Fiction Pick of the Week: Poison

Poison : a novel of the Renaissance by Sara Poole 2010

The setting for this first novel by an American author is 1492 in Rome. Francesco is the heroine, employed by Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia to protect his family. She is a poisoner, educated in the art of both producing and preventing poisoning, the weapon of choice in these dangerous times.

This is a fascinating tale of the notorious Borgia family that keeps the reader spellbound with the treachery reaching from the Jewish ghetto to the Vatican. As Francesco pursues her father's killer, she tries to protect the Borgias from numerous enemies and stop a diabolical plan of widespread destruction already in the works.

Excellent characterization, a compelling plot, and the first person narration by Francesco gives the story a credible immediacy. It is impossible to set down and needs a sequel soon.