Italy Historical Thriller

Art, power, desire, and illusion collide in a hypnotic new novel from Olivia Laing, set in the months leading up to the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1975. This program is read by actor Ben Cura, known for his roles in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Outlander, and The Head. It is...

In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt and Erik Larson, the author of the #1 NYT bestseller The Lost City of the Monkey God presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surrounding Florence as he seeks to uncover one of the most infamous figures in Italian history...

In a race across Nazi-occupied Italy, two women—a German photographer and an American stenographer—hunt for priceless masterpieces looted from the Florentine art collections. In the summer of 1943, Eva Brunner is taking photographs of Nazi-looted art hidden in the salt mines of the Austrian...

Naples, Italy, during four fateful days in the fall of 1943. The only ones left in the bombed-out city are the abandoned children whose only goal is to survive another day. No one could imagine that they would become fearless fighters and the unlikeliest heroes of World War II.

Virtuoso storyteller Umberto Eco conjures up a gloriously rich portrait of 14th century Franciscan Italy with such grace, ease, wit, and love that you will become utterly intoxicated with the place and time. The story is performed by Theodore Bikel who has starred in numerous Broadway hits, including The Sound of Music, Zorba, and Fiddler on the Roof.

"I must know what the king of Spain is going to do before he knows it himself. And that, Shakespeare, is why you are going to Italy." With these enigmatic words, Sir Francis Walsingham sends a young, unknown poet on a mission to Venice—a city of masks, secrets, and shadows. The poet is none other than William Shakespeare, tasked with a mission of espionage that could change the fate of England. Accompanied by the high-spirited illegitimate son of an English earl, young Will embarks on what seems a simple errand: find Walsingham’s agent in Venice and deliver secret instructions. But in ...

From the national best-selling author of The Serpent and the Pearl comes the continuing saga of the ruthless family that holds all of Rome in its grasp, and the three outsiders thrust into their twisted web of blood and deceit.…

As the cherished concubine of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, Giulia Farnese has Rome at her feet. But after narrowly escaping a sinister captor, she realizes that the danger she faces is far from over - and now, it threatens from within. The Holy City of Rome is still under Alexander's thrall, but enemies of the Borgias are starting to circle.

When midwife Sarah Brandt visits Little Italy to check up on a new mother who delivered her baby just the day before, she finds the young woman dead. The family insists that the death was from complications of childbirth. Sarah disagrees. So does the woman's own mother, an Irishwoman who spreads the story that the girl was murdered by her Italian in-laws, the Ruoccos - an accusation that inflames tensions between the two immigrant groups.

-Publishers Weekly starred review- -Elit Award Silver Medalist- -Book Excellence Award finalist- Italy 1464: Power hungry aristocrats are battling for control of Florence. Can a young Florentine stop his birthplace from plunging into chaos? When young lawyer Nico Argenti returns home from the university eager to start a promising career, he is recruited by the Florentine Chancellor to help defeat power hungry aristocrats who are plotting to overthrow the government. Nico must rely on more than his quick wits when the shadowy villains put him in life-threatening danger as an assassin's ...

Venice, 1944. The war may be waning, but the city is still occupied and people all over Europe fear the power of the Third Reich. One night, under a sky of brilliant stars, a poor fisherman named Cenzo comes across a girl's body floating in the lagoon. He carries her into his boat and soon discovers that she is very much alive and very much in trouble: Born to a wealthy Jewish family who has been captured and deported by the Nazis, Guilia is on the run after she was found hiding in a local hospital.

Flavia Albia, daughter and successor of private informer Marcus Didius Falco is twiddling her thumbs with no clients during the December festival of Saturnalia. But that doesn't mean all is quiet. Her husband Tiberius and the Fourth Cohort are battling organized crime interests that are going to war over the festival nuts. A series of accidental poisonings, then bloody murders of rival nut-sellers, and finally a gruesome warning to Tiberius from the hidden criminal powers to back off.

In Renaissance Italy, townspeople are threatened by a vindictive knight and his cohorts. Can they be rescued before the knight unleashes his fury? When the tyrant defies a court ruling, young lawyer Nico Argenti resorts to other means to defeat the knight and win the town’s independence. The Advisor: Intrigue in Tuscany is an Indie Reader Discovery Award Winner. It is the second book in the Nico Argenti series and can be read standalone. Get your copy now to discover why this gripping novel is a favorite of historical mystery fans.

A tragic death at a betrothal ceremony embroils Nico Argenti in the treacherous world of Renaissance Florence's elite. Guests are gathered at a villa in the Tuscan countryside to celebrate a betrothal that would unite two powerful Florentine families. The joyful atmosphere is shattered when the groom-to-be is discovered murdered. Florentine Security Commission member Nico Argenti, himself a guest, is charged with finding the killer, suspected to be an invited guest or a member of the villa staff. The investigation exposes Nico and his colleagues to the jealous motives of guests and a chain ...

The Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger Winning Author 'Brilliant' – Ian Rankin '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...

In the caves beneath an Italian lake, the fossil of a creature older than the Earth has been disinterred. In the Judaean desert, a legendary parchment has been discovered. One reveals the secrets of heaven. One foretells an impending hell. And deciphering their message has been left to paleontologist Carter Cox - a man of science whose faith in the empirical is about to be shaken by forces of evil beyond imagining.

A vengeful renegade is targeting rogue mercenaries against the city of Florence. Can a young lawyer foil the sinister scheme? Renaissance Italy, 1465. The first hint of trouble comes from Nico Argenti's sister, who tells him that boys are going missing from the orphanage. She prevails upon Nico to look into the matter, but before the young lawyer can do so, he is dispatched to Bologna on an official mission to investigate rogue mercenaries in a neighboring province near the Florentine border. While in Bologna, Nico unearths a connection between the missing boys, the mercenaries, and a ...

From the bestselling author of Los Alamos and The Good German comes Joseph Kanon's riveting tale of love, revenge and murder set in postwar Venice. Winner of the Hammett Prize It is 1946, and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his widowed mother and try to forget the horrors he has...

*Winner of the CWA Historical Dagger 2023* 'A great insight into Renaissance Florence. What I love about these books is the seamless weaving of factual history with a great story' – Abir Mukherjee Florence. Spring, 1537. When Cesare Aldo investigates a report of intruders at a convent in the...

The Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger Winning Author A religious serial killer is haunting Florence and only Cesare Aldo can stop them. A Divine Fury is an atmospheric historical thriller by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Italy. ‘Full of dash and atmosphere’ - The Times Florence...

The Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger Winning Author Tuscany. Winter, 1540. Travelling north into the hills above Florence, investigator Cesare Aldo seeks answers about his past. The trail leads him to Ospedale de’ Pazzi, a secure institution for the criminally insane. Soon after...