A Christmas Requiem:

Bruno is invited to meet the Pope at Christmas. But why? ( )

Giordano Bruno, son of a mercenary soldier, is an excellent scholar in the Dominican order. His education includes reading tracts banned by the Inquisition so he is forever treading a fine line between learning and heresy. When the body of a young woman is found in the Friary, Bruno is involved in an autopsy and determines to find her killer.
This is a set of three short novellas which many reviewers claim to have read in other forms. Luckily I haven't! I really enjoy Parris' longer novels and these were an amusing divergence, being quick to read and quick simplistic. In terms of fleshing out the Bruno back-story they were good but left me wanting more. ( )

S.J. Parris' Giordano Bruno mysteries are favorites of mine. They're meaty and complex, and Bruno is an interesting character straddling, as he does, the worlds of faith and science. The Dead of Winter is not a mystery novel—instead, it's a collection of three novellas, all set when Bruno was in his early twenties and newly admitted to the religious house San Domenico Maggiore. He's already asking the questions that will lead to accusations of heresy and his flight from Naples: first to Geneva, then Paris, then London.

While there's no central mystery, those familiar with the mystery novels will find The Dead of Winter an interesting read. This is a younger version of Bruno than readers have met before. Seeing him it his role as young Fra Bruno, our understanding of his personality—and of the underground scientific community in Naples—is much enriched.

I don't know if these novellas will appeal as much to readers who haven't read any of the mystery novels. The stories are reasonably engaging, but they may be less so for those who don't have a sense of who Parris' version of Bruno is and who don't have a motivation to be spending more time with him. My advice would be to read at least one of the mysteries before taking on these novellas. You'll enjoy them more—and be introduced to a very well researched, complex series.

My one complaint: I am tired of the trope of earnest the man being hounded by a lascivious woman whose advances he has spurned. I have no historical data on how often women of the upper classes threw themselves at monks, or how often those who did were rejected and then tried to take revenge, but I suspect it was a rare occurrence. Yet here is that device popping up again as it does in so many stories about men. (This isn't a spoiler, so don't worry that I've ruined the novellas for you.)

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