Octavo
“Listeners are drawn into a complex story with two time frames. Part of it takes place in Leonardo da Vinci’s world, and part of it in the world of today. The narrators capture the characters’ essences…Listeners will be riveted as they follow the two storylines and gain a deeper appreciation for da Vinci’s genius. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
AudioFile
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Scarlett is a university graduate with a master's degree in biophysics. Artie is a retired professor of art history. They have been hired by a wealthy collector to authenticate a cache of paintings discovered under the floorboards of an Italian townhouse. The two women take an instant dislike to each other.
The calculus shifts when they stumble on something unexpected-a manuscript written by Leonardo da Vinci's last pupil. It's an astonishing firsthand account of the great master as he grapples with a murder at the prestigious Aldine Press. Unless he can solve the mystery, his notebooks may never get published.
Scarlett and Artie fear a similar fate might await the manuscript. If their client gets his acquisitive hands on it, he will bury it deep in his vault and the world will once again be deprived of Leonardo's genius.
They put aside their differences and make a pact: they decide to steal it. They land a publisher, change their names, disguise their looks, and set off across northern Italy in a frantic race to publish the manuscript and disappear for good.
But have they underestimated the resolve of their powerful client?
Praise