Dirge for a Doge

JACKET NOTES:  The Serene Republic of Venice does not, in the 15th century, live up to its name. The city is frequently at war with the Turks and with Rome, assassins roam the streets, and fear of torture, rumoured to be carried out under the Doge's palace, holds innocent men in an iron grip.
When former mercenary Sigismondo and his scruffy attendant Benno come to Venice, they are quickly enmeshed in the affairs of the Ermolins, one of the Republic's most distinguished families. Niccolo, Lord Ermolin, has been murdered, and Sigismondo is retained to find the killer. Isabella, the Lord's aloof young widow, claims his son Marco had the opportunity, while another son, born of the black housekeeper, has motive. Could the killer have been nurtured in the victim's own palace?
Surprisingly, it's Pasquale Scalar, the son of the Doge of Venice, who is arrested and, faced with a master torturer, confesses. Few would fail to confess in such circumstances, though, and Sigismondo won't let the case rest. But his persistence will bring him to clash with the most ruthless men in Venice, and all his courage and ingenuity may not be enough to save him from the worst the city has to offer...
(© Headline Book Publishing)