Book Review – The Knife Maker of Venice by David Gilman @HoZ_Books

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About the Book

1604. As pirates seeking slaves to sell in the markets of North Africa terrorise the coasts of Europe, headstrong Richard Sheriff and his sister Elizabeth are torn from their Devonshire home and thrust into a waking nightmare.

Richard’s skills as a blacksmith see him fetch a high price, but the pirate captain has other plans for Elizabeth and once they are separated, Richard has no idea of his sister’s fate. They must both learn to survive on a deadly voyage into the unknown.

Sold into servitude in Venice: glittering, vicious city of secrets, he is apprenticed to a knife maker. Richard’s talents soon win him renown… but haunted by his sister’s absence, he vows never to stop looking for her, knowing she would do the same for him.

First he must survive that city of ghosts. Will the siblings live to see each other again, or will they join the myriads lost to Venice, where life is cheap, profit is all, and escape nigh-on impossible? 

Format: Hardback (512 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 13th August 2026 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

David Gilman’s books have made numerous appearances on my blog. I’ve read several of his ‘Master of War’ series set in 14th century Europe (the most recent being Rage of Swords), thoroughly enjoyed his WW2 thriller Night Flight to Paris, and devoured his three thrillers featuring former member of the French Foreign Legion, Dan Raglan aka The Englishman, on whom I admit to having a literary crush. I’ve enjoyed every one of the books I’ve read and I’m pleased to say The Knife Maker of Venice continues that trend.

Following a raid by corsair John Challenor, Richard and Elizabeth find themselves aboard a ship sailing towards Tunis where Challenor hopes to sell the men, women and children he has captured as slaves. That’s if they survive the voyage and the terrible conditions below deck. Richard is consigned to the hold with the others but Elizabeth, with whom Challenor is besotted, is taken to his cabin. Surprisingly, he does not force himself upon her, clinging to the hope she will agree to be his wife. Having said that he’s not averse to using her brother as a bargaining chip.

Challenor has made plenty of enemies during his career. Not surprising since he’s no stranger to double-dealing. It leads to some dangerous naval encounters during which it’s only Challenor’s remarkable seamanship that keeps the vessel from being sunk or captured. It’s during one of these encounters that Richard makes a daring rescue unaware that in doing so he is setting in motion a train of events that will come back to haunt him.

The meticulousness of the book’s plotting becomes apparent once the action moves to Venice as we discover the relevance of certain events, some seemingly minor, that occurred earlier in the story.

As Richard and Elizabeth discover, Venice may be beautiful on the outside but it is a cesspit of intrigue, deception and cruelty on the inside. Activities that are officially illegal, such as slavery, persist with a blind eye turned as long as you possess sufficient wealth or influence. Power is the currency of the nobility. People who get in the way simply disappear. There’s a telling moment when Richard learns the true nature of the flickering lights he sees on the lagoon at night.

But at the same time, Venice is a place of superb craftmanship: exquisite glass, delicate lace and skilfully honed knives studded with precious gems. It’s Richard expertise at crafting the latter that brings him to the attention of a wealthy patroness. But he remains a slave, his freedom only to be attained on her death.

The pace really picks up in the final third of the book where the intrigue and deception I mentioned earlier comes to the fore with plenty of twists and turns and some narrow escapes. It’s at this point that relationships formed earlier in the story make the difference between life and death.

I loved Richard’s devotion to his sister, always mindful of his father’s last words to him, but I also admired Elizabeth’s resilience and instinct for survival which is really put to the test towards the end of the book.

The Knife Maker of Venice is a rich tapestry of a historical novel that combines fascinating period detail with thrilling action.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via Goodreads. The Knife Maker of Venice is book 16 of my 20 Books of Summer.

In three words: Epic, suspenseful, action-packed
Try something similar: The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

About the Author

David Gilman has enjoyed many careers, including paratrooper, firefighter and photographer. An award-winning author and screenwriters, he is the author of the critically acclaimed ‘Master of War’ series of historical novels, and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for The Last Horseman. He was longlisted for the same prize for The Englishman, the first book featuring ex-French Foreign Legionnaire Dan Raglan. David lives in Devon.

Connect with David
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#SixOnSaturday – Six things happening in my garden this week

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Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations.

We had some rain! Okay, it wasn’t very much or very prolonged but it was still wet stuff falling from the sky. The forecast shows a few more dry days followed by alonger period of showers. So the watering cans aren’t redundant yet and I can’t see the hosepipe ban being lifted anytime soon. Things to show off are still sparse but I’ve managed to come up with six.

One – The big news this week has been the arrival of our potting shed, erected on the site where our old, leaky garage used to be. Since popular wisdom is you always wished you’d gone for something bigger, we went big – 12 feet by 6 feet. Once the guttering and downpipes are attached we’ll be able to connect up additional water butts, on the basis you can never have too many given current weather trends.

Two – A few things are showing signs of blooming again such as this hardy geranium. I must cut back some of the other spent flowers.

Three – The dahlias in the raised beds in the front garden are doing okay thanks to being prioritised for watering. This variety is ‘Bayou’.

Four – Also surviving is Salvia jamensis ‘Rio Grande’.

Five – Erigeron karvinskianus which is supposedly drought tolerant has actually needed some water to help it survive. To be fair it is growing in our south-facing front garden in full sun.

Six – Last week I picked a watering can as the most essential piece of garden equipment given the current weather conditions. This week I’m nominating the bucket we place in the shower to capture the water while it heats up.

Do check out the posts of other participants by following the links in the comments section of Jim’s post. If you fancy taking part yourself but don’t know where to start, here’s the participant’s guide.