In book four of D.V. Bishop's Cesare Aldo series, readers find Aldo stuck on the night shift. That is, until he discovers a body that might just change his luck. He begins juggling a role as a spy for Duke Cosimo de Medici, as well as solving a series of murders of a decidedly religious fervour.
A historical crime series, the world of Cesare Aldo has a niche setting: Florence, Italy in the 1500s - glorious in its grime, smells, costumes, crimes and corruption. Bishop sets up a contrast between his gay lead character and the institutions of law enforcement and the church which rule society.
The year is 1539. 'Autumn (is) closing a cold, damp fist around the city.' The roles have been reversed: Carlos Strocchi, is now an officer, his wife expecting baby number two. Following events in Ritual of Fire, Aldo has been demoted to constable and stuck on the night shift for seventeen months - until he finds a body just as curfew ends.
The body has been left under the original site of Michaelangelo's statue of David in the Palazzo della Signoria: arranged like Christ on the Cross, with a smear of ash on his forehead and strangled with an unusual rope leaving raised bumps on the skin. Further examination by Aldo's friend Dr Orvietto finds a page of scripture in the victim's clothing and an abhorrent detail: the victim's tongue has been split in two.
Who would do such a thing? Can Aldo regain his position on the day shift, working with his old partner Strocchi to solve the crime?
Bishop not only describes how Florence smells during this period of history, he embellishes the text with characters such as Massimo Bindi, Segretario of the Otto (the police force) at the Palazzo del Podestà (home to the court's administration). I love the descriptions of this awful boss, with his 'dismissive attitude and his impossible demands' - now making Strocchi's life a misery while Aldo coaches him in how to manage this awful creature:
A petty and vindictive man, Bindi made no effort to mask his pleasure in tormenting those beneath him in rank. Bloated with self-importance, Bindi squatted in his ufficio like a bloated spider, eager to inflict misery.
Bindi was a man heavy of belly with multiple chins. He sweated when doing very little and seemed to mistrust bathing. A minute in his domain was eye-watering.
These interludes lighten the serious nature of the murders in this story - victims who Aldo worries may have been targeted because of their sexual preferences. The first victim is Niccolò Zamora, a well-liked and politically unambitious wool merchant: he's gay - is this the reason he has been targeted in these dark days of Renaissance Florence? The second is a man called Freccia: a thief who's been known to pleasure men for money.
The character of spymaster Grossolano supplies more comic relief, while muddying the waters of the investigation:
" 'His name is Tito Grossolano,' the contessa went on, gesturing at the buffoon below. The heavyset Venetian had stepped from the carriage straight into a pile of horse merda. He was shouting abuse at the driver, blaming him for the mess now coating Grossolano's boots. That the carriage had come to a halt in precisely that place could be accidental, but the driver's glare of hatred said otherwise. ...The contessa made a note to have Pozzo reward the driver handsomely. "
Bishop doesn't just tell a good murder mystery and keep readers guessing, he builds a world where the law and the church, both powerful political institutions, are separate entities with their own authority and control. In this story they're pitted against each other. Can Strocchi and Aldo bring what looks like a religiously motivated murderer to justice, or is this outside their jurisdiction?
There are several suspects to keep readers guessing. Eyewitnesses describe someone cloaked, with broad shoulders, and a smell - which could fit a woman, Vanni, who works in a tannery. But what about the Exorcist, Father Negri, accused of such fevered applications of his skill that people have died as a result?
Bishop includes elements of feminism in this story too. Vanni, one of the suspects, is described as having the strength of a man, while Contessa Valentine Coltello is fighting to keep her place as spymaster, being the brains behind her husband's position reporting to the city of Venice. It is said of Strocchi's wife Tomasina that, if not for the time she lives in, she would make a great investigator: she helps Strocchi think through the complexities of the suspects, motivations and circumstances.
I even learned some rude words! But I'm not repeating them here.
One of Aotearoa's best exports, David Bishop is a terrific example of how well Kiwi authors can compete on the international circuit.
A Divine Fury made the shortlist for this year's Historical Dagger Award. and has just been included on the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel longlist.
Bishop has consistently been nominated for this award with each of the books in the Cesare Aldo series. Ritual of Fire, the third instalment of this gripping, niche series, won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel last year, was shortlisted for the 2024 NZ Booklovers Award for Best Adult Fiction and longlisted for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book.
Book two of the series, The Darkest Sin, won the Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger Award in the UK in 2023, was shortlisted for the 2023 NZ Booklovers Award for Best Adult Fiction and longlisted for the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award.
Book one, City of Vengeance, was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and the CWA Historical Dagger in 2021, the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2022, was shortlisted for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and won the 2022 NZ Booklovers Award for Best Adult Fiction.
Look out for a new book, Carnival of Lies, coming soon - it's already made the McIlvanney Prize list for 2025.
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