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natcat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Entertaining murder mystery with a very compelling setting - I know pretty much nothing about 16th century Florence other than that the Medicis were important, and I really enjoyed the portrayal of the city and how it worked, and how well explained the politics and the various real people were. The depiction of the legal system was particularly interesting.
I also appreciated one of the main characters being queer, which I was in no way expecting, and I'm always delighted to find unexpected gay characters (particularly in murder mysteries, my comfort reading of choice!).
There are definitely some rough edges in the writing here; there's a lot of POV changes in short succession, which felt a little unnecessary, and there's places where the dialogue and phrasing feels awkward. But the plot was solid and built well, Aldo and Strocchi are good main characters (and I particularly liked getting their views on the same events and also on each other) and I feel like the rough patches are all things that can definitely be improved with practice, and I will definitely be trading the next books in this series (may there be many more!).
I also appreciated one of the main characters being queer, which I was in no way expecting, and I'm always delighted to find unexpected gay characters (particularly in murder mysteries, my comfort reading of choice!).
There are definitely some rough edges in the writing here; there's a lot of POV changes in short succession, which felt a little unnecessary, and there's places where the dialogue and phrasing feels awkward. But the plot was solid and built well, Aldo and Strocchi are good main characters (and I particularly liked getting their views on the same events and also on each other) and I feel like the rough patches are all things that can definitely be improved with practice, and I will definitely be trading the next books in this series (may there be many more!).
terranovanz's review against another edition
3.0
A slow first half led to a cracking 2nd. I really like Aldo and Strocchi. The plethora of Florentine flunkies got a little overwhelming but the plot was tight and interesting. Will read the sequel.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
The debut novel in a series featuring Cesare Aldo, former soldier, now an officer in the city's most feared criminal court, CITY OF VENGEANCE is set during the winter of 1536 in Florence, Italy. At that time Florence was a wealthy and influential city, ruled over by the Duke Alessandro de Medici - volatile and dangerous in his own right. When a prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home Aldo is directed to solve the murder before the feast of Epiphany, in four days time. What the edict doesn't take into account is the plot that Aldo uncovers to overthrow de Medici.
Not only was Florence wealthy and influential at this time, it was also rife with intrigue, gossip, political machinations, inequality and sexual excess. The extreme wealth of many contrasted starkly with desperate poverty. (Felt way too familiar to be honest). The murders of Levi, a Jewish moneylender who lived in fear, dying at the hands of a murderer despite repelling attacks by murderous bandits before, occurs around the same time as a young man is also brutally murdered, his body discovered clothed in beautiful, and very expensive, women's clothing. With that investigation led by Constable Carlo Strocchi, Aldo and he soon find their cases intersecting and they combine resources to find the killer, in the face of some very determined resistance.
Whilst CITY OF VENGEANCE is obviously going to appeal greatly to fans of historical crime fiction, this is such a strong debut it's one that should be sought out by all fans of the wider genre. It's atmospheric to the point of sensory overload, cleverly plotted, perfectly paced and absolutely riveting. The settings in which the characters move about provide really vivid pictures of the extremes - from the great wealth to the grinding poverty; and the sexual excesses that become the bordellos and sex worker's daily lives. There's also plenty of moral ambiguity with one victim being the sort of man nobody could bring themselves to say anything positive about, from a family riven with problems of their own.
At the heart of it all though, especially as a debut novel in a character based series, Cesare Aldo has to have potential, and he's got it in spades. Larger than life in some ways, charismatic, yet believable, and accessible, there's something memorable about this character, and CITY OF VENGEANCE. Definitely a series to watch out for.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/city-vengeance-dv-bishop
Not only was Florence wealthy and influential at this time, it was also rife with intrigue, gossip, political machinations, inequality and sexual excess. The extreme wealth of many contrasted starkly with desperate poverty. (Felt way too familiar to be honest). The murders of Levi, a Jewish moneylender who lived in fear, dying at the hands of a murderer despite repelling attacks by murderous bandits before, occurs around the same time as a young man is also brutally murdered, his body discovered clothed in beautiful, and very expensive, women's clothing. With that investigation led by Constable Carlo Strocchi, Aldo and he soon find their cases intersecting and they combine resources to find the killer, in the face of some very determined resistance.
Whilst CITY OF VENGEANCE is obviously going to appeal greatly to fans of historical crime fiction, this is such a strong debut it's one that should be sought out by all fans of the wider genre. It's atmospheric to the point of sensory overload, cleverly plotted, perfectly paced and absolutely riveting. The settings in which the characters move about provide really vivid pictures of the extremes - from the great wealth to the grinding poverty; and the sexual excesses that become the bordellos and sex worker's daily lives. There's also plenty of moral ambiguity with one victim being the sort of man nobody could bring themselves to say anything positive about, from a family riven with problems of their own.
At the heart of it all though, especially as a debut novel in a character based series, Cesare Aldo has to have potential, and he's got it in spades. Larger than life in some ways, charismatic, yet believable, and accessible, there's something memorable about this character, and CITY OF VENGEANCE. Definitely a series to watch out for.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/city-vengeance-dv-bishop
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
4.0
4 - 4.5
One I'd definitely recommend to lovers of historical crime fiction. Well-written, intriguing and set in the beautiful city of Florence. Ends with a bang... I applaud you, Cesare Aldo!
