The Queen's Gambit

by Diane A.S. Stuckart

Book Overview

The first book in an exciting new series featuring Leonardo da Vinci and his young apprentice. Court Engineer Leonardo da Vinci conjures a living chess game for the Duke of Milan using his royal court... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425219232
• ISBN13: 9780425219232
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

The Queen's Gambit

I found this mystery unique and exciting. Ms. Stuckart manages to pull the reader into the richness of the Italian court. The characters are believable and Da Vinci is portrayed as a well rounded individual. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the sequel.

An excellent historical mystery

Diane A.S. Stuckart's THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT opens a limited new mystery series featuring Leonardo da Vinci and his young apprentice, who take on the role of sleuths. A living chess game is to be engineered by da Vinci but when one of the 'pieces' is stabbed to death, it's up to him to uncover the murderer in this excellent historical mystery.

Makes You Wish for a Sequel

This is the kind of book that makes you wish not only for a follow-up book, but that you already had it so you could jump right in. The story, the characters, the setting and the writing are just superb. This is what I picture when I see or hear the phrase "a good book." That's just what it is, a really, really good book. I can't even imagine how you could possibly be disappointed in this book. One of the little gems of this mystery novel is the realization that there are really 3 mysteries - 2 normal and one more "meta." The first is the whodunit? murder mystery. The second is whether (and how) anyone will discover the secret about the narrator of the book, the apprentice. The third mystery appears when the author so perfectly captures those moments of belief from the Renaissance ("his humors were out of balance") and the modern reader has the intriguing puzzle of figuring out what's really going on with modern day understanding. They don't detract in any way from the book, but add a wonderfully neat set of minor little, "Hmmm, that's what they used to think back then, but today that'd be..." that reoccur at least 3 or 4 times throughout the story, and just add all the more to enjoyment. I highly recommend this book, and like all the reviewers to date, hope this is only the beginning of a series.

Both rich and entertaining

A captivating mystery novel that unfolds in the magnificent Sforza castle of Renaissance Milan. The fast moving plot is filled with surprising twists and turns, making the book hard to put down. Besides the suspense and intrigue, one feels drawn into a colorful panorama of castle life filled with vivid characters from high ranking nobility to skilled workmen to humble servants. Of greatest interest is the unique life of the genius Leonardo da Vinci with his young apprentices, with details of their everyday tasks of mixing paints, preparing frescos, making brushes and the like. This book is not only a marvelous mystery but also a rich and entertaining cultural experience.

Highly recommended historical mystery

My assumption about a mystery series featuring Leonardo da Vinci conjured up visions of the wise and white-haired Leonardo using his vast years of knowledge and genius to wrestle with mysteries and solve crimes. However, I was delighted to find instead in this book a fresh look at Leonardo as he was in his handsome, russet-haired prime while employed as court engineer to the Duke of Milan. The book's narrator is Leonardo's young apprentice Dino, whose master is charged by the Duke to solve a murder that occurs during a living chess game that provides the book's motif. Dino is tasked by his Master to undertake various assignments and don several disguises to help Leonardo gather clues, spy on suspects, and uncover dangerous secrets. Along the way, we also learn a surprising secret regarding Dino's true identity. The narration colorfully evokes Milan during the Renaissance, contrasting the pageantry of court life with an apprentice's lowly station. We follow Dino's unfolding tale through a labyrinth of colorful characters who reveal their all-too-human strengths and failings. As Leonardo is viewed through Dino's eyes, he retains an important element of mystery himself, though we are given enough of his personality and genius, his powers of deduction, and his amazing inventions to make him come alive in this intriguing tale. My hope when I read any historical mystery is for the setting to be fresh and vivid, to experience the story through appealing characters, to enjoy a page-turning plot, and to learn something fascinatingly new. In all these ways, this well-written book succeeds and provides a delightful read.