Palette of Blood is the second volume in the Basilica Diaries Medieval Mysteries series. It doesn't actually include any diaries (so far), but it's built around an engaging central topic the building of St. Peter's Basilica, the second one, the one now standing in Vatican City, which was built on top of the first St. Peter's Basilica.

I found Palette of Blood so engaging, that I immediately read the first volume in the series and have the upcoming third volume on order. In the afterward of the first volume, author Richard Kurti explains his motivation in pursuing this topic, "As the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica rises from the dirt, stone by stone, our characters will wrestle with problems that still resonate with life in the 21st Century—religious extremism, corruption, gaslighting, the abuse of learning, the search for fulfillment."

Like building the basilica itself, this series is a complex undertaking. In the late 15th Century the remarkably corrupt—even in an era of remarkable corruption—Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, finds his proposed basilica project and his own life under threat as a series of violent events sweep across Rome. A notorious libertine is found crucified upside down, an entire community of monks is struck blind, a fireball erupts in a church, killing and wounding many, and the son of the Pope (there's that corruption thing) is brutally murdered.

The head of Vatican security, Domenico Falchoni, calls on his sister Cristina to aid in investigations. Asking a woman to investigate violent crimes at the close of the 15th Century sounds unusual and unlikely, but Cristina is an unusual woman. She lives alone in the family's city home, determined to remain unmarried, and dedicating her life to the pursuit of knowledge. Her library is huge, she's been tutored by some of the best minds of the time, and once she sets out to solve a puzzle, she's relentless. Cristina is determined to see the new St. Peter's built—which makes her even further driven to unravel the series of crimes.

The crucifixion /blindness/fireball/murder book is the first in the series, Omens of Death. The second title, which I'm actually reviewing here, Palette of Blood takes place as designs for the new basilica are being considered. Each powerful family in Rome is backing a different artist/architect, and hoping to profit from the construction, which will take years and involve huge sums of money.

Unfortunately, shortly before the designs are to be presented to the Pope a wealthy banker is murdered and the bizarre crime scene involves not only his dismemberment, but also the destruction of a large portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi, and cryptic painting done at the crime scene in the victim's own blood. The artist who painted Salvator Mund is one of the artists being backed as a possible designer of the basilica. Then another murder occurs, this time at the site of a fountain designed by the same artist.

Cristina is again worried that construction of the basilica may be delayed or stopped due to the violence, so she joins her brother in looking for the killer. At the same time, she is being courted by the artist whose works have become crime scenes.

I thoroughly enjoyed both books, but I found Palette of Blood somewhat more successful than Omens of Death, which I think is a good sign. The series is growing stronger; readers have even better work to look forward to. You can read these two books in any order, neither is utterly dependent on the other. And if you read them soon, you'll be prepared for the appearance of Demon of Truth, the next volume in the series.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. ( )