The Book of Secrets

The Book of Secrets

Anna Mazzola

#1374 of 8,085 books · #222 in Historical Fiction

Won the Gold Dagger Award (CWA Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year) (2025).

Rome, 1659. Some secrets are worth dying for... Girolama Spana lives west of the river Tiber in a house marked by a lily and a garden full of herbs. Many women in Rome seek her help - although they would never admit it - eager for her mysterious balms, her love potions, and her ability to predict their futures. Even against the splendour of the Eternal City, Giroloma's secret recipes are the women's most precious possessions - and their husbands' most feared. So when men are reported dying in unnatural numbers, the gaze of Stefano Bracchi, prosecutor for the papal authorities, falls quickly on Girolama and her suspected sorcery. Soon she will face the greatest danger she has ever known - but Girolama has always vowed that in life there are secrets we write down, secrets we pass on, and some that we carry to our deaths... The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.