100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Thanks for supporting our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore ❤️ Overnight NZ-wide Delivery 🚀

The Book of Secrets

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Crime Novel of the Year Award 2025!
By Anna Mazzola
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.06 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 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
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Book of Secrets. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

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

Collections

Anna Mazzola Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction

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.

Also by Anna Mazzola

View all
  • The Clockwork Girl
    'Historical fiction with a fantastical twist, done with verve and skill' IAN RANKIN 'An atmospheric and constantly surprising thriller' SUNDAY TIMES 'Kept me guessing until the end. An absolute masterpiece' JENNIFER SAINT 'A deliciously dark historical novel of thrilling originality' ESSIE FOX 'Spellbinding, gripping, immersive and deliciously gothic' ERIN KELLY 'Evocative, chilling, compelling' TAMMY COHEN 'Breathtakingly good' ABIR MUKHERJEE Paris,...
    By Anna Mazzola
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Historical Fiction

View all
  • The Parisian Chapter
    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and The Librarians of Rue de Picardie comes a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who lands a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and writes her own Parisian chapter.'Stirring and rich with detail' New York Times...
    By Janet Skeslien Charles
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Inferno
    AD 60. Nero Claudius Caesar is Emperor. He is feared for his temper. He is known to be intoxicated by the power he wields. And why not? The Roman Empire stretches from the wilds of Britain to the deserts of Parthia. Nero is god of all he surveys. Yet dangerous traitors lie close at hand. Generals commanding legions. Senators whispering...
    By Conn Iggulden
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Circle of Days
    From the master of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his...
    By Ken Follett
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Soldier's Daughter
    The heart-stopping new blockbuster by the bestselling author of The Fallen Woman. Violet Nash has grown up in the shadows of her father Charlie's shattered dreams. It's been years since he walked away from the battlefields of France, a WWI hero but his heart in tatters, only to see it broken all over again in the worst way possible. In...
    By Fiona McIntosh
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Lost Bookshop
    Evie Woods' stunning new novel The Story Collector is available now. The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ On a quiet street in...
    By Evie Woods
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • All the Diamonds in Paris
    Kristin Harmel is firmly in the top echelon of WW2 storytellers - HEATHER MORRIS A master storyteller - SANTA MONTEFIORE The best at sweeping historical drama - KELLY HARMS A dazzling diamond of a novel - HAZEL GAYNOR * Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, descended from a family that has spent centuries stealing from the unkind and...
    By Kristin Harmel
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Listeners
    ‘By turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling’ CHRIS WHITAKER, bestselling author of All the Colours of the Dark The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss'...
    By Maggie Stiefvater
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Song of Achilles
    The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a brilliantly crafted retelling of the ancient Greek epic of Achilles and Patroclus, transforming the classical myth into a profoundly moving love story. Set against the richly depicted backdrop of Greece during the heroically tumultuous age, the narrative follows Patroclus, an awkward and exiled young prince, who is taken to the court...
    By Madeline Miller
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Mythos
    Mythos by Stephen Fry is a compelling retelling of the classic Greek myths, reimagined with a wit and elegance that only Fry can deliver. This volume transports the reader to a world where mortals intertwine with the divine, and the timeless tales unfold in a spellbinding narrative that captures the imagination. From the cosmogony—the birth of the cosmos—to the exploits...
    By Stephen Fry
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Four Winds
    Kristin Hannah is a classic storyteller and The Four Winds sees her at the top of her game - Matt Haig Powerful and compelling - Delia Owens, number one international bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing A story of love, family, unbreakable bonds, bravery and hope. I loved this book so much! - Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Lost Apothecary
    Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardised when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking...
    By Sarah Penner
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Limestone Road
    From the deserts of Egypt to the rolling hills of South Australia, The Limestone Road is a captivating novel about one soldier's courageous journey home. In the summer of 1944, returning soldiers Canning Christie and his father Michael arrive in South Australia from the desert sands of North Africa. Canning carries the trauma of war and a fractured memory of...
    By Nicole Alexander
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

The Latest at Book Hero

View all