One I'd definitely recommend to lovers of historical crime fiction. Well-written, intriguing and set in the beautiful city of Florence. Ends with a bang... I applaud you, Cesare Aldo!
jamesblyth's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
markreadsbooks_sg's review against another edition
4.0
I got City of Vengeance by D.V. Bishop from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.
The city of Vengeance is set in Florence. Winter, 1536. A prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home, a death with wide implications in a city powered by immense wealth.
Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the Renaissance city’s most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder: catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany – or suffer the consequences.
City of Vengeance is a novel that has been written many times before, a police procedural novel where a crime in this case, a muder of a money lender, leads the investigator, Aldo, into political intrigue.
What makes this novel a cut above the rest, is the writer D. V. Bishop’s idea of moving the setting to Florence in 1536. A time when Italy was not the country we know now, but a number of city states, with Florence being ruled by the Medici family.
Into this world the author with a number of historical characters and some invented ones including Aldo the detective in the novel, who has secrets of his own.
In addition to the people in the book one of the things that the writer did well was the setting, putting us as readers into a world which we are unable to enter, with the sites and sounds of the town, along with the attitudes of the day.
While the murder of Levi, was not the most intresting crime of in any book of this type, it did lead into a novel full of political intrigue, as well as each individuasl on the make meaning that the investigation may not run as smoothly as it should.
One thing I must add is that this is the first in a new series of historical crime fiction, which means has the book done the job of wanting to read more of the series?
The simple answer is yes while the crime may not be the most complicated, the novel has introduced a wide range of characters in a setting that has me intrigued, in wanting me to read more about Florence in the 1530’s.
So who should read City of Vengeance? This novel crosses two genres, the first is crime and the second is historical fiction, so if either are the type of books you like then this one is definitely for you.
The city of Vengeance is set in Florence. Winter, 1536. A prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home, a death with wide implications in a city powered by immense wealth.
Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the Renaissance city’s most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder: catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany – or suffer the consequences.
City of Vengeance is a novel that has been written many times before, a police procedural novel where a crime in this case, a muder of a money lender, leads the investigator, Aldo, into political intrigue.
What makes this novel a cut above the rest, is the writer D. V. Bishop’s idea of moving the setting to Florence in 1536. A time when Italy was not the country we know now, but a number of city states, with Florence being ruled by the Medici family.
Into this world the author with a number of historical characters and some invented ones including Aldo the detective in the novel, who has secrets of his own.
In addition to the people in the book one of the things that the writer did well was the setting, putting us as readers into a world which we are unable to enter, with the sites and sounds of the town, along with the attitudes of the day.
While the murder of Levi, was not the most intresting crime of in any book of this type, it did lead into a novel full of political intrigue, as well as each individuasl on the make meaning that the investigation may not run as smoothly as it should.
One thing I must add is that this is the first in a new series of historical crime fiction, which means has the book done the job of wanting to read more of the series?
The simple answer is yes while the crime may not be the most complicated, the novel has introduced a wide range of characters in a setting that has me intrigued, in wanting me to read more about Florence in the 1530’s.
So who should read City of Vengeance? This novel crosses two genres, the first is crime and the second is historical fiction, so if either are the type of books you like then this one is definitely for you.
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
City of Vengeance is an action-packed yet somewhat exhausting novel set in 16th-century Florence. It’s basically a crime / thriller, where an officer of the criminal court sets out to solve a crime and prevent another. Some of the people and events in this book are based on the actual history of Florence.
This is the debut novel of D.V. Bishop, where he introduces Cesare Aldo, the main character in this book. So far, two books have been published in this series. Aldo is a former soldier, and after he retired due to an injury, he took a position in the criminal court. One defining feature about Aldo is that he gets hurt a lot. Which is one of the reasons why this book was exhausting.
When a Jewish moneylender is murdered, Aldo is ordered to investigate. While investigating the murder, he comes across a plot to overthrow the ruler of Florence. Meanwhile, people plot against Aldo, trying to uncover his secret.
And now, we get to the exhausting part. Not only is Aldo getting constantly hurt, 16th century Florence is a shithole. Rampant homophobia, misogyny, antisemitism, violence, adultery… You name it. It gets pretty exhausting after a while. Not that the story isn’t entertaining and moving forward, but it’s just A LOT to deal with.
The prose is peppered with Italian words. Most of the meanings are easy to deduce by context, but I’m not sure if I like it or not. Perhaps if those words would be difficult to replace with an English word that would convey the meaning, it could be justified. On the other hand, it gives the story that Italian flare, sure.
And my last and maybe least complaint is that the author doesn’t understand cats. Cats in this book whine and howl. Did you perhaps mean dogs? Because dogs whine and howl.
All in all, it's pretty entertaining, and I might be tempted to read the sequel. I hope Aldo doesn’t take such a beating in that one, too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Antisemitism, Cursing, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Homophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Excrement, Infidelity, Bullying, Medical content, Outing, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
anntharai's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Gore, Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Homophobia, Ableism, Classism, Death, Outing, Police brutality, Transphobia, Body horror, Excrement, Hate crime, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Torture and Rape
danskireads's review against another edition
5.0
What an exceptional debut! Fantastic writing—clean, tight, engaging, enthralling. Wonderful plot twists to keep you guessing. Great characters and characterisations. Just fantastic writing from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm so so pleased it's a series. I can't wait to dive back into the Renaissance Florence and the world of Aldo. (Fortunately, book two is about to be released.)
timetraveler's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0