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From Publishers Weekly The city-states of Renaissance Italy serve as the vibrant backdrop for this less than successful homage to The Da Vinci Code from Fiorato (_The__Glassblower of Murano_). In 1482 Florence, while prostitute Luciana Vetra is posing for Botticelli's Primavera , she makes a casual comment that terrifies the artist. Sent away unpaid, Luciana steals a miniature of the painting in revenge. When she discovers that an assassin is on her trail, she flees Florence with the most trustworthy companion she can find, handsome and cultured monk Brother Guido della Torre. As the two decode the secrets hidden in the painting (and fall in love), its meanings send them on a quest through Italy to save their own lives and avert a conspiracy involving the greatest powers of the day. Luciana's energetic narrative voice keeps the pages turning, but lengthy passages deconstructing La Primavera yield secrets, unlike those in Dan Brown's bestseller, with little resonance for modern readers. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Luciana Vetra, revered prostitute of Florence, earns the chance to pose for Botticelli as Flora in Primavera, but the session goes awry when her innocent words anger the artist. Not one to endure an insult, she retaliates by stealing a smaller version of the painting. Her roommate and patron are killed when the artist sends agents to reclaim the painting, leaving Luciana with only one ally to turn to, the comely novice Brother Guido who has tried to convert her. They flee Florence for their lives and to solve the deadly secret hidden within the artwork. Following her debut, The Glassblower of Murano (2009), Fiorato creates her own masterpiece set at the height of Medici power. Renaissance Italy comes alive in brilliant sights and sounds from marbled halls to filthy sewers. Luciana is irrepressible, unabashed, and an absolute hoot while Guido foils her nicely as the learned, noble Holmes to her Watson. Political intrigue is deftly woven throughout, allowing readers to try their best sleuthing. Fiorato even layers in a charming love story for good measure. --Nina C. Davis A young woman in 15th-century Italy must flee for her life after stumbling upon a deadly secret when she serves as a model for Botticelli in a rip-roaring novel that blends enticing mystery, historical intrigue and romantic adventure.Gloriously fresh and vivid, with a deliciously irreverent heroine, The Botticelli Secret is a masterful concoction of enticing mystery, historical intrigue and romantic adventure. Resplendent fifteenth-century Italy is seen through the eyes of the gorgeous Luciana Vetra, part-time model and full-time prostitute. After a request from one of her most exalted clients to pose for a painter friend, Luciana agrees to model for the central figure of Flora in Botticelli's masterpiece'Primavera'But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting - only to find that friends and clients are slaughtered around her in an attempt to get it back. So Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice monk Brother Guido Della Torre, to discover what could be so valuable about the painting. Fleeing Florence together, Luciana and Guido race through the seven cities of Renaissance Italy pursued by ruthless enemies who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting's secrets. "In the gorgeous, brutal world of fifteenth-century Italy, Luciana Vetra is young and beautiful, with waist-length ringlets of golden hair. She is also a part-time model and a full-time whore. When her best client asks her to pose as the goddess Flora for Sandro Botticelli's painting La Primavera, Luciana is willing to oblige--until the artist abruptly sends her away without payment. Luciana is not usually a thief, but this time she is angry, and cannot resist taking an unfinished version of the painting, if only to look at it some more. But Luciana soon learns that someone is ready to kill her--and nearly everyone she knows--to get the painting back. As friends and clients are murdered around her, Luciana turns to the one man who has never tried to exploit her beauty, Guido della Torre, a novice at the monastery of Santa Croce. Fleeing Florence together, Luciana and Guido race through the nine great cities of Renaissance Italy, desperately trying to decode the painting's secrets before their enemies stop them. Gloriously fresh and vivid, with a deliciously irreverent heroine, The Botticelli Secret is a masterful blend of historical intrigue and romantic adventure."--Cover