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D. V. Bishop

Shortlisted for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger 2021.

City of Vengeance is an explosive debut novel in an historical thriller series by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Florence.

'An impressive and immersive debut set in a beautifully realized sixteenth-century Florence' – Antonia Hodgson

'A first-class historical thriller . . . Bishop’s spirited and richly detailed story is a tour-de-force' – David Baldacci

Florence. Winter, 1536. A prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home, a death with wide implications in a city powered by immense wealth.

Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the Renaissance city’s most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder: catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany – or suffer the consequences.

During his investigations Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the volatile ruler of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city. But a rival officer of the court is determined to expose details about Aldo’s private life that could lead to his ruin. Can Aldo stop the conspiracy before anyone else dies, or will his own secrets destroy him first?

'Richly atmospheric . . . transports you to another time and place' – Ambrose Parry, author of The Way of All Flesh

Continue the historical series with The Darkest Sin.

Mark Meadows

Macmillan

Cesare Aldo series

City of Vengeance

*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 Renaissance city’s northern quarter, he enters a community divided by bitter rivalries and harbouring dark secrets.

His case becomes far more complicated when a man’s body is found deep inside the convent, stabbed more than two dozen times. Unthinkable as it seems, all the evidence suggests one of the nuns must be the killer.

Meanwhile, Constable Carlo Strocchi finds human remains pulled from the Arno that belong to an officer of the law missing since winter. The dead man had many enemies, but who would dare kill an official of the city’s most feared criminal court?

As Aldo and Strocchi close in on the truth, identifying the killers will prove more treacherous than either of them could ever have imagined . . .

The Darkest Sin is an atmospheric locked-room thriller by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Florence and is the sequel to City of Vengeance.

The Darkest Sin

'It's hard to think of a better guide than D. V. Bishop to the brutality and glamour of Renaissance Florence. Religion and lust? Money and politics? It's all here, combined into a murderous brew' - Andrew Taylor, bestselling author of The Royal Secret

'Fast becoming a serious rival to C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris' – Historical Novel Society

Florence. Summer, 1538.

A night patrol finds a wealthy merchant hanged and set ablaze in the city’s main square. More than mere murder, this killing is intended to put the fear of God into Florence. Forty years earlier, puritanical monk Girolamo Savonarola was executed the same way. Does this new killing mean his fanatical disciples are reviving the monk’s regime of holy terror?

Cesare Aldo is busy hunting thieves in the Tuscan countryside, leaving Constable Carlo Strocchi to investigate the killing. When another merchant is burned alive in public, the rich start fleeing to their country estates. But the Tuscan hills can also be dangerous.

Growing religious fervour and a scorching heatwave drives the city ever closer to madness. Meanwhile, someone is stalking those powerful men who forged lifelong bonds in the dark days of Savonarola.

Unless Aldo and Strocchi work together, all of Florence will be consumed by an inferno of death and destruction.

Ceremonial murder has returned to Florence. Only two men can end the destruction. Featuring Officer Cesare Aldo, Ritual of Fire is an atmospheric historical thriller by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Italy.

Ritual of Fire is the third Cesare Aldo mystery, preceded by City of Vengeance and The Darkest Sin.

Ritual of Fire

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.

'Fast becoming a serious rival to C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris' – Historical Novel Society

Florence. Autumn, 1539.

Cesare Aldo was once an officer for the city’s most feared criminal court. Following a period of exile, he is back – but demoted to night patrol, when only the drunk and the dangerous roam the streets.

Chasing a suspect in the rain, Aldo discovers a horrifying scene beneath Michelangelo’s statue of David. Lifeless eyes gaze from the face of a man whose body has been posed as if crucified. It’s clear the killer had religious motives.

When more bodies appear, Aldo believes an unholy murderer is stalking the citizens of Florence. Watching. Hunting. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike again . . .

A Divine Fury is the fourth Cesare Aldo mystery, preceded by City of Vengeance, The Darkest Sin and Ritual of Fire.

A Divine Fury: From The Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger Winning Author

Set in Renaissance Florence, D. V. Bishop’s series follows Cesare Aldo, former soldier and now an officer of the city’s most feared criminal court, as he endeavours to solve a murder in a city full of plots and treason. The first novel of the series, City of Vengeance, starts in the winter of 1536. Aldo must stop a conspiracy while trying to keep his secrets his own. The story continues in The Darkest Sin and garnered praise from the likes of S. G. MacLean who said ‘D. V. Bishop transports you to an utterly convincing 16th century Florence, where the best and worst of human nature constantly circle each other in this tense mystery.'