The Book of Secrets – Anna Mazzola

Published By: Orion
Pages: 384
Released On: 21/03/2024

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…

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and Orion for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I do love an Anna Mazzola book. None have quite hit the heights that The Clockwork Girl met, for me, but they’re all still very enjoyable. She can do historical novels like very few.

I know nothing about 1600s Italy, and therefore Anna could have written anything and I’d have taken it as truth, but there’s so much detail here that you can tell the extent of her research. And it’s not just the detail in the crimes or the location, it’s the detail in the clothes, the food, the smells, the beliefs, the actions, the love. Everything is so precise, yet it doesn’t feel bogged down in detail like a historical non-fiction text might do, it only adds to the strength of the story.

There are a lot of characters, which, to begin with, were a little difficult to keep on top of. But I think some of that might be because I’m not used to reading a lot of Italian names, so I’m not as familiar with them. But it doesn’t have a negative effect on the story, and it didn’t last long. It’s soon so expertly woven that the names feel as natural as anything.

It definitely started with a bang. Some books take their time to get into, and that’s absolutely fine. But this was straight in, and when I looked down to see how far I was, I was only 9% in, and yet so much had happened, and I hoped it continued like this – which it did.

It’s not full of action, it’s not that kind of book, and I think it’s actually all the better for it. Anna has given time to her characters, to the environment they live and work in, to their relationships, more than a heavy plot and I am glad of that. I’m not saying the plot wasn’t interesting or worth reading, of course it was, but for me it was almost inconsequential to what Anna has created in terms of character.

We have three main POVs: we have Stefano, who is the lead character, I would say; he’s a new lawyer looking to prove that he can live up to his expectations. Then we have Anna, a married woman who is at the will of her violent husband. And then we have Girolama, a type of midwife, a fortune teller, who appears to be the mother figure for the women around her. The three POVs all work separately, but they also work very well off of each other to make this complex story work.

I suppose it is a whodunnit at heart, but it’s a subtle one. For me, it’s more about the power struggles and gender inequalities (which isn’t surprising considering it’s set in the 1600s), than the actual whodunnit aspect. It’s definitely a historical novel, of course, but it ponders some other genres. Is it a story about magic? Or science? Is it about spirits or humanity? About truth or lies? About fear and bravery?

It picks up on the fact that in those days, men were seen as the stronger ones, the ones in charge. But for me, it’s their attempts at showing their strength that weakens them, and in turn, makes the women the more powerful.

As hard as it is to believe, this is based on a true story, which makes it all that more fascinating.

It still hasn’t eclipsed The Clockwork Girl for me, although it’s probably the book that has come the closest. But that doesn’t make it any less of a really fantastic, clever, enjoyable, thrilling read.