Poison for the Prince: An Italian Renaissance Mystery

In an Italian Renaissance mystery, Sigismondo, accompanied by Benno and the dog Biondello, arrives in Viverra, only to find Prince Scipione deeply engaged in alchemy and murder in the air

This latest labyrinthine mystery set in medieval Italy by pseudonymous coauthors Jill Staynes and Margaret Story (Curtains for the Cardinal) is rendered with a lighter touch than its predecessors. Sigismondo, shrewd courtier and sleuth, and his servant Benno are drawn into the city of Viverra, where Prince Scipione, its weak ruler, is kept in power by high-priced mercenary Ridolfo Rodolfi. Scipione is dogged by chronic and serious illness, which his wife and his alchemist attribute to fumes from the laboratory where the Prince works to increase Viverra's coffers. Only Sigismondo suspects poison, observing that the mix of friends and foes in Scipione's household poses many lethal possibilities. The arrival of Brother Ambrogio, whose inflammatory sermons against alchemy find a receptive ear close to Scipione, compounds the problems of the courtier's investigation. Poison claims a victim, leading Sigismondo to another death and a close brush with his own. Trailing after Eyre's sleuths is like making one's way through crowded fairgrounds-not much character development, but plenty of entertaining distractions.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.