The Darkest Sin

Critics Review

• He is fast becoming a serious rival to C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris with his page-turning novels. Highly recommended

  Historical Novel Society

• Pretty much everything I want in an historical thriller – an absolutely terrific read, in a series that’s clearly going from strength to strength

  Philip Gwynne Jones

• A real pleasure. A lavender-scented, sun-drenched convent hidden among the backstreets of Florence is the absorbing setting for Cesare Aldo’s latest investigation. The conflicting ambitions and ideals of its cast of interesting women make this an engrossing mystery

  Leonora Nattrass, author of Black Drop

• 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

  S. G. MacLean

• My first encounter with the investigator Cesare Aldo was immersive and rewarding. The author’s knowledge of 16th century Florence – both ecclesiastic and civil – drew me effortlessly into his tale of bloodshed and murder. Thoroughly recommended

  A. D. Swanston

• Bishop builds the suspense well, masterfully connecting the disparate strands of the story . . . Given the quality of the first two novels about Cesare Aldo, this series could become essential reading for fans of the historical novel

  Crime Fiction Lover

• Impressive

  Literary Review

• History, mystery and the eternal mystique of Renaissance Florence in perfect harmony!

  Lancashire Evening Post

• Praise for City of Vengeance: An impressive and immersive debut set in a beautifully realized sixteenth-century Florence. Investigator Cesare Aldo is a fascinating and charismatic protagonist. Highly recommended

  Antonia Hodgson

• Praise for City of Vengeance: Richly atmospheric . . . transports you to another time and place

  Ambrose Parry, author of The Way of All Flesh,

• Praise for City of Vengeance: A first-class historical thriller with echoes of The Name of the Rose. Bishop’s spirited and richly detailed story, layered with issues of humanity that still bedevil society today, is a tour de force

  David Baldacci

• A beautifully realized Renaissance Florence, the return of the whip-smart protagonist Cesare Aldo, and a brutal murder behind convent walls — delicious!

  Alison Belsham

• A bloody crime in a convent full of nuns is a splendid concept in itself but add the sights and smells of medieval Florence, a series of flawed and often sinister male characters and a some cracking twists in the narrative and you have a gripping tale

  Joanna Hickson

• Intriguing and compelling, The Darkest Sin is a vivid and mesmerizing portrayal of 16th century Florence. I loved it

  Sue Lawrence

• So fluid and fluent, the pages almost turn themselves . . . Aldo is a great creation: resourceful, driven and forced to hide who he really is, but nevertheless is compelled to find justice for those who deserve it

  James Oswald, bestselling author of the Inspector McLean series, on City of Vengeance

• A cleverly plotted and atmospheric whodunnit in Renaissance Florence

  Choice Magazine