In an impressive performance, Nicol Zanzarella takes listeners into the beauty, sensuality, and deadly dangers of sixteenth-century Venice. Valentina Riccardi is both a courtesan and a paid assassin. She has no moral qualms about her work, believing that her contract killings are for the good of the Venice she loves. That's true until her employer, Ambrogio Malatesta, presents her with an impossible dilemma: Assassinate the man she loves, or her beloved young daughter will be killed. Zanzarella delivers credible Italian accents and well-rounded personalities. She maintains the high energy needed for this convoluted plot, keeping the story compelling and entertaining. Intrigue, betrayal, secrets and shocking revelations fill this engrossing mystery, and Zanzarella's spot-on narration makes Alyssa Palombo's well-crafted story choice listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice's famous courtesans, she's perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn't matter-only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question. Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there's nothing she won't do to protect her city, for there's nothing she loves more. Almost nothing. She vowed to never fall in love again, but Valentina can't help but give her heart to Bastiano Bragadin, a fellow assassin. But when Bastiano starts asking the wrong questions, Valentina receives a new assignment: kill him. Yet the more Valentina learns about the Council of Ten, the more she wonders if they're truly acting in the interest of the Venetian state or if they're using her for their own dark ambitions. If Valentina is to save Bastiano, she must untangle their conspiracy-with the help of her fellow courtesans-before it's too late. The Assassin of Venice is a captivating, sensual novel that brings 16th-century Venice to life and draws on the fascinating real history of both Venetian cortigiane oneste-“honest courtesans”-and Renaissance Venice's sprawling intelligence service.
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The Assassin of Venice
Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice's famous courtesans, she's perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn't matter-only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question. Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there's nothing she won't do to protect her city, for there's nothing she loves more. Almost nothing. She vowed to never fall in love again, but Valentina can't help but give her heart to Bastiano Bragadin, a fellow assassin. But when Bastiano starts asking the wrong questions, Valentina receives a new assignment: kill him. Yet the more Valentina learns about the Council of Ten, the more she wonders if they're truly acting in the interest of the Venetian state or if they're using her for their own dark ambitions. If Valentina is to save Bastiano, she must untangle their conspiracy-with the help of her fellow courtesans-before it's too late. The Assassin of Venice is a captivating, sensual novel that brings 16th-century Venice to life and draws on the fascinating real history of both Venetian cortigiane oneste-“honest courtesans”-and Renaissance Venice's sprawling intelligence service.
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940191745817 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dreamscape Media |
| Publication date: | 06/18/2024 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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