Customer Reviews

The Queen's Gambit: A Leonardo da Vinci Mystery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My assumption about a mystery series featuring Leonardo da Vinci conjured up visions of the wise and white-haired Leonardo using his vast years of knowledge and genius to wrestle with mysteries and solve crimes. However, I was delighted to find instead in this book a fresh look at Leonardo as he was in his handsome, russet-haired prime while employed as court engineer to the Duke of Milan.

The book's narrator is Leonardo's young apprentice Dino, whose master is charged by the Duke to solve a murder that occurs during a living chess game that provides the book's motif. Dino is tasked by his Master to undertake various assignments and don several disguises to help Leonardo gather clues, spy on suspects, and uncover dangerous secrets. Along the way, we also learn a surprising secret regarding Dino's true identity.

The narration colorfully evokes Milan during the Renaissance, contrasting the pageantry of court life with an apprentice's lowly station. We follow Dino's unfolding tale through a labyrinth of colorful characters who reveal their all-too-human strengths and failings. As Leonardo is viewed through Dino's eyes, he retains an important element of mystery himself, though we are given enough of his personality and genius, his powers of deduction, and his amazing inventions to make him come alive in this intriguing tale.

My hope when I read any historical mystery is for the setting to be fresh and vivid, to experience the story through appealing characters, to enjoy a page-turning plot, and to learn something fascinatingly new. In all these ways, this well-written book succeeds and provides a delightful read.

A captivating mystery novel that unfolds in the magnificent Sforza castle of Renaissance Milan. The fast moving plot is filled with surprising twists and turns, making the book hard to put down. Besides the suspense and intrigue, one feels drawn into a colorful panorama of castle life filled with vivid characters from high ranking nobility to skilled workmen to humble servants. Of greatest interest is the unique life of the genius Leonardo da Vinci with his young apprentices, with details of their everyday tasks of mixing paints, preparing frescos, making brushes and the like. This book is not only a marvelous mystery but also a rich and entertaining cultural experience.

From the parenthetical (a Leonardo da Vinci mystery) it seems clear that the publisher and author of this book intend to make it into a franchise. I certainly hope so, because the writing sparkles and really brings to life Renaissance Italy. The book is set in the period of Leonardo da Vinci's life in which he was the chief engineer and artist at the court of Milan. Events are told from the point of view of one of Leonardo's young apprentices, Dino, who has the misfortune to find the dead body of the cousin of the Duke of Milan when he goes missing during a living chess match which has been staged by Leonardo for the entertainment of the court.

Leonardo and Dino interview suspects and search for clues, and we are taken into the world of northern Italian nobility, artisans, and peasantry, as the two investigators turn the castle, the Sforza family crypt, and the town of Milan upside down trying to find the murderer before he or she can kill again. In reading this book, besides being enormously entertained, I learned about the history and strategy of chess, how art was created during the Renaissance, how clothing was made in the Renaissance, how Leonardo da Vinci lived and worked and a host of other things that made the time period come alive for me, which is all you can really ask of historical fiction. I would definitely have given this book 5 stars had the ending not gotten a little too complicated for its own good. And since I fully expect and look forward to reading more from this author a small note to her -- try not to introduce so many paragraphs with the words "So saying..." it was the one distraction in what was otherwise absolutely beautiful writing. I can't wait for more in this series.

This is the kind of book that makes you wish not only for a follow-up book, but that you already had it so you could jump right in.

The story, the characters, the setting and the writing are just superb. This is what I picture when I see or hear the phrase "a good book." That's just what it is, a really, really good book. I can't even imagine how you could possibly be disappointed in this book.

One of the little gems of this mystery novel is the realization that there are really 3 mysteries - 2 normal and one more "meta." The first is the whodunit? murder mystery. The second is whether (and how) anyone will discover the secret about the narrator of the book, the apprentice.

The third mystery appears when the author so perfectly captures those moments of belief from the Renaissance ("his humors were out of balance") and the modern reader has the intriguing puzzle of figuring out what's really going on with modern day understanding. They don't detract in any way from the book, but add a wonderfully neat set of minor little, "Hmmm, that's what they used to think back then, but today that'd be..." that reoccur at least 3 or 4 times throughout the story, and just add all the more to enjoyment.

I highly recommend this book, and like all the reviewers to date, hope this is only the beginning of a series.

This was a very good historical mystery with a lot about Da Vinci and some incidental chess. You don't have to know anything about chess to enjoy it. I collect chess fiction and consider this a "keeper".

This is are wonderful mystery set back in time and Leonardo da Vinci (the artist and inventer) is the detective. I love this Leonardo, he is so real and what I always thought he would be...incredibly intelligent, insightful, very messy, disorganized and a bit bipolar. There are many twists and turns that keep you guessing about who committed the murder. The character development and visual imaginary are outstanding. The pictures build in your mind with beautiful colors and attention to detail. You will love the characters, they will become your friends and you will cheer for their success. Hurray for Diane Stuckart...what an amazing writer! She has a tremendous mind and style. I can't wait to start reading the second book in the series.

#1 in the Leonardo da Vinci historical mystery series, set in 1483 Milan. Told from the point of view of one of Leonardo's apprentices, Delfina della Fazia, an eighteen year old girl who has disguised herself as a boy named Dino. Female apprentices are not allowed, and Delfina wanted nothing more than to be an artist so with her father's help, she escapes her small home village and an arranged marriage to run off to Milan seeking apprenticeship with Leonardo.

During a live chess match in which one of the players disappears, Leonardo asks "Dino" to go find the Conte di Ferrara, who was playing one of the bishops. The Conte is found, all right--with a knife in his back in one of the gardens! Dino tells Leonardo and they begin a charade in which Dino assumes the role of the bishop in the chess match while Leonardo explains to the Duke why his game is held up and the Duke charges Leonardo with solving the crime. Which he eventually does, with "Dino's" help--but only after a couple more bodies are thrown into the mix. Several theories as to the killer float about, although I had no problem sussing them out right from the start. Several times during the book, Dino's disguise almost comes unraveled, although she does eventually have one confidant who helps her maintain the illusion of being male.

I have to admit I was a little leery of this book given that the author writes romances also, and I am NOT a fan of romances, nor especially of romances disguising themselves as mysteries. I was pleasantly surprised in that there was none of that going on at all. (Thank you, author!) I'm also often leery of books featuring prominent historical figures as sleuths--I don't know why, as I really don't know enough about any given historical figure to scoff at any errors that might exist. LOL I enjoyed this book, although I started it almost expecting not to. It didn't take long before I was well past the 50 pages I'd promised to give it and immersed in the story. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the historical settings or known information about Leonardo, but as this is historical FICTION, it wasn't something I worried about anyway. While not a stellar read (and I can't readily put my finger on what makes me downgrade this just slightly) it is a good start to a promising new series--I've got the second one here and we'll see how it holds up.

I bought this title because of the near unanimous reviews. I really didn't find anything at all that interesting. Just a run of the mill historical mystery with Leonardo flitting about. Books like this are a dime a dozen.

I found this mystery unique and exciting. Ms. Stuckart manages to pull the reader into the richness of the Italian court. The characters are believable and Da Vinci is portrayed as a well rounded individual.
I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the sequel.

Diane A.S. Stuckart's THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT opens a limited new mystery series featuring Leonardo da Vinci and his young apprentice, who take on the role of sleuths. A living chess game is to be engineered by da Vinci but when one of the 'pieces' is stabbed to death, it's up to him to uncover the murderer in this excellent historical mystery.