy a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08G1HJVVW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1