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Michael Ennis

The MALICE of

     FORTUNE

Author:      Michael Ennis

Published: 2012

Genre:        Historical Fiction

Cover:        Paperback

Pages:         388

Review:

Michael Ennis, award winning writer and author of non-fiction, published his third historical novel, “The Malice of Fortune”, in 2012.  Ennis previously published two historical novels, “The Duchess of Milan”, and the “Byzantium”, and writes for the “Texas Monthly”.

“The Malice of Fortune”, an intriguing murder mystery, begins in the year, 1502, during the Renaissance, and takes place in Rome, and the redoubt of Imola Italy.   Damiata, a Roman courtesan, bargains with Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), for the life of her son five year old, Giovanni, as she agrees to Borgia’s strict conditions in helping him discover the murderer of his favored son, Juan Borgia, Duke of Gandia.

Following Borgia’s design, Damiata travels to Imola, with her adopted daughter, Camilla.

In Imola, Damiata meets Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli, the emissary of Florence, appointed to the court of Duke Valentino, Cesare Borgia.

 

The novel expounds on the political machinations of Valentino and his ruthless rivals as the plot intertwines around the serial murders of young women.  Leonardo da Vinci, scientist, engineer, architect and  artist, attempts to solve the murders and introduces his map of Imola, the first map ever, made of precise measurements.  Niccolo and Damiata pursue the path of the killer or killers along with da Vinci.  Niccolo and Damiata, working in close contact, begin to tempt fate in their undeniable attraction for one another.

 

The belief in Fortune, or destiny, stemming from the Roman Goddess, Fortuna, hangs over the characters at every turn, influencing almost, their every decision.

Intricate writing, richly detailed of the era.  Ennis spares little detail of the gruesome murders.

© 2014 by The Book Fair

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