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The Book of Secrets

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Crime Novel of the Year Award 2025!
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( 795 ratings, 116 reviews)
Brief Description
Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Crime Novel of the Year Award 2025! The thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola! 'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and mystery' ESSIE FOX 'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL 'A... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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The chilling, mesmerising and darkly delicious new novel from Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl and The House of Whispers, inspired by the Acqua Tofana poisonings in 17th century Italy. Perfect for fans of Jessie Burton, Laura Purcell and Stacey Halls.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Crime Novel of the Year Award 2025!

The thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!

'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and mystery' ESSIE FOX

'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL

'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES

Rome, 1659.

Some secrets are worth dying for...

Girolama Spana lives west of the river Tiber in a house marked by a lily and a garden full of herbs. Many women in Rome seek her help - although they would never admit it - eager for her mysterious balms, her love potions, and her ability to predict their futures.

Even against the splendour of the Eternal City, Giroloma's secret recipes are the women's most precious possessions - and their husbands' most feared. So when men are reported dying in unnatural numbers, the gaze of Stefano Bracchi, prosecutor for the papal authorities, falls quickly on Girolama and her suspected sorcery.

Soon she will face the greatest danger she has ever known - but Girolama has always vowed that in life there are secrets we write down, secrets we pass on, and some that we carry to our deaths...

The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.

Praise for The Book of Secrets:

'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER

'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN

'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA

'This gripping novel blends a colourful historical setting with the pace of a crime thriller' WOMAN'S WEEKLY

'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD

'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR

'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN

'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT

'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge' HELEN FIELDS

'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!' D V BISHOP

'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN

'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love.'

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781398714328

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 July 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Orion

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 269g

Pages: 384

About the Author

Anna Mazzola is an award-winning and critically acclaimed novelist. Her debut novel, The Unseeing, won an Edgar Allan Poe Award, and her third novel, The Clockwork Girl, was a Sunday Times historical fiction pick for 2022.

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