An exquisitely written novel set in Renaissance Naples, beset with intrigue, espionage, politics, and a bit of dark magic, at every turn.
You've never seen Naples like this.
Among the lords of the criminal underground is Puozzolino, owner of the Good Friday, the greatest bordello in Christendom. Its customers can frolic in a recreation of ancient Rome, enjoy the pleasures of a real nymph in its gardens, or explore darker delights in the witches' cave.
Despite his success, Puozzolino's life is plagued by strife. Entangled in the revenge murder of a nobleman, he provokes both Spain's harsh justice and the capo of a rival clan. Puozzolino is too blinded by a love interest to pay much attention to his growing problems: gang warfare, a duplicitous adviser, and an insane, defrocked cardinal who leads a group of hellspawned followers.
Puozzolino and the rest of the nobles play a dangerous game of false loyalty and open rebellion with their Spanish oppressors, while the countless poor have turned the streets into a playground of desperate exuberance. But there is more to fear than politics and poverty in a land where necromancers and demons thrive.
Struggling against this madness is Puozzolino's jealous lover, Putta, who tries to keep their lives from falling apart.
Frank Aversa's Naples is a surrealist Sin City unto itself. It winds through dark European cobblestone alleys, narrowly escapes a dragon's claws, and flits with the gauzy wings of a sylph. Don't miss your chance to witness the Italian drama of the century.