WIN $150 GIFT VOUCHERS: ALADDIN'S GOLD
D. V. Bishop is the pseudonym of award-winning writer David Bishop. His love for the city of Florence and the Renaissance period meant there could be only one setting for his crime fiction. The first book in the Cesare Aldo series, City of Vengeance, won the Pitch Perfect competition at the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival and the NZ Booklovers Award for Best Adult Fiction Book. It was also shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. Bishop was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship while writing that novel. He teaches creative writing at Edinburgh Napier University. The Darkest Sin is the second novel in the Cesare Aldo series.
Pretty much everything I want in an historical thriller - an absolutely terrific read, in a series that's clearly going from strength to strength -- <font face= verdana, tahoma ><span>Philip Gwynne Jones</span></font> A real pleasure. A lavender-scented, sun-drenched convent hidden among the backstreets of Florence is the absorbing setting for Cesare Aldo's latest investigation. The conflicting ambitions and ideals of its cast of interesting women make this an engrossing mystery -- <font face= verdana, tahoma ><span>Leonora Nattrass, author of <i>Black Drop</i></span></font> D.V Bishop transports you to an utterly convincing 16th century Florence, where the best and worst of human nature constantly circle each other in this tense mystery -- <font face= verdana, tahoma ><span>S. G. MacLean</span></font> My first encounter with the investigator Cesare Aldo was immersive and rewarding. The author's knowledge of 16th century Florence - both ecclesiastic and civil - drew me effortlessly into his tale of bloodshed and murder. Thoroughly recommended -- A. D. Swanston Bishop builds the suspense well, masterfully connecting the disparate strands of the story . . . Given the quality of the first two novels about Cesare Aldo, this series could become essential reading for fans of the historical novel * Crime Fiction Lover * Impressive * Literary Review * Praise for City of Vengeance: An impressive and immersive debut set in a beautifully realized sixteenth-century Florence. Investigator Cesare Aldo is a fascinating and charismatic protagonist. Highly recommended -- Antonia Hodgson Praise for City of Vengeance: Richly atmospheric . . . transports you to another time and place -- Ambrose Parry, author of <i>The Way of All Flesh</i>,<i> Praise for City of Vengeance: A first-class historical thriller with echoes of The Name of the Rose. Bishop's spirited and richly detailed story, layered with issues of humanity that still bedevil society today, is a tour de force -- David Baldacci A beautifully realized Renaissance Florence, the return of the whip-smart protagonist Cesare Aldo, and a brutal murder behind convent walls - delicious! -- <font face= verdana, tahoma ><span>Alison Belsham</span></font> A bloody crime in a convent full of nuns is a splendid concept in itself but add the sights and smells of medieval Florence, a series of flawed and often sinister male characters and a some cracking twists in the narrative and you have a gripping tale -- Joanna Hickson Intriguing and compelling, The Darkest Sin is a vivid and mesmerizing portrayal of 16th century Florence. I loved it -- Sue Lawrence So fluid and fluent, the pages almost turn themselves . . . Aldo is a great creation: resourceful, driven and forced to hide who he really is, but nevertheless is compelled to find justice for those who deserve it -- James Oswald, bestselling author of the Inspector McLean series, on <i>City of Vengeance</i>
