Tag: renaissance italy

Palette of Blood is Out Now

Congratulations to Richard Kurti, whose thrilling Renaissance murder mystery, Palette of Blood, is out now!

Palette of Blood is the second book in the Basilica Diaries Medieval Mysteries: historical thrillers set in fifteenth-century Rome and featuring a brother and sister investigative duo.

1503, Rome

Power has shifted among the great families, and a new Pope has been elected.

Julius II is determined to cement his place in history by redesigning the magnificent St Peter’s Basilica and he issues a challenge to the leading artists to submit their designs.

Aware that there are rich pickings to be had from such an ambitious project, Rome’s most powerful families each back different artists, hoping to get a monopoly on valuable building contracts.

But before a winner is picked, a shocking murder disrupts proceedings.

Prominent lawyer Antonio Ricardo is found brutally dismembered next to a magnificent work of art he commissioned.

And the killings don’t stop there…

Is one of the famously ruthless families behind the killings? Could it all be a dark campaign to scare off the rival bids?

Head of Security at the Vatican, Domenico Falchoni and his astute sister Cristina are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.

But with the reputations of the most powerful families at stake, can they stop the deaths without putting their own lives on the line…?

Omens of Death is Published Today

Congratulations to Richard Kurti, whose absorbing historical mystery, Omens of Death, is published today! Omens of Death is the first book in the Basilica Diaries Medieval Mysteries series, set in fifteenth-century Rome.

1497, Rome

Wealthy merchant’s daughter Cristina Falchoni has a vision: to create a magnificent cathedral in the heart of Rome. Europe is in desperate need of a powerful unifying symbol, and a great basilica, built over the tomb of St Peter, will be a rallying point for Western civilisation.

With the help of her brother Domenico, as Head of Security at the Vatican, Cristina manages to persuade Pope Alexander VI to cleanse his conscience by reviving a decades old plan to construct a new basilica as a celebration of God’s greatness. Whatever bribery, corruption, lechery, or assassination lay in the Borgia Pope’s past, all would be forgiven; he could atone through stone.

But when a prominent aristocrat is found brutally murdered in a grotesque parody of the martyrdom of St Peter, Pope Alexander fears it is a divine warning, a message from God not to tamper with the revered shrine.

Realising that their dream of a glorious new cathedral is in jeopardy, Cristina and Domenico urgently start to investigate the grisly murder.

But as more ominous events torment Rome, they soon realise that whoever is behind these strange portents will stop at nothing to get their own way — even if it means killing the Pope himself.

With the Pope’s life in danger, can Cristina and Domenico uncover the truth before it’s too late? Or are they about to become the killer’s next targets?