“An astonishingly accomplished debut,” says Geraldine Evans: “A murder mystery set in
fifteenth century Florence, with all the expected intrigues and machinations of
the time.”
Prolific British crime author Geraldine Evans reviews A Matter of Perspective:
“Based mainly around the building of a dome, the architectural wonder of the mediaeval world, the novel, although multi-viewpoint, mostly tells the story from that of Luca, a young country boy come to Florence for the first time to be apprenticed to his uncle, one of the superintendents working on the dome.
“It is during the inspection visit of Cardinal de Medici, that Luca finds the horribly mutilated body of a man, whose papers reveal his identity. His papers reveal something else, too. The murdered man's accusation that the dome's designer had stolen the innovative idea for its construction from him. Not only that, but that he and Lucia's friend and lover, Donatello, a talented sculptor, had dabbled in the black arts - no minor accusation in fifteenth century Italy.
“To clear his friends, Luca, sets out to solve the murder and discovers all the underhand machinations and deceptions that even a Machiavelli could wish for, putting his very life in danger.Along the way, Luca beds his first woman and becomes a man. So as well as a murder mystery and a wonderful voyage of discovery around mediaeval Florence, we also get a coming of age story.
“In its lovingly told descriptions of the building of the dome, A Matter of Perspective rivals Ken Follet's masterpiece, The Pillars of the Earth. In fact, I enjoyed it more than Follet's book. Thoroughly engaging and believable characters, this is an excellently-told story, fully deserving of its five stars.”
Buy your paperback copy from Amazon by clicking here. Or order up the Kindle version here.
Geraldine Evans’ 15-strong Rafferty& Llewellyn series features DI Joe Rafferty, a London-Irish, working-class, lapsed Catholic, who comes from a family who think – if he must be a policeman – he might at least have the decency to be a bent one. And her Casey & Catt series features DCI ‘Will’ Casey, a serious-minded, responsible policeman, whose ‘the Sixties never died’, irresponsible, drug-taking, hippie parents, pose particular problems of the embarrassing kind.
A great "modern" mystery in a fascinating historical setting, says Toby Sachs in an amazon.com customer review
"This is a great read. It has the bones and the page-turning pace of a contemporary murder mystery. But there is a whole further layer to enjoy in the setting, with Breckon bringing his characters vividly to life in Renaissance Florence. We get a peek into the intrigue surrounding the building of the largest dome in the world, and a colourful glimpse of 15th century Florence... it is truly a "classic" murder mystery. I read it virtually in one sitting... if you like a good mystery, you will enjoy this one."
Toby Sachs, from Chicago, Illinois, has just retired as Group Managing Director of mcgarrybowen, Adweek’s 2011 Agency of the Year.
Prolific British crime author Geraldine Evans reviews A Matter of Perspective:
“Based mainly around the building of a dome, the architectural wonder of the mediaeval world, the novel, although multi-viewpoint, mostly tells the story from that of Luca, a young country boy come to Florence for the first time to be apprenticed to his uncle, one of the superintendents working on the dome.
“It is during the inspection visit of Cardinal de Medici, that Luca finds the horribly mutilated body of a man, whose papers reveal his identity. His papers reveal something else, too. The murdered man's accusation that the dome's designer had stolen the innovative idea for its construction from him. Not only that, but that he and Lucia's friend and lover, Donatello, a talented sculptor, had dabbled in the black arts - no minor accusation in fifteenth century Italy.
“To clear his friends, Luca, sets out to solve the murder and discovers all the underhand machinations and deceptions that even a Machiavelli could wish for, putting his very life in danger.Along the way, Luca beds his first woman and becomes a man. So as well as a murder mystery and a wonderful voyage of discovery around mediaeval Florence, we also get a coming of age story.
“In its lovingly told descriptions of the building of the dome, A Matter of Perspective rivals Ken Follet's masterpiece, The Pillars of the Earth. In fact, I enjoyed it more than Follet's book. Thoroughly engaging and believable characters, this is an excellently-told story, fully deserving of its five stars.”
Buy your paperback copy from Amazon by clicking here. Or order up the Kindle version here.
Geraldine Evans’ 15-strong Rafferty& Llewellyn series features DI Joe Rafferty, a London-Irish, working-class, lapsed Catholic, who comes from a family who think – if he must be a policeman – he might at least have the decency to be a bent one. And her Casey & Catt series features DCI ‘Will’ Casey, a serious-minded, responsible policeman, whose ‘the Sixties never died’, irresponsible, drug-taking, hippie parents, pose particular problems of the embarrassing kind.
A great "modern" mystery in a fascinating historical setting, says Toby Sachs in an amazon.com customer review
"This is a great read. It has the bones and the page-turning pace of a contemporary murder mystery. But there is a whole further layer to enjoy in the setting, with Breckon bringing his characters vividly to life in Renaissance Florence. We get a peek into the intrigue surrounding the building of the largest dome in the world, and a colourful glimpse of 15th century Florence... it is truly a "classic" murder mystery. I read it virtually in one sitting... if you like a good mystery, you will enjoy this one."
Toby Sachs, from Chicago, Illinois, has just retired as Group Managing Director of mcgarrybowen, Adweek’s 2011 Agency of the Year.