Pan Mac scoops historical crime novel in two-book deal

Pan Macmillan has landed the first novel in a historical crime fiction series from D V Bishop.

Alex Saunders, fiction editor at Pan Macmillan acquired world rights to City of Vengeance, which won the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland 2018, in a two-book deal from Jenny Brown at Jenny Brown Associates. It is scheduled for publication in February 2021.

The book is set against the backdrop of the Medici dynasty in 1530s Renaissance Florence, following the case of a prominent Jewish moneylender who is found murdered. Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the city's most powerful criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder.

Its synopsis explains: “In the course of his investigations, Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the ruler of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city. But a rival officer of the court is trying to uncover the secrets of Aldo’s private life to bring him down. Can Aldo stop the conspiracy before anyone else dies, or will his own secrets destroy him first?”

Saunders said: “I am so excited to be welcoming D V Bishop to the Pan Macmillan list. He has written a wonderful historical thriller set in Renaissance Florence and from the moment I started reading I was impressed by his confident storytelling. City of Vengeance is an explosive start to an electrifying new series, and Cesare Aldo is a remarkable character who stays with you long after the final page has been turned.”

Bishop, a screenwriter and dramatist, added: “I’m proud and honoured to sign with Pan Macmillan, publisher of such wonderful writers as C J Sansom, Ann Cleeves, and the late, great Colin Dexter. There couldn’t be a better home for Cesare Aldo as he investigates murders, the Medici, and all manner of Machiavellian machinations among the palazzos and piazzas of Renaissance Florence.”