The Book of Secrets: The dark and dazzling new title from the bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl!

(Hardback)

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

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

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

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

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

'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR

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

Rome, 1659.

Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.

To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out.

Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...

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

Praise for Anna Mazzola:

'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

Reviews

Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. I absolutely loved it * JAMES OSWALD *
Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric. A powerful story of women fighting to gain control of their lives by any means they can * ANDREW TAYLOR *
Dark, viscerally-atmospheric, richly-imagined. The Book of Secrets is steeped in period detail, political intrigue and moral murkiness. Few writers bring the sordid stench of history to life quite like Anna Mazzola. * TAMMY COHEN *
The Book of Secrets is a gripping historical thriller where the readers' dilemma is that we are rooting for both sides - the investigator and the women he is hunting. A hugely entertaining read, but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. * LIZ NUGENT *
Beautiful, elegant, sharp, witty, poignant and intense, The Book of Secrets is a fantastically atmospheric evocation of C17th Rome, with all its grime, claustrophobia, injustice and shocking violence against women. * CAROLINE LEA *

Author Bio

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.