I am delighted to add D. V. Bishop's Cesare Aldo series to the list of historical mystery titles I'm always looking for. While Ritual of Fire is the third volume in this series set in mid-16th Century Florence, it worked perfectly well as a first-read. The characters are fully fleshed out (Bishop gives us peeks into their thinking during the narrative), their relationships with one another clearly established, with justification for their various likings and resentments. Bishop doesn't drag readers through any of those awkward filling-in-the-backstory moments that come all too often in series mysteries.

Some general observations—
• I know next to nothing about 16th Century Italy, but so far as I can tell Bishop has done a sterling job choosing details and phrasings that evoke the period without becoming cumbersome.
• The moments when vocabulary of the time/region are used work: the feel neither pedantic nor pompous.
• The pacing is a bit gradual, but that's because Bishop is giving us details that support the central mystery and establish the setting, not because of any lack of narrative arc.
• Some important characters, Cesare Aldo in particular, are (what we would call) gay, and at first I had my doubts about whether this identity would be accepted by other characters as it (mostly) is. Over time, Bishop chipped away at my doubts. Cesare Aldo is an unusual character, but doesn't come across as 21st Century political correctness moved back five centuries or so.
• The plotting is rich. Historical mysteries (IMHO) generally fall into three categories: those that are not really mysteries at all, but romance novels; those that are built around a rather slim central puzzle that quickly wears thin; and those with enough complexity to allow readers the fun of being armchair detectives throughout the book. Ritual of Fire falls into this last category.

When you're looking for a new historical mystery series to work your way through, I strongly recommend Bishop's Cesare Aldo novels. They're substantive in a way that rewards steadily across the reading experience.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. ( )

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Absolute quality third book in this excellent series, there are numerous references to our heroes previous adventures but would work as a standalone story. But my advice read them all. Well written and researched with superb characterisation throughout, the Author gives the reader a real feel for time and place, you feel totally involved in the action. Clever mystery with plenty of surprises.
Completely and utterly recommended. ( )

Forty years after the renegade monk Savonarolo fell from grace Florence is revisited by a crime that echoes his death. A rich merchant is found dead, hung and burned, and messages appear around the city saying 'Savonarolo lives'. Then another merchant is found dead at his country house and there is a link, five young men who grew rich after being part of the inner circle and are now in fear of their lives. For Cesare Aldo, banished from the city, it is clear that there is a link and who will be next but only his erstwhile colleague Strocchi is in a place to help.
This is the third book in what is becoming a really excellent series. I love the setting in renaissance Florence, it is unusual and well-researched. The plot is complex enough, although I had worked it out by half-way, and the whole is really good reading. ( )