Secrecy (Thomson) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Chillingly brilliant and sinister…masterly.
Financial Times (UK)
 
Bewitching…Intensely atmospheric…Superb.
Daily Mail (UK)
 
Scene after scene trembles with breath-stopping tension on the edge of bliss or dread. No one else writes quite like this in Britain today.
Observer (UK)

Beautifully evocative prose...makes this unusual historical novel truly memorable. In 1691, a mysterious artist known as Zummo...is summoned to Florence by Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany.... [P]lot twists take a back seat to the complex picture Thomson gives of his oddball protagonist, a man given to wandering around carrying “little theaters filled with...the dead and dying” in the name of art.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Thomson...sets his new work in 17th-century Florence, drawing on the life of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, a Sicilian sculptor granted patronage by the grand duke of Tuscany to create a replica of his wife in wax. Given the cultural climate of Florence and the looming threat of the Roman Inquisition, it is a dangerous commission.... A page-turning historical thriller by one of Britain's finest writers. —Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH
Library Journal


Thomson brings Renaissance-era Florence to life with rich descriptions and scenic locales. Readers who have toured Florence will enjoy revisiting the sites in the mind’s eye, and historical fiction fans in general will relish the virtual trip brimming with mystery and intrigue.
Booklist


Thomson takes us to 17th-century Florence, which by definition seems to be full of corrupt politicians, unscrupulous clergy and aspiring artists—and this, of course, long after the Renaissance has ended. We begin with a dialogue between Italian sculptor Gaetano Zummo...[whose] reminiscences take him back some 25 years.... Thomson succeeds on a number of levels here, for the novel works as a mystery, as a love story, as a historical novel and, more abstractly, as an exploration of aesthetic theory.
Kirkus Reviews