THE ASSASSIN OF VENICE is a well-crafted tale about a Venetian courtesan called Valentina Ricciardi in 1530s Venice.
In those days, Venice was an rich and imposing republic, powerful enough to do battle with the Turks over who was going to dominate the trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Another up-and-coming power was Spain, who had already begun its colonization of what is now the United States and South America. Needless to say, spies were part of its armament. But when people think of spies who operated in the past, they still think of young men armed with daggers, their faces hidden by masks, their bodies hidden by cloaks.
But who better to spy than a popular courtesan? Unlike the wives of powerful men who were not allowed to be educated in those days, courtesans were not only gorgeous to look at but were also educated, well able to provide that intellectual firepower that was so stimulating to the élite, who enjoyed talking about politics and the problems they faced when trying to rise to the top. A clever courtesan could coax all kinds of secrets from these men in the form of pillow talk, when their guard was down.
But author Alyssa Palombo has pushed this side hustle a bit further. Supposing these women were employed not only as spies by the Venetian state but as assassins also?
And so we have the story of Maria Angelina, a gently-bred young woman, whose entire existence is destroyed one night in 1527, when the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor go on rampage in Rome.
Eighteen-year-old Maria Angelina manages to escaped (dressed as a boy, of course) and falls in with a Spanish solider who teaches her how to protect herself. They travel through Italy to Venice where he leaves her at a convent, the only respectable option for a young woman in her circumstances.
But Maria Angelina has no intention of spending the rest of her life behind walls. Before night has fallen, she has already escaped and made her way to a brothel in the Piazza di San Marco, where she learns her trade. Once she has made enough to set up on her own, she leaves. The Madam of the brothel makes her change her name – saying that Maria Angelina makes her sound like a nun – and so Valentina Ricciardi, fascinating courtesan is born.
And so when Valentina is ordered by a powerful member of the Council of Ten to murder the man she loves, or her daughter will be killed in his stead, Valentina, who has already lost everything she had once, fights back.
I think most people are going to enjoy the ending of this novel. Five Stars.
