I was and still am very intrigued by the premise of this book. The setting, the characters, the creative decision to make the detectives painters of the time, everything was set up for an interesting reading experience. And while I did find this book to be interesting, I believe I have to agree Ruth another reviewer who stated it’s too long, too detailed, and requires a lot of effort to get through - too much effort, in my opinion, to be truly enjoyable. I think this book would have benefited from less detail in some places and more intrigue.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I love history and all things Borgia. I loved this book. It had me drawn in and captivated for days! Two thumbs up!

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I loved the plot of this book and the characters but I did not it a little hard to follow at times.

The story may appeal to those who like historical fiction, particularly that section of history involving the Borgias. At every turn the Borgias generally throw up some interesting tidbit hitherto unknown and this adds to the general interest in the family.

1497 Pope Alexander VI in power and surrounded by acolytes all of his own choosing. When one of his own gets murdered
and the suspect is a court painter all hell breaks loose.

An intriguing story set amongst the backstabbing and political intrigue of the Vatican at the time.

I wanted to love this book. The Borgias lend themselves to intrigue and should make for gripping historical fiction. This one didn't quite work for me. The build up to the actual mystery was slow and the victim was so unsympathetic I didn't particularly care. Likewise, I think you were supposed to feel sympathy for the murderer, but the character had appeared so infrequently that I was left shrugging it off.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I love history and have long been fascinated by the Borgias so this is what drew me in

I found this engrossing. Wonderfully researched and gripping. The language paints a vivid picture
Loved everything about it

A gripping and highly entertaining thriller that kept me hooked.
I liked the well researched and vivid historical background, the fleshed out characters and the mystery part.
It was a good read that I recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Borgias Spy is out first week of September 2020. I was given to read and review this book by Netgalley.

I love history. I am interested and fascinated by Borgias. And reading this book I actually realised that 'first Italian Mafia Family' was not Italian at all. They were Spanish.

I have to warn readers. The book is long. In some places the book is very long or too long. But if you game enough to spend time and energy on all details from colours of frescoes to musings of the Borgia Pope to get to the bottom of 'whodunit', this book is for you.

Favourite son of Pope Rodrigo Borgia is murdered on the dark night in even darker valley. Who is the guilty party? And how to find perpertrator in the city full of enemies, enemies that Borgia family made along the way of their rise to power and riches.

Making painters and sculptors into detectives and sleuths was an interesting idea. I enjoyed looking at Michealangelo throug a different angle...

However, all in all, I found this book too long, too trying my patience. Suspense was at low level throughout the book. Too many details, too many words and too little action.

The book is beautiful, but thick. The story is fictitious but peppered with real personalities. The Borgias for all their greed and evil are shown in this book to be tiresome aging toothless tigers... I've read better impressions of the family in other books.

A very solid 3.8* reading for me, historic fiction of famous popeship of Borgias, their not so sacred way of living, intrigues, manipulations, relationships, and drama surrounding this family and the way the Vatican works.

The book was very easy to follow, as we are following characters who are very well known to history and have been presented multiple times by many forms of media, we already have an idea of who they were and what their morals were, hence I guess the author didn't go to too deep to present back story of each character, which, honestly worked for me, not sure how it will work for readers who do not have an advanced or introductory knowledge of the era and main characters.
We have several other cultural figures in the work, which speculatively have been connected with the Borgias, which gives some spice to the work. The work also interestingly depicted the attitude of Vatican power families to Spaniards in Italy, which was a very valid historical reference.
I sincerely appreciate the references to real historical events, as well as use of Italian language, even with minimal use of words, the work becomes so much more engaging and interesting. And of course, the abuse of power, tendnecies to keep the family in power, so beautifully presented here, overall a very engaging read.

An intriguing tale based on one of the most notorious families in Europe. 1497. Pope Alexander VI Borgia is in power in Italy. He has positioned those closest to him in seats of power. When one of his loved ones is murdered a court painter finds himself tangled up in accusations as the culprit. Very interesting tale especially for anyone with an interest in the Borgias. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

I love both fiction and non-fiction books featuring the Borgias - so I was looking forward to this story set around the time of the murder of Giovanni (Juan) Borgia.

