June Book Club

Join us on Thursday, June 20, at 6:30 pm, with the author Alyssa Palombo to discuss her book The Assassin of Venice.

Join us on Zoom

Join us In-Person

About the Book

The Assassin of Venice tells the story of a fictional character named Valentina Riccardi, a courtesan in Renaissance Venice who also engages in espionage – and assassinations – on behalf of the Venetian Council of Ten. After all, who better to get men in a vulnerable position than a courtesan? After escaping a horrific event that cost her her family and her home, Valentina is determined to protect the republic of Venice, which gave her a second chance, and make sure her daughter, Ginevra, can grow up to live a life of her choosing. But everything comes to a head when Valentina’s handler on the Council of Ten, the ambitious and ruthless Ambrogio Malatesta, informs her that the one man she truly loves and the father of her child, Bastiano Bragadin, is a traitor to the Venetian state and must be eliminated. If she doesn’t kill him, her daughter’s life is forfeit. With the help of her fellow courtesans, Valentina must find a way to save the people she loves most and unearth Malatesta’s true motives before it’s too late.

About the Author

[from author's website] 

My name is Alyssa Palombo, and I am a writer living and working in Buffalo, NY. I attended Canisius College in Buffalo, where I majored in English and creative writing with a minor in music. I’m a classically trained mezzo-soprano who also dabbles in playing piano. When not writing, I can usually be found reading, hanging out, and laughing way too hard at nonsensical inside jokes with friends, traveling (or dreaming of my next travel destination), at a concert, or planning for next Halloween. I’m a metalhead and a self-proclaimed French fry connoisseur. I also own way too many hoodies, pairs of sunglasses, and pajamas, but never enough books.

I am the author of four historical novels, The Violinist of Venice, The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel and The Borgia Confessions, all from St. Martin’s Griffin and published (or forthcoming) in multiple languages. My first contemporary novel, Heavy Metal Symphony, published as A.K. Palombo, will be out on August 15th, 2023. I am represented by Sam Farkas of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.