Publishers Weekly
★ 06/12/2023
Mina (Rizzio) fictionalizes the life of Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498), who was executed for heresy, in this vivid historical thriller. The novel opens in 1498 Florence, with Savonarola reading a coerced confession stating that he’s been lying about having the gift of prophecy. It then flashes back nearly 30 years, to when Savonarola’s hopes for marriage and a successful career as a physician are dashed, setting him on the path to religious fanaticism. Even readers who know what comes next— namely, the 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities, in which Savonarola and his followers burned books and clothes and other “extravagances” all across Florence—will be captivated by Mina’s lyricism (reading his confession to the assembled crowd, Savonarola sees “the dust motes swimming aimlessly in the warm air above their heads and imagines that each speck is an iota of faith leaving a person in the room”) and the insightful connections she draws between medieval ideological battles and 21st-century culture wars. This is a triumph. (Aug.)
The Scotsman
''Intensely dramatic like a Shakespearean tragedy. A remarkable, moving and thought-provoking book. Beautifully done."
Bookreporter
"[Mina] writes about the political and religious conflicts of the day with well-informed precision, but she does so with a cheekily contemporary flair."
From the Publisher
Praise for Denise Mina’s Rizzio:
Toronto Star
"A wholly satisfying, unnerving tale with eerie connections to our modern world dominated by income inequality, grift and freedom of speech."
Historical Novel Society
"This short, vibrant novella from acclaimed Scottish author Denise Mina immerses the reader in the life of Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican priest. There is no mincing of words here. Mina sees clear parallels between yesterday’s horrors and today’s challenges. Nor does she find comfort in Savonarola’s execution. He was a man who wrote extensively—he is often credited as a source of inspiration to Martin Luther, for example—and for good and for bad, Savonarola’s influence is with us now. Powerful stuff."
Tom Nolan
"Ms. Mina, in her most recent books, has stretched her talent and pushed the genre envelope in stimulating ways. In Rizzio she has created a plus-sized novella with the passion of an opera, a tour de force of imaginative reconstruction.
Christian Science Monitor
"Denise Mina delivers a taut imagining of the rise and fall of a religious zealot in late 15th-century Italy. Girolamo Savonarola, a proud young man smarting from rejection and appalled by church corruption, embarks on an increasingly militant moral crusade. It doesn’t end well. Weaving together present-day lingo and dry asides, Mina spotlights the traits and tragedies that lead to fanaticism."
CrimeReads
"Mina’s latest is a taut, provocative novella dramatizing the events around the brutal 16th-century assassination of David Rizzo, private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. Mina reimagines the poisonous atmosphere that led to the killing and offers readers a darkly poetic vision of life at that bloody court."
David Rothberg
"Denise Mina has achieved a near miracle with her novella, Rizzio. It is the type of vivid fiction that directs readers to documented history.
Book of the Day The Guardian
"Stabby and pithy. An intriguing sketch in blood."
Booklist
"The novella’s suspenseful narrative reveals all of the cruelty and outright brutality of the crime in brilliant detail. Royal history buffs will find this portrait of the bloody evolution of one of the world’s longest lasting monarchies fascinating."
Shelf Awareness
"The centuries-old murder of a close confidant to Mary, Queen of Scots is retold with thriller-level pacing and a gasp-inducing insight."
Booklist
"The novella’s suspenseful narrative reveals all of the cruelty and outright brutality of the crime in brilliant detail. Royal history buffs will find this portrait of the bloody evolution of one of the world’s longest lasting monarchies fascinating."
Library Journal
08/04/2023
Mina's (Conviction) new novel is based on the actual life of Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican friar living in Florence at the end of the 15th century. His vision of campaigning against corruption begins early in his life. As he grows more fanatical, he begins to use the visions of his faith to drive sermons that are beloved by the poor and hated by the powerful. His sermons lead to the infamous "Bonfires of the Vanities," in which people cast extravagant or luxurious possessions such as books, paintings, fashion, and even mirrors into the flames. Savonarola's sermons against corruption and vanity catch the attention of the Medici family and the Vatican. Once Savonarola turns his vision to the Pope, he is excommunicated, tortured, and executed. Yet his writings live on to inspire Martin Luther and the coming Protestant Reformation. Mina's biographical-fiction style draws parallels to modern times and implies that today's world is not devastatingly new but rather retains a historic tension between inequality, greed, and power. VERDICT This fast and compelling read is a good historical thriller for readers of history and fiction.—Ron Samul
JANUARY 2024 - AudioFile
In stately British tones, Rachael Beresford presents this novella fictionalizing the life of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, a fanatical and virulently anti-Semitic Dominican friar who lived in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. Beresford's crisp recitation seeps through the life, actions, sermons, and ultimately forced confession of Savonarola at the Inquisition trial that followed his "bonfire of the vanities" speech. This emotionless account of Savonarola and late medieval Christianity is told in the present tense with jarring interjections of 21st-century hindsight and anachronistic terminology and idioms. Ultimately, Beresford's soporific narration is only awakened during scenes of torture and Savonarola's grisly burning at the stake. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
