Under the guise of "Beto", 17-year-old Isabetta Bastian runs her father's successful shipping business. Her older brother sails their commercial galley between Venice and Lisbon, exporting luxury textiles and importing exotic spices obtained by the Portuguese. A heinous crime shatters her ideal life, and a risky attempt to save the family business ends in failure. Now, she is forced to live with the harsh consequences.
Resentment brews until she finally seeks the advice of her sophisticated neighbor, Veronica Franco. With the savvy courtesan's help, Isabetta devises a scheme to avenge her loved ones, but will her fall from grace be worth a brilliant vendetta?
Set amid sumptuous palazzos and lurking decay, this Renaissance mystery exposes the dark side of humanity.
I perform CPR on history & breathe life into the past...
Hello and welcome! After obtaining my Art History degree from UMASS Dartmouth in 2000, I was hired by an American university to coordinate educational programs throughout Italy. In 2007, I settled in Florence to work as a museum guide. I've been a full-time author since my first book (SABINA) hit #1 in 2014.
My specialty is historical fiction set in Italy, although I do write different genres. I'm a globetrotter and do my utmost to visit every city and historical site mentioned in my novels in order to provide readers with vibrant descriptions.
NOTE: Unfortunately, goodreads does not update book covers, so some of these here are outdated. Please visit my Amazon page by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/C.-De-Melo/e/B...