Medici heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan

Rosa Cellini has grown up in a family known for its crime-filled subterfuge. She has become a master in her own right, and the unpleasantness of living under the Medici ‘touch’ has inspired her to create an assault on their wealth and power. In a manner that Danny Ocean (from Oceans 11) would be proud, she creates a band of misfits, muscles, brains and scammers to infiltrate the Medici stronghold and commit a heist that twists and turns in its intricacies. The environment of Florence in 1517 is filled with brocades, riches, frescoes, guards and yet poverty also walks side by side with those who have the stranglehold on power. Rosa Cellini’s band of swindlers are attempting to right wrongs and restore some opportunities for the oppressed, they just don’t follow a linear path in the process. 

This is a story from a screenwriter and its colour and pace would definitely make an awesome film or TV series. The historical setting with its drama and power imbalances creates a perfect backdrop for the heist action. With physical violence and corruption playing out (even in the role of the papacy) there is a backdrop of evil to the story. But essentially this is a well-paced drama weaving the stories of each of the swindlers into the tense action of a risky heist. And as readers, we are always on the side of those who are trying to bring down the Medici power and authority in Florence and redistribute their wealth. A little bit of danger and romance is possible en route for some of the characters. This is a book that you will not want to put down.

Themes: Florence - 1500s, theft, Medici family, power and corruption, Michelangelo, Romance, Same-sex attraction.

Carolyn Hull