The Fortune Keeper By Deborah Swift Blog Tour! @swiftstory @maryanneyarde #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub #FortuneKeeper #HistoricalFiction

 

Book Title: The Fortune Keeper

Series: Italian Renaissance Series

Author: Deborah Swift

Publication Date: 24th November 2022

Publisher: Quire Books

Page Length: 412 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Count your nights by stars, not shadows ~ Italian Proverb

Winter in Renaissance Venice

Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this occupation, fearing it will lead her into danger. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.

Giulia's real name is Giulia Tofana, renowned for her poison Aqua Tofana, and she is in hiding from the Duke de Verdi's family who are intent on revenge for the death of their brother. Giulia insists Mia should live quietly out of public view. If not, it could threaten them all. But Mia doesn't understand this, and rebels against Giulia, determined to go her own way.

When the two secret lives collide, it has far-reaching and fatal consequences that will change Mia's life forever.

Set amongst opulent palazzos and shimmering canals, The Fortune Keeper is the third novel of adventure and romance based on the life and legend of Giulia Tofana, the famous poisoner.

'Her characters are so real they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf' - Historical Novel Society

NB This is the third in a series but can stand alone as it features a new protagonist. Other two books are available if reviewers want them.

Trigger warnings: 

Murder and violence in keeping with the era.

This book is available to read on Kindle Unlimited.

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Deborah Swift

 

Deborah Swift is a USA TODAY bestselling author who is passionate about the past. Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer. Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. She divides her time between writing and teaching. After taking a Masters Degree in Creative Writing, she enjoys mentoring aspiring novelists and has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com 

 

Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today. 

 

Recent books include The Poison Keeper, about the Renaissance poisoner Giulia Tofana, which was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Readers Award, and a Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medal, and The Cipher Room set in WW2 and due for publication by Harper Collins next Spring.

 

Twitter https://twitter.com/swiftstory

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Website www.deborahswift.com 

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Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deborah-swift

Amazon http://author.to/DeborahSwift 

My Thoughts

The Fortune Keeper by Deborah Swift is the third in the Italian Renaissance series. It is about Giulia Tofana who was an Italian professional poisoner. She would make her concoction, Aqua Tofana and give it to sell it to women who wanted to be rid of their husbands. 

The story is also about Mia Caiozzi a young woman who was 'adopted' by Giula and her husband. Mia is married but her husband has absconded to who knows where. Mia is interested in Astronomy, but she has to study with a mentor as it is not done that a woman goes against the Catholic Church and study a science that it not believed in.

Because Giulia is in hiding, details in previous book, she decides to live in Venice in the Jewish Ghetto to be safe from anyone who is after her. She is being hunted by the Duke de Verdi's family as they believe she killed her husband, a de Verdi.

An assassin is after her and he goes on a killing spree, disquised in a mask, he is able to hunt down his victims, and they all have a connection to Giulia. Mia had attended a lecture about astronomy and met a gondolier, who eventually helps Mia escape the killer.

This story that is set in Venice is very descriptive of the time and just the area. Canals, gondolas, masked people. A story that Deborah has done an extensive amount of research. From poisons to astronomy, the reader gets a sense of actually being there, to smell the water of the canals to the political intrigue that abounds.

I did not read the first two books; I feel that I really did not need to as The Fortune Keeper is a standalone novel. I would like to know more about Giulia so I will most likely read the first two books in the series. That said, I will give this book 5 stars. I love a good historical novel that has me immersed in the story from the start.

I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.

Tour Schedule: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2022/08/blog-tour-her-castilian-heart-by-anna.html