The Knife Maker of Venice by David Gilman

The Knife Maker of Venice

 by David Gilman

My thanks to David and Head of Zeus for sending me this lovely copy of 

The Knife Maker of Venice to review. 

Also to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part on the book tour.

Synopsis

A young Englishman captured by slavers must survive the snakepit that is seventeenth-century Venice.

1604. As pirates seeking slaves to sell in the markets of North Africa terrorise the coasts of Europe, headstrong Richard Sheriff and his sister Elizabeth are torn from their Devonshire home and thrust into a waking nightmare.

Richard's skills as a blacksmith see him fetch a high price, but the pirate captain has other plans for Elizabeth and once they are separated, Richard has no idea of his sister's fate. They must both learn to survive on a deadly voyage into the unknown.

Sold into servitude in Venice: glittering, vicious city of secrets, he is apprenticed to a knife maker. Richard's talents soon win him renown... but haunted by his sister's absence, he vows never to stop looking for her, knowing she would do the same for him.

First he must survive that city of ghosts. Will the siblings live to see each other again, or will they join the myriads lost to Venice, where life is cheap, profit is all, and escape nigh-on impossible?

A powerful historical adventure perfect for fans of Kate Mosse, Ken Follett and Robert Harris.

My Thoughts

I absolutely loved every word in this book and could not put it down until I had finished it , which,considering that there are nearly five hundred pages, was quite a feat of achievement.

This is the first book that I have read by David and he really does know how to pull his readers in to the plot with his imaginative writing. I found myself feeling that I was with them whilst they were going through all the different aspects of their lives and whatever was thrown at them. You feel their pain, anger and overall their love and strong friendships that they experience on their voyage through life.

The characters are lifelike and the descriptive writing conjures up the different scenarios they find themselves in with ease even to almost having you recreate the different unpleasant aromas that are described in certain chapters.

You will find that you cannot help but want the twins to survive and find each other again, though there will be times when you will find yourself urging Richard to curb his temper and think before he acts. Elizabeth is clever and is more subtle in how she deals with a situation and plans accordingly.

The storyline moves at a pace that keeps you hooked , wondering what you are going to find on the next page and how it will resolve itself, if at all.

David Gilman is definitely an author to search out if , like me , you hadn’t come across him before, and he is definitely on my radar now.

About David

David Gilman has enjoyed many careers, including paratrooper, firefighter, and photographer. An award-winning author and screenwriter, he is the author of the critically acclaimed Master of War series of historical novels, and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for The Last Horseman. He was longlisted for the same prize for The Englishman, the first book featuring ex-French Foreign Legionnaire Dan Raglan. David lives in Devon. 

Follow David on @davidgilmanuk, www.davidgilman.com, and facebook.com/davidgilman.author