It was a fascinating take on the mysterious and unsolved murder of Giovanni - there will be no spoilers here. Creative use of the artists of the day to contribute to the narrative for the search of those responsible. This also provided the reader with a glimpse at the intrigue and corruption that was prevalent at the Papal Court (and not just under the Borgias).

The thing that irritated me the most was that my edition needed serious editing / formatting - you finish one sentence in one place only to start the next sentence somewhere else with an entirely different character - it was very annoying and required the need to re-read paragraphs to ensure you knew where you were in the storyline. My edition also had some passages highlighted.

If these formatting issues are dealt with, this will make for a very good read. There is also an authors's note at the end that will be of interest to readers.

The Borgias Spy by Andrea Frediani explores a period in the Papal States that was full of political intrigue. I admit that I know next to nothing about the Papal States and it was interesting to read about this period and the sheer decadence exhibited by those in power in the Church. In general, the Church then operated much like a court and it was such an eye-opener reading about it!

Complete disregard of biblical teachings aside, the central story is a classic whodunnit of the actual murder of the Pope’s son. I pretty much guessed the murderer halfway through the book but it was still entertaining reading how each of the characters were muddling about, trying to make sense of what was happening.

It was quite clever to use artists as the investigative force since overtly they might not have that much influence in the political circles, yet they were easily able to gain access. This read a little as a class critique which I appreciated it. It was these little critiques peppered throughout the book that really shone for me.

All in all, an entertaining read! Plus now, I’m interested to find out more about this time period.

Diversity meter:
-

1497 Giovanni Borgia the favourite son of Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, is found dead, stabbed. Pinturicchio, painter to the pope, enlists the help of his fellow painters to discover information that would lead to the killer. Giovanni's bodyguard, Ramiro, is determined to avenge his death.
Unfortunately the story really didn't engage my interest and with such unlikeable main characters I didn't really care who the 'guilty' party was
ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Spy of the Borgias’ is a fascinating tale written by Andrea Frediani and set during the reign of Pope Alexander VI Borgia in 1497. Borgia has come to power ibn a manner typical of the Borgia family – through corruption and political manipulation. Now, after the murder of his son, Giovanni Borgia, the city of Rome is being torn apart in a bid to track down the killer. The painter Pinturicchio decides to start his own investigation. He has a personal connection to the Pope, having previously worked on the paintings (frescoes) for the Vatican, he is curious and decides to speak with his colleagues and friends.
One of my favourite aspects of this book was the presence of actual historic figures, such as Borgia, Michelangelo Buonarroti, d'Amelia and Perugino. With the addition of these figures, Frediani has creaed a vivid and rich world to set his story.
This is a fast-paced story but at times seemed somewhat over the top and then I had to remind myself of the characters and settings – where the infamous Borgia family are concerned, there is little that is actual too far fetched. An enjoyable, tale of unravelling a centirues old murder mystery.

I felt transposed back in time with this story. Very realistic setting. I enjoyed the plot and storyline.

Breathless and thrilling.

Andrea Frediani brings to life an intriguing mystery with a gripping telling of the events surrounding/following the murder of Giovanni Borgia. It was easy to lose myself in the rich world created and populated by familiar and new faces as well as twists. I found the portrayal of all of the Borgias fascinating. They came to life as real and flawed, as I would expect, but with some unexpected traits as well that gave them more dimension.

I loved the use of the real artists in adding spice to the narrative. Most especially the addition of the character Isabella put in a new layer that gave a human element. If I had to pick a favorite character, it would be her, and considering the epic characters in the story that's some feat. There was a part with her and Bernardino toward the end that was beautiful in so many ways.

Speaking of the end, as things neared the reveal, I was utterly enthralled, white knuckling my kindle. Fans of historical fiction are in for a thrilling treat.