Da Vinci stars in ‘Bolt from the Blue’

  I review a lot of “cozy mystery” novels, suspenseful stories with unusual characters and settings. There are amateur sleuths who are florists, bakers, gardeners and so on. But Diane Stuckart’s series, which features the legendary artist/inventor/all around genius Leonardo da Vinci as a crime-solver, has to be one of the most unique story lines I have run across. Surprisingly, it works!
  In her latest novel, “A Bolt from the Blue,” Stuckart once again explores life in 15th-century Milan, Italy, with its political intrigue, warring factions and electric atmosphere for great changes.
  As court artist/engineer to the mysterious Il Moro, Duke of Milan, Leonardo da Vinci is called upon to use his superior mind in many pursuits, from inventing outlandish contraptions to solving the odd murder. With his troupe of apprentices, da Vinci is supposedly working on painting the Duke’s chapel, but he also is working on a secret project.
  With war always looming ever closer, the Duke has called upon Master da Vinci to invent what he considers to be the deadliest weapon ever: a flying machine that can be used to surprise the enemy. Clothing the project in secrecy, da Vinci only allows his favorite apprentice, Dino, to work with him, but then calls in a special craftsman — one who happens to be Dino’s father.
  However, Signor da Vinci does not know that Dino is actually the craftsman's daughter, Delfina, who keeps her gender a secret in order to serve as apprentice to the great master. But while Delfina worries that her father will spill her secret, someone else, trying to get the plans for da Vinci’s flying machine, murders one of the other apprentices. Now, as her master works his brilliance, Delfina only can pray that they can find the culprit before another apprentice becomes a victim of a bolt from a crossbow.
  “A Bolt from the Blue” is a fascinating look into the life of Leonardo da Vinci in a way he has never been portrayed. Although this is the third book of the series, the story is written in a way that first-time readers can easily catch up with the complicated life of Dino/Delfina and her time working with da Vinci. Stuckart has done a wonderful job of capturing the era with lively characters and intriguing facts, making “A Bolt from the Blue” a great history lesson as well as a thrilling mystery.