The Darkest Sin by D. V. Bishop
This locked room mystery is set in a Renaissance Florence convent during the spring of 1537. When Cesare Aldo investigates a report of intruders at the Convent of Santa Maria Magdalena, he enters a community that is harbouring dark secrets and divided by bitter rivalries. His case becomes far more complicated when he discovers the impossible: a naked man’s body deep inside the convent, stabbed more than two dozen times. All the evidence suggests one of the nuns must be a killer…
About the author
D. V. Bishop writes the award-winning Cesare Aldo mysteries set in Renaissance Florence. The first, CITY OF VENGEANCE, received the New Zealand Booklovers Award for best novel, and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. The second, THE DARKEST SIN, was published in March 2022, and Cesare Aldo returns in RITUAL OF FIRE in June 2023.
Bishop was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship while writing CITY OF VENGEANCE. The novel won the Pitch Perfect competition at the 2018 Bloody Scotland international crime fiction festival, and was a Sunday Times Crime Club Pick of the Week. Global bestselling author David Baldacci called the novel 'a first-class historical thriller ... a tour-de-force.'
Review
This is the second book of this brilliant series, which is set in Renaissance Italy in the 16th century and it combines three of my loves - crime fiction, historical fiction and Italy so I knew that I was going to love it and I was not disappointed. It revolves around the very competent Cesare Aldo who is an officer of Ottodi Guardia e Bilia in Florence and who I now love! This was my first time reading a book by this author and I will be going back and reading the first book ‘The City of Vengeance’ as I adored this one. However, you can certainly read it as a standalone as I had no problem following the action!
This is basically a locked room mystery (another one of my favs) and it occurs in a convent in Florence, 1537. When Cesare is asked to investigate an intruder at Santa Maria of Magdalena, he stumbles across a community that is drowning in secrets and one that is divided in bitter rivalaries. But then he comes across the impossible - the body of a naked man stabbed multiple times and it must be one of the nuns who is the killer!
What I loved about this book is the blend of fact and fiction as the author has added in so many historical details that's makes it an enriching and rewarding read. This is what I love about historical fiction, the education you receive at the same time. I don't know a lot about Renaissance Italy but I did a lot of googling whilst reading this book, which means it has gripped me to a level where I am wanting to know more of the world in which it is set in! The atmosphere of this book is off the charts as you could feel the Tuscan Sun coming off the pages and Bishop’s use of descriptive and lyrical prose added another layer to my enjoyment. I particularly loved the inclusion of a personal aspect for Cesare to the case when he comes across members of his estranged family.
This was a highly engaging read which I found to be riveting and flew through it in one day! I'm just happy a have a weekend free so I can pick up the first book in the series and fly right back to sunny Florence!
Roll on the next in the series!
