The Assassin of Venice

Valentina Riccardi had never questioned the orders she received from the Venetian Council of Ten. A courtesan who offers culture as well as physical intimacy to the Republic’s patricians, she is perfectly placed to assassinate powerful men the council deems a threat. When her latest target denies the council’s accusations with his dying breath, and her fellow assassin, lover, and the father of her daughter, Bastiano Bragadin, shares his own suspicions of treachery, Valentina is trapped by conflicting loyalties and a lethal web of intrigue. Palombo’s (The Borgia Confessions) fourth historical mystery set in Italy stands out for her skillful rendering of period details and characterization of strong women underestimated by men of their time. Narrator Nicol Zanzarella shifts capably between Italian-accented characters, distinguishing adults by affect and tone and Valentina’s daughter, Ginevra, by pitch. She offers a rounded, sensuous voice for Valentina, deftly capturing the courtesan’s balancing act between calculated performance and genuineness. As the council marks Bastiano for death, Zanzarella intensifies her narration to match Valentina’s desperation to save his life from her own blade.