The author of "A Comedy of Murders" now spins a tale of murder, theft and intrigue set in Italy in 1499, starring Leonardo da Vinci and his friend Niccolo, a dwarf with a photographic memory.

As the story opens, a courier carrying a fabulous diamond necklace is killed and his precious booty is stolen: a necklace called "The Tears of the Madonna" because of its tearshaped diamonds. Meanwhile, Maestro Leonardo flees Milan, which the French have just captured, and travels to the Marquesa of Mantua's opulent court, to paint her portrait. The Marquesa, who lost the necklace to a bank when she defaulted on a loan, is suspected of having orchestrated its latest disappearance. At the request of the suspicious banker, Leonardo and Niccolo become sleuths in the Mantuan court.

Our heroes are soon embroiled in a series of deadly mysteries, and confusion reigns when necklaces resembling "the Tears" are seen at the throats of three aristocratic women: Lucrezia Borgia in Rome, Caterina Sforza in Imola, and the devious Marquesa. After a decayed human head is found in the gardens of the palazzo, Leonardo uses his knowledge of anatomy to reconstruct it and learn the whereabouts of the real "Tears of the Madonna." Leonardo's discovery, which takes him to Venice at carnival time, puts him and Niccolo in the middle of an assassination plot. It takes a clever ploy and a little luck to bring the artist and dwarf to safety, and to the surprising finale.

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