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.
A great insight into Renaissance Florence. What I love about these books is the seamless weaving of factual history with a great story -- Abir Mukherjee, bestselling author of the Wyndham & Banerjee series He is fast becoming a serious rival to C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris with his page-turning novels. Highly recommended * Historical Novel Society * Pretty much everything I want in an historical thriller - an absolutely terrific read, in a series that’s clearly going from strength to strength -- Philip Gwynne Jones, author of the Nathan Sutherland series 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 -- Leonora Nattrass, author of <i>Black Drop</i> 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 -- S. G. MacLean 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 History, mystery and the eternal mystique of Renaissance Florence in perfect harmony! * Lancashire Evening Post * 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, author of <i>The 6:20 Man</i>, on <i>City of Vengeance</i> 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, author of the Thomas Hawkins series, on <i>City of Vengeance</i>