On Sale March 23, 2027
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A sweeping adventure fraught with mystery that begins at the far end of the Mediterranean Sea and travels to Renaissance Venice and beyond. Set during a time of innovation and disruption, Deceit in the City of Masks mirrors our time.
In 1570, Jacob Dayan, a savvy woolens trader for famed Kabbalist Isaac Luria, ransoms Diego Pinto from pirates at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Diego, a street-wise adolescent, fled the Spanish Inquisition with a powerful magical breastplate from the ancient temple in Jerusalem secreted under his shirt. That’s not Diego’s only secret. When Jacob and Diego travel to Venice—the glittering, commercial giant of Europe—the breastplate is stolen. At a masquerade ball, Jacob and Diego identify the thieves and follow them, hoping to reclaim it. If they do, they’ll be pursued as they travel over the Alps to deliver the breastplate to Rabbi Loew, who will use the breastplate’s powers to save his people from a pogrom. Can Jacob retrieve the breastplate then deliver it to Rabbi Loew in time to save the townspeople? And, as their friendship blossoms, will Diego’s true identity be revealed? Deceit in the City of Masks is the first in the Blood & Wool adventure/mystery series where Jacob and Diego must risk everything to triumph over evil.