Review: Fighting it out in Florence
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2014
This is an elegantly constructed Who-dunit (or rather who-wants-to-do-it) set in Florence just as the end of the 15th century. In Rome, the pope casts a beady eye towards Florence and its upstart reformist, the Friar Savonalora. In far-away Lorraine, the count worries that Florence will once again become a Medici fief, and in Florence itself, loyalties are torn asunder between those who want nothing more than to reinstate Medici and those that will defend the Republic, at whatever cost.Ms Pasch does a great job in re-creating this vibrant city, complete with vicious football games, the elegant homes of the well-to-do and the church bells ringing out the time. Yes, there are some minor anachronisms (metres and Gothenburg did not exist at this point in time), but overall the exuberance of the setting is such that such details are forgiven.The novel is structured round a number of days. As each day progresses, the reader follows one or the other of the protagonists towards the inevitable confrontation between good and evil. People die constantly - the book is littered with corpses - men are devious and underhand, and one young woman, Isabella, is charged with ensuring the Republic survives. Fortunately, Isabella has a handful of good men to help her, chief amongst them the book's male protagonist, Vittorio. Mutual attraction sizzles between these two, adding a whiff of romance to what otherwise is an action packed historical thriller.All in all, this was a most enjoyable read - the dialogue, the descriptive prose, the well-developed characters all combine to make this a book I would warmly recommend to anyone looking for an enthralling combination of history and mystery. Well done, Ms Pasch!