Perspectives: A bold and funny Renaissance thriller from the bestselling author of HHhH

*LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2026* 'There is no living writer whose new books I fall on with greater delight than Laurent Binet. . . Perspectives is a proper treat' Naomi Alderman 'A dazzling romp' Guardian Florence,1557. As dawn breaks, a painter is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart. Above him, the paintings he laboured over for more than a decade. At his home, a hidden portrait scandalously depicting Maria de Medici, daughter of the Duke of Florence, as a naked Venus. Who is the murderer? Who made the painting? As the city erupts in chaos , Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation. Letters fly back and forth carrying news of plots and speculation about the killer's identity - between Maria and her aunt Catherine de' Medici, the queen of France; between Catherine and her secret agents; and between Vasari and his friend Michelangelo. And the truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot centre of Europe. Bursting with characters and colour, Perspectives is a mystery like no other that shows us Renaissance Florence as we've never seen it before - a dazzling, hugely entertaining novel of court machinations, murder and art. 'Doesn't get much better than this' Sunday Telegraph 'A racy and enjoyable detective story' The Times 'A dazzling romp' Guardian ' Funny and very gripping' Financial Times