City of Vengeance 

by D.V. Bishop 

4 out of 5 

Synopsis 

City of Vengeance is an explosive debut historical thriller by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Florence.

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?

Review 

Two honest officers of the Otto find their new cases are going to put themselves and their city in danger.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book covers a wide cast of characters, and you get to see plenty of sides to Florence in 1536; but the plot is focussed on two in particular.

Aldo leads a very quiet and modest life, despite his history as an excellent swordsman. He could have pursued his own ambitions and glory; but he prefers to work relentlessly at protecting the innocent people of Venice.

His newest case has a personal edge - Aldo successfully escorted a Jewish money-lender on a journey back from Bologna; only for him to be murdered later in his own home.

Strocchi is a promising new member of the Otto that Aldo has taken under his wing.

Strocchi has recently moved from the countryside, and lacks the corruption that many of his peers suffer from.

During his patrol, he comes across a person who is beaten to death. When many are dismissive because it was a gay man touting illegal sex; Aldo swears to get to the bottom of it.

This is a slow-building murder mystery that follows Aldo and Strocchi's investigations, as they both work separately to get answers out of people that answer because of religion, or fear of repercussions.

It keeps you guessing throughout, on who the culprits are and why, and what bigger plots are at hand. The plot throws suspicion on several people, who each have believable motives for the murders.

I thought it had all been resolved by half-way, as we hit a bit of a climax, and I wondered what could possibly happen in the next 200 pages. There were no big shocking moments after that, but it was still highly entertaining and I was hooked for the rest of the book.

I liked how well-researched everything was, with the Otto - an example of early policing. The protocols and intricacies of court and different castes in Florence.

I thought the taboo of being gay was very well done. At this time in history it was illegal. With Strocchi's investigation, you get to see how many people coped, how they hid their "sins", and the dishonour it could potentially bring.

I liked how this tied in with learning more about Aldo, who lives like a monk and has no interest in women.

The first half of the book did strike me as lacking any likeable female characters.

This is understandably male-heavy, as it deals with the deaths of a gay prostitute and money-lender, so most of the contacts made are male; and the Otto is a completely-male force.

But it just irked me a little bit that the only women that featured seemed to be working out how to get their leg over for their advantage.

In the second half it was much better, as Rebecca (the money-lender's daughter) and some other smaller characters stop acting like wet rags and became quite interesting.

The story ends well enough, with all the questions answered; but it is definitely setting up for a series, and I'm intrigued to see where this goes.

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