Poison in the Blood

The Memoirs of Lucrezia Borgia

By: M. G. Scarsbrook

Narrated by: Karen Savage

Renaissance Rome, 1497: As the teenage daughter of Pope Alexander VI, Lucrezia Borgia is a young noblewoman immersed in all the glamor of the Vatican Palace. Yet after a brutal killing shocks the city, Lucrezia learns that a dark truth lies beneath the surface of the Papal Court - in their ruthless quest for power, her father and brother are willing to poison their enemies.

Her family members are murderers.

After discovering that her new husband is next to die, Lucrezia struggles to help him escape from Rome before the assassins strike. Against a barrage of political intrigues, papal spies, and diabolical tricks, Lucrezia uses all her wits to defy her family and save her husband from assassination. But as tragedy looms ever closer, and her plans gradually fail, she finds herself confronting an enemy far more sinister than she ever imagined.

©2010 M. G. Scarsbrook (P)2012 M. G. Scarsbrook

Boring Borgias is the Better Titlefor this Book

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I stopped halfway through this book as I kept losing interest. It is quite simply boring. The characters are unsympathic, there is no real tension and any excitement of the time or history is lost in the ramblings of Lucretia's emotional waffling between love for her Borgia Family and disgust at their horrible acts.This is not worth the $$ and was very disappointing.

Would you ever listen to anything by M. G. Scarsbrook again?

No

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was good, not great. Easy to follow.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None really, sorry to say.

Any additional comments?

Historical fiction can often be redeemed by the place the characters have in the history of their times and all of these characters appear heinous and without merit. No true information about clothing, the architecture or Rome. Nothing about the food, the action is mostly in Lucretia's head and in this read that is a very dull place indeed.