Carnival of Lies - (Cesare Aldo) by D V Bishop

About the Book

An atmospheric and evocative historical thriller set against the backdrop of the Medici dynasty in 1530s Renaissance Italy. From CWA Historical Dagger-winning author D. V. Bishop.

Book Synopsis

The Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger Winning Author

'Full of dash and atmosphere' - The Times

Venice. Winter, 1539.

When Cesare Aldo learns of a conspiracy to assassinate Duke Cosimo de' Medici, he is hired to protect the ruler of Florence. With his life, if necessary. The deadly attack which follows leads to bodies, bloodshed - and something far more dangerous.

Those behind the plot obtain a journal of the duke's, containing explosive secrets that - in the wrong hands - could destroy all of Florence. Aldo must hunt down those responsible and reclaim the journal, or face banishment from the city and everyone he loves.

The trail leads him towards the one place Aldo has sworn to never return, a city of masks and lies where he has no allies and far too many enemies: Venice.

The fate of a dynasty rests on his shoulders, if he can make it out alive . . .

Carnival of Lies is the fifth Cesare Aldo mystery by D. V. Bishop, preceded by A Divine Fury, City of Vengeance, The Darkest Sin and Ritual of Fire.

'A brilliantly entertaining historical thriller that twists and turns like the very calli and canali of Venice itself' - Philip Gwynne Jones, author of the Nathan Sutherland Venice mysteries

Review Quotes

"I have very much enjoyed this series to date, and this one takes Aldo out of his beloved Florence and dumps him in Venice during Carnivale." --James Oswald, author of For Our Sins

"A brilliantly entertaining historical thriller that twists and turns like the very calli and canali of Venice itself - I had no idea where it was going! A very, very clever ending and a hell of a cliffhanger!" --Philip Gwynne Jones, author of the Nathan Sutherland Venice mysteries

"A brilliant series" --Anna Mazzola

"Aldo is a magnificent creation" --Vaseem Khan

"Bishop brings the Machiavellian machinations of Renaissance Florence and Venice magnificently to life, as Aldo encounters ruthless politicians, a deadly femme fatale and an old flame. You can feel the damp of the canals rising from the prose." --Douglas Skelton, author of the Company of Rogues series

About the Author

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 historical thrillers. The first Cesare Aldo novel, 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. Book two in the series, The Darkest Sin, won the prestigious Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger. He teaches creative writing at Edinburgh Napier University. Carnival of Lies is the fifth Cesare Aldo mystery, preceded by City of Vengeance, The Darkest Sin, Ritual of Fire and A Divine Fury.