The Queen's Gambit

Starred review from November 12, 2007
Leonardo da Vinci, the epitome of the Renaissance man, turns to solving mysteries in Stuckart’s impressive debut. Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan, asks Leonardo to organize an elaborate live chess game to settle a dispute between the duke and the French ambassador to Milan. All goes well until the duke’s ambassador to France, who was playing a white bishop, is found murdered by the duke’s knife. Fearing severe political repercussions and possible threats from within the court, the paranoid duke commands Leonardo, one of the few outsiders he trusts, to investigate. The mystery unfolds with vivid details of 15th-century Milanese royal life, the political intrigues of the time and the elaborate preparations for Leonardo’s frescos. Narrated by Dino, an apprentice who serves as a rather excitable Watson to Leonardo’s coolly analytical Holmes, the mesmerizing plot moves swiftly to a dramatic conclusion that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next volume.

January 15, 2008
Capturing the essence of 15th-century Milan, Stuckart's mystery debut introduces a new detective: Leonardo da Vinci. He and his apprentice Dino must solve the stabbing death of the Conte di Ferrara, cousin of Ludovico Sforza, acting Duke of Milan, while a live chess game is being enacted. Using the chess theme as a springboard, Stuckart details life in a castle, the routine tasks assigned to the apprentices of a maestro of art, and the court intrigues that eventually lead to murder. Stuckart also writes under the names Alexa Smart and Anna Gerard.

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