The Knife Maker of Venice

A young Englishman captured by slavers must survive the snakepit that is seventeenth-century Venice.

1604. As pirates seeking slaves to sell in the markets of North Africa terrorise the coasts of Europe, headstrong Richard Sheriff and his sister Elizabeth are torn from their Devonshire home and thrust into a waking nightmare.

Richard’s skills as a blacksmith see him fetch a high price, but the pirate captain has other plans for Elizabeth, and once they are separated, Richard has no idea of his sister's fate. They must both learn to survive on a deadly voyage into the unknown.

Sold into servitude in Venice: glittering, vicious city of secrets, he is apprenticed to a knife maker. Richard’s talents soon win him renown... but haunted by his sister’s absence, he vows never to stop looking for her, knowing she would do the same for him.

First he must survive that city of ghosts. Will the siblings live to see each other again, or will they join the myriads lost to Venice, where life is cheap, profit is all, and escape nigh-on impossible?

A powerful historical adventure perfect for fans of Kate Mosse, Ken Follett and Robert Harris.

Reviews for The Knife Maker of Venice

'A page-turner of the highest order, perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden, Dan Jones and Giles Kristian' Daily Express

‘A proper edge-of-the-seat page-turner... vivid and gripping. A superb novel’ Elizabeth Chadwick

'Thick with tension, ablaze with fear and thrilling action, yet driven by a love so strong, I couldn’t look away. Gilman has created a mighty evocation of seventeenth-century Venice.' Kate Furnivall

'An unforgettable adventure' Clare Whitfield

'Relentless suspense against the backdrop of a stunningly realized Renaissance-era Venice' Boyd and Beth Morrison

'Fantastic... A dark, compelling story that cuts through like a blade [and] grips from the very first page.' S.W. Perry