Lucrezia Borgia and the Mother of Poisons

I thought this book started slow and then really picked up towards the end. By the time I got near the end, I was growling at family members to stay away until I finished the book. I am a fan of the Roselynde Chronicles and thought this was a great mystery. I loved how Lucrezia had a brain and used it. I loved how her relationship with her husband evolved through the course of the book. I enjoyed how Lucrezia was a realist about politics of her time. This is a book I will recommend to recommend to friends with similar tastes.

I had some real doubts when I first read on a historical mystery list that Ms. Gellis was going to be doing a series of mysteries with Lucrezia Borgia as the detective. Even though in past decades writers have sent a great many famous historical figures off sleuthing after murderers, Lucrezia Borgia has a couple of strikes against her. One is that the popular image of her as a serial poisoner still lives. Another is that even if this image was the work of her enemies (as it was) she still lived a very circumscribed life as the daughter of a Pope and the wife of a Duke's heir. However Roberta Gellis has very neatly got around both of these problems. High born women were watched closely if there was no legitimate heir yet and Gellis does a great job of showing how she could have coped with a life I would describe as claustrophobic. She places the murder in the Duke's court but also within Lucrezia's sphere. She further keeps the cast to a manageable size by concentrating on a few trusted companions and servants and keeps the time period where the story occurs into a few days. Meanwhile there is a sense of urgency because there is always the fear that if she does not act fast her father or her brother might step in to solve her problem (and incidentally make it worse.)This is a very pleasant read, although I do have to say that Lucrezia's relationship with her husband is a little-- well, peculiar, although it's not outside the bounds of possiblity. While it has a satisfying ending there are some loose ends that hopefully will be tied in later books in this seris.

To escape rumors of incest and poisoning Lucrezia Borgia flees from Rome to Ferrara where she enters into marriage with Alfonso, the duke of Ferrara. After only a few months of approval she is again accused of poisoning, this time of Bianca, one of her ladies in waiting and Alfonso's mistress. To prove her innocence and reinstate her reputation and regain the former approval, she must find the true poisoner. Gellis can be called he queen of historical fiction. She is unsurpassed in her field of renaissance mystery, The research into this period is meticulous. She has successfully evoked the sense of time and place. The plot is well constructed with a unique set of characters. The suspense is well sustained with an unexpected denoement.

Lucrezia has but recently returned to court from the Convent of Corpus Domini when her husband, Alfonso d'Este, publicly accuses her of having had a hand in poisoning Bianca Tedaldo -- one of the unwanted ladies that her father-in-law, the Duke, had installed as her ladies-in-waiting, and Alfonso's (or so he claims) latest mistress. At first, Lucrezia is devastated at the accusation; but then she begins to reflect: Bianca was hardly the type of lady that Alfonso would ever be attracted to, even if she was rather pretty -- Alfonso prefers his women coarser and cleverer, and Bianca wasn't exactly bright. So why was Alfonso accusing her of murder? Realizing that people were going to start whispering about her all over again (because of who she is and all the scandal attached to her name) and suspecting her of murder (and worse), Lucrezia is determined to discover who murdered Bianca and why. And if she can discover exactly what her enigmatic husband (who she has began to develop unexpected feelings for) is up to, so much the better..."Lucrezia Borgia and the Mother of Poisons" proved to be a fascinating read. With vivid descriptions and well chosen phrases, Roberta Gellis brings to life the vivid colour and pageantry of the d'Este court at Ferrara. Ms Gellis's grasp of what was going on (both historically and politically) was very evident as well. And these were the bits of the book that I really enjoyed and what made reading this book such a pleasure. However, while the pacing was fairly tight and the suspense level rather high, mystery-wise, things only really picked up about three-quarter way through the book. But this is definitely something that will not trouble too many people, unless, that is, you're someone who tries to solve the mystery at hand before the authour reveals all. However, "Lucrezia and the Mother of Poisons" was an engrossing and riveting read, worth touting as a worthwhile read.

Lucrezia Borgia. Her very name evokes images of evil incarnate, but are they accurate? Author Roberta Gellis believes not. In this mystery, set in the Renaissance court of Duke Ercole d'Este, Lucrezia's new husband, Duke Ercole's eldest son, publicly accuses her of poisoning one of her unwanted ladies-in-waiting. Shocked by the accusation and to prove her innocence, Lucrezia sets out in search of the culprit. Lucrezia's many relationships-with her husband, his family, her own family, and her ladies-in-waiting-are well-drawn.The author's previous mysteries, like many of her romances before them, were set in medieval England, and brought that time and place clearly to life. This new mystery, hopefully the beginning of another series, does the same for Renaissance Italy. I enjoyed this book very much, and recommend it to readers of historical mysteries.