Florence, 1538. We find Aldo working outside Florence, having run afoul of the moral code of his naive but honest protege, Strocchi, who threatened to expose his secrets. When he arrests a thief on a country estate, he finds himself on the fringes of the Constables disturbing case: a man was burned to death in a public square and someone has been announcing the return of Savonarola, the fundamentalist monk, and the scourge of the ruling Medici family. With links to secret society and powerful men, Strocchi will need Aldo’s help to solve this case and keep his job, but can the two men heal the rift in their friendship and work together?

This is the third book in the series, (I reviewed the others HERE and HERE) and this is fast becoming one of my favourite series. I’m very picky about historical fiction, I get annoyed if the author has too many anachronisms or misunderstand the time period, and this author knows his time period well. I also love having a gay lead in a mystery series and in a historical series, but where he is a well written, rounded character. He’s not a cliche and his sexuality is not his whole identity and personality. I have made these two points before about this series, so I won’t belabor the point further here.

This book once again has this wonderful web of political intrigue surrounding the central mystery. There is a killer on the loose in Florence, and the characters have to race against time to figure out who he is and who is next, a plot that has always worked well, but feels especially spooky in the misty alleyways and byways of Florence. The sense of a cult like figure, Savonarola, being at the heart of this and that religious element, and then the brutal deaths by fire are a dramatic element that’s used really well, but not overused. But then the next layer is the Machiavellian one, where, without giving too much away, the men who will be killed are linked to each other in a hidden way. They are not simply chosen, but they have information. And Savonarola was an enemy of the currrent ruling family of the area. So, while on the ground, it’s tapping into a religious second coming-like scenario, there’s an attack on men in power and people may have a vested interest in the outcome. I love that Aldo knows this lines that link people in Florence, he’s in on the tangled web, or knows which thread to pull to find the spider anyway, and Strocchi is more on the ground, less aware of all the lines, he’s more of an everyman, in a way. It makes for a great layered read, and I think it really captures Italy as it was in this time period. It makes for a really delicious read.

In these books, Aldo is also always playing a long game. He has secrets he needs to keep and he’s also made enemies in the course of his life, as well as loyal friends. It’s like a chess match, the way he has to outwit his adversaries and stay alive. He’s a survivor. He also has friends, and I really enjoy checking back in with the characters on the sides if his story, with each book. I really like Bindi, because he’s so awful, and Strocchi’s brilliant wife, who is so wise. And Aldo’s romance is pretty sweet, too. I’m interested in how that part of the story will play out in future books.

This is another excellent entry in this series, scented with the smoke of burning flesh, and echoing with the cries of a frenzied crowd. It’s eerie but all too real how quickly the city is caught up in the hype of Savonarolas return, and it adds a wonderful level of tension to the drama of Aldo coming back to his city and Strocchi needing his help more than he knows. It’s a pretty smooth read all round. It flows well and is hard to put down, moving between characters and plot lines at a good pace. It’s not a fast read though. It’s enriched with details and deep characters, so each page has something that keeps you curious, amused, or invested.

I think at this point, while you could pick this one up and read it and enjoy it, it’s a more fun and a richer read if you know the characters and have read the series in order.

Read It If: I liked this one, I liked the others, and I want more of this excellent quality historical fiction. Absolutely wonderful.

Thank you to PGC Books for the copy of this book for review.