The Third Heaven Conspiracy

Book excerpt: "Italy, June 1300. In a disused church on the outskirts of Florence, the master craftsman, Ambrogio, is found murdered at the foot of an unfinished mosaic. A young Dante Alighieri, (future author of The Divine Comedy) the recently elected Prior to the City of Florence, is called upon to investigate. He discovers that the church was in the process of being renovated as a university, at the behest of the new Pope, Bonifacius VIII. Closer inspection reveals catacombs beneath the floor, populated with beggars and thieves who speak of witchcraft and satanic practices held above. Meanwhile, the Church, on learning of Dante s involvement, begins to show an unusual interest in Ambrogio s fate. But Dante has one further lead; Ambrogio belonged to a society of learned men, The Third Heaven. Dante learns they are in Florence for the founding of the new university, and believes that if he can infiltrate this group he may learn the significance of Ambrogio s work; maybe the key to the murder is the mosaic itself. Leoni sets this clever dark-ages thriller in a city on edge, nervously recovering from civil war. Medieval Florence is portrayed with stunning clarity; a city on the cusp of the Re