The Book of Unholy Mischief
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4.3 • 6 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
'Unashamedly fun, will appeal to fans of Kate Mosse and Dan Brown... full of twisting passageways, wall tapestries complete with spy holes, and all manner of skulduggery' NEW BOOKS MAGAZINE
It is 1498, and the whole of Venice is abuzz. Hidden somewhere in the labyrinthine city is an ancient book, rumoured to contain thorny heresies and secrets of immeasurable power. Luciano, a penniless orphan, has been plucked from the street and taken on as apprentice to the chef at the doge's palace. While learning the alchemy of cooking, he quickly finds himself entangled in the search for the ancient tome, even suspecting the chef, his maestro, may be concealing valuable information.
But lurking in the wings are some of the most powerful, dangerous men in Venice, and Luciano's secret will lead him through a perilous maze to the centre of an intrigue that will test his deepest desires and loyalties.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Luciano, the wily hero of Newmark's entertaining first novel, is only a street urchin when the doge of Venice's chef finds him, but once dragged into the kitchen as an apprentice, he discovers more bubbling than boiling water. While the town is in an uproar over the rumor of an ancient book containing magical potions and lessons on alchemy, Luciano pines away for a girl and learns the basics of chopping, sweeping and eavesdropping. As he and his maestro become friendlier, Luciano begins to learn that there's more to his teacher than a garden of strange plants and a box of spices. Newmark does a fine job of building suspense and keeping the novel barreling along, and her knowledge of and affection for 15th-century Venice adds charm to this nicely told adventure yarn.
Customer Reviews
A masterpiece
I absolutely love this book! The characters, storyline, the way it is written all make for a really good read. Hard to put down and leaves you wanting more. Elle Newmark is a fantastic author!