'A brilliantly imagined World War II saga' Kirkus 'A compellingly chaotic blend of art-heist
thriller wartime adventure historical epic and coming-of-age drama' Observer 'Derek B Miller
has crafted an ambitious sometimes tricksy story full of colourful characters...darkly funny
readable and intelligent' Times _________________ We will lie cheat steal fight kill and
sin our way to Napoli. We will trust no one but each other and we will remember that in this
place at this time there is no way to tell friend from foe. The bombing of Rome in 1943
leaves fourteen-year-old Massimo orphaned and with no choice but to set out on a perilous
journey to find his remaining family in Naples. A chance meeting with the mysterious and
charismatic Pietro Houdini will deliver both of them to the doors of the monastery of Monte
Cassino a centuries-old haven of contemplation learning and art. But the abbey is in the path
of the relentless Allied advance to Rome. Pietro and Massimo need a plan to survive the coming
onslaught and that means out-manoeuvring the Germans who are as interested in the abbey's art
collection as in the murder of two of their officers in the town below. For their plan to work
they must dissemble disguise and outwit two armies using skills that Pietro has in spades
but as war edges ever closer it becomes clear that Massimo is not without a surprise or two
either... The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a sweeping tale of resilience hope and survival which
is at once an action-packed adventure heist an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history and
a philosophical coming-