The King’s Agent by Donna Russo Morin is a historical mystery full of adventure, intrigue, a little romance, and my personal favorite – lots of information on art. This novel is a different type of historical in that there is even a fantasy element to it and I found that quite interesting. The novel started out slowly for me but I see now that it was setting the stage for all the excitement to come. Round about seventy or so pages in I was completely hooked on the story and through every adventure I raced through the pages.
The author brings a real historical figure to life in Battista della Palla who is essentially a thief. He lives to serve the King of France as his art dealer and if can’t procure what the King wants by legal methods, well then he resorts to the illegal ones. It is on one such adventure while he is attempting to steal a piece of art from the Marquess of Mantua that he makes an error in judgment and almost gets caught. The only reason that he doesn’t get caught is because the Lady Aurelia saves his butt. The thing is though she has her own motivation for helping him.
Lady Aurelia is the ward of the Marquess of Mantua who protects and shelters her from any harm. She is tired of being unable to have any freedom at all and in truth she craves adventure. When she happens upon Battista and gets him out of the house she realizes that with him she could get a taste of the adventure she wants. She convinces him that she knows a great deal about art and can help in getting this all powerful piece that the King wants and that is when the partnership is formed.
Battista by all accounts is a man who commands attention. His home is open to the men who work with him and because he is a good man his men are fiercely loyal to him. Aurelia proves on a few occasions that she is indeed knowledgeable and has good ideas but still he is nervous about her. There is something different about her but he can’t put his finger on it. Time and time again he is amazed by the things she tells him that she’s never experienced like simply taking a walk on a street or sitting in a restaurant. He is very much intrigued by her.
The piece that the King wants requires that three separate pieces be found. Battista and Aurelia set off on hair raising adventures to get these pieces. Along the way they discover each other but they also lose a lot as well. Ultimately in the end Battista finds himself in a position that he never could have imagined and Aurelia must, at all costs, remain loyal to her people above all else.
This is a fun story because of the adventure element. I’ve heard it compared to Indiana Jones and I guess I’d have to agree with that. As for me I knew something was up with Aurelia but I was surprised by what eventually came to be. I loved all the references to art and artists. At one point Battista and Aurelia visit Michelangelo and he takes them on a tour of Rome that is fascinating for the reader. The King’s Agent is a great read for the historical fan who likes elements of fantasy and mystery with plenty of historical facts as well. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more of Donna Russo Morin’s work!
I read The King’s Agent by Donna Russo Morin for her book tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. Be sure to follow along with the other tour stops and see what everyone else thinks about the book. Donna can be found on her website, Facebook, and Twitter so be sure to stop by and visit her! You can purchase your own copy of The King’s Agent here in the US or here in Canada.
Be sure to pop by the wonderful guest post that Donna wrote for Peeking Between the Pages and enter the giveaway that is open internationally for a copy of The King’s Agent!
Source: Review copy provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and the Author. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions posted are my own.
I love the idea that it’s like Indiana Jones!
Anna, it really is quite exciting. It’s one adventure after another!
Sounds like a fun read!
Mary, it was fun. Not a heavy read but interesting all the same.
This is a book that I have been eying anxiously for some time now, and the reviews I have been reading have been great. I am so thrilled to see that you loved it and that it was such a great read for you. I need to see if I can grab this one!
Heather, if you don’t get a copy I’ll throw mine into that box of stuff that I still haven’t mailed to you. lol.
I don’t read much historical fiction and I’m afraid the fantasy element in this one might not work for me.
Kathy, yeah you do need to like historical fiction to enjoy books like these.
This sounds like such a fun book. The touch of fantasy aspect especially intrigues me given the historical setting. I love the cover.
Wendy (Lit Feline), I loved the fantasy element. It’s not something you often get in historical fiction so it really set the book apart for me. I love the cover as well.
I love any comparison to Indiana Jones 😀
Linda, yes I’m sure the whole Indiana Jones appeals to a few people. It makes it fun for sure.
I love books with a bit of adventure in them.
Serena, I like adventure in my reading sometimes too. This one was a nice change of pace for me.
I do love historical mysteries, even light ones, and a bit of art history doesn’t hurt either. This sounds like one I would definitely like.
Carol, I think this is one that you’d probably like. I’m not usually one for historical mysteries but this was a good one for me.
This sounds like a good story I love the mash of historical fiction with fantasy.
Thanks for sharing your review!
Sophia, if you like a mix of fantasy in your books you’d probably like this one.
Great review. I’m not much of an historical fiction fan but this does sound like a good book.
Yvonne, this one is mostly historical facts on art which I think is different from some other historicals. Then again, you’d have to be interested in the history of art to enjoy it.
This sounds great, especislly if its veing vimpared to Indiana Jones. I’ll be reading it myself soon.
Nice review 🙂
Omg …I swear I know how to spell…lol. Ive been blog hopping on my iTouch. I guess the small screen messed up my spelling! I meant…’especially if it’s being compared to Indiana Jones’ 🙂 🙂 lol
Naida, lol – I notice I really have to watch my spelling on my ipad. It loves to respell words in some interesting ways sometimes.
Naida, I’ll be watching for your review. I’m interested to see what you’ll think of it.
i like the adventure aspect! great review!
I will be reading this one soon…my review is up in April! I like a great adventure!
I loved how this book was steeped in an adventure story. I loved the search and find concept and the figuring out of puzzles. I was caught up in this book fairly quickly and raced through the pages. Great review.