The Dead of Winter
Three Giordano Bruno Novellas
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4.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Three exhilarating novellas—The Secret Dead, The Academy of Secrets, and The Dead of Winter—following the early adventures of young priest Giordano Bruno in the dramatic days of sixteenth century Italy.
Even the dead have a story to tell . . .
Naples, 1566. During a sweltering summer, eighteen-year-old Giordano Bruno takes his final vows at San Domenico Maggiore and is admitted to the Dominican Order—despite doubts over his tendency to ask difficult questions.
Assisting in the infirmary, Bruno witnesses an illicit autopsy performed on the body of a young woman. Her corpse reveals a dark secret, and Bruno suspects that hers may not have been an accidental death.
His investigation leads him to a powerful figure who wants to keep the truth buried—and Bruno is forced to make a choice between his future in the Order, and justice for an innocent victim and her grieving family . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of Parris's superior mysteries featuring cleric-turned-sleuth Giordano Bruno, seen most recently in Conspiracy, will be delighted by this stellar collection of three novellas from his early years. In "The Secret Dead," set in 1566 Naples, 18-year-old Bruno has just taken holy orders as a Dominican. After a church official invites him to witness a forbidden autopsy of an unknown pregnant woman who was strangled, Bruno pursues the truth and some form of justice for the forgotten victim. He also tackles whodunits in "The Academy of Secrets," set in 1568, and "A Christmas Requiem," set in 1569 Rome; in the latter Bruno finds himself at odds with the church hierarchy, setting up the relationship with it highlighted in the novels. Bruno's social commentary is a plus; he views Naples as "a city stinking of hypocrisy: kissing in public was illegal, but courtesans were permitted to walk the streets openly, looking for business even in the churches (especially in the churches)." This is an accessible entry point for newcomers.
