Alyssa Palombo – Jill Grinberg Literary Management

Alyssa Palombo

Alyssa Palombo is an author of historical fiction. Her novels include The Violinist of Venice, The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel, and The Borgia Confessions. Her next book, The Assassin of Venice, will be published by Crooked Lane in June 2024. An avid reader, she is also a classically trained musician with a love of heavy metal and rock music. She graduated summa cum laude from Canisius College in 2011. When not traveling as much as she can, she lives and writes in Buffalo, NY.

Agent

Sam Farkas

The Assassin of Venice

A Renaissance courtesan must choose between love and duty in this high stakes 16th-century mystery, perfect for fans of Madeline Hunter and Rhys Bowen.

Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice’s famous courtesans, she’s perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn’t matter—only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question.Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there is nothing she won’t do to protect her city, for there is nothing she loves more.Almost nothing.She vowed to never fall in love again, but Valentina can’t help but give her heart to Bastiano Bragadin, a fellow assassin. But when Bastiano starts asking the wrong questions, Valentina receives a new assignment: kill him.Yet the more Valentina learns about the Council of Ten, the more she wonders if they are truly acting in the interest of the Venetian state, or using her for their own dark ambitions. If Valentina is to save Bastiano, she must untangle their conspiracy—with the help of her fellow courtesans—before it’s too late.

The Assassin of Venice is a captivating, sensual, high stakes read that brings 16th-century Venice to life, and draws on the fascinating real history of both Venetian cortigiane oneste—“honest courtesans”—and Renaissance Venice’s sprawling intelligence service.

Praise for The Assassin of Venice

“A tense, sexy work of historical fiction and political intrigue.” —Booklist, starred review

“A juicy tale of romantic suspense, elegantly appointed.” —Kirkus

“Alyssa Palombo brings the Renaissance to life in this mesmerizing story of a courtesan turned assassin. The beautiful but deadly Valentina entertains powerful men by day and moonlights for the shadowy Council of Ten by night, removing Venice’s enemies by poison or blade as required—but when the latest directive demands she eliminate the only man she has ever loved, Valentina is thrown into a desperate quandary. The Assassin of Venice is a lush, sumptuous tale to savor.” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

“Surprising, sexy, and sharp as a dagger’s blade, The Assassin of Venice plunges deep into the shadows of Venice’s Council of Ten and imagines a blood-drenched world where professional courtesans did its bidding—but only on their own terms. Valentina’s fearsome cleverness took my breath away.” —Allison Epstein, author of Let the Dead Bury the Dead

“The Assassin of Venice is a lightning-fast ride through the shadowy canals of Renaissance Venice, where secrets are traded like currency and power and passion collide. Alyssa Palombo weaves an unforgettable tale of seduction and betrayal with a tantalizing twist that will keep you up reading well past your bedtime. Packed full of vivid detail, it’s a mesmerizing portrait of 16th century Venice at its most decadent and dangerous.”
—Stephanie Storey, Los Angeles Times bestselling author of Oil and Marble

Publisher

Crooked Lane

Publication Date

June 18, 2024

Age Category

Adult

Genre

Commercial

Rights

Alcove Press