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A Divine Fury by D.V. Bishop

Writer's picture: NZ BookloversNZ Booklovers



D.V. Bishop is a Kiwi who teaches creative writing at Edinburgh Napier University, and he writes crime novels set in Renaissance Italy. He has won numerous awards, including the NZ Booklovers Fiction Award. After reading his latest crime novel, it is easy to see why.


A Divine Fury opens in Florence in the autumn of 1539. Cesare Aldo was once an officer of Otto, the city’s most feared criminal court. But after being demoted, he is reduced to the tedious night patrol, encountering the drunk and deranged, the only ones breaking the city’s night curfew. But after finding a man’s body beneath Michelangelo’s statue of David, Aldo could have a real case on his hands. The man has been posed as though crucified, and then there are more bodies found in the same way. Together with Constable Carlo Strocchi, they begin working on the case as it seems a serial killer is stalking the city of Florence. The race is on to find the killer before he strikes again.


Like all of D.V. Bishop's previous novels, A Divine Fury is superb. It’s a gripping, atmospheric read that brings the streets of Renaissance Italy to life, with a mystery that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go until the final reveal of the killer. But as always, Cesare Aldo, is the star of these novels. With impeccable characterisation, he is flawed and often on the wrong side of the law, but he is also highly moral, intelligent and resourceful. Aldo’s inner life is as fascinating as the page-turning, heart-pounding, unrelenting action.


Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Pan Macmillan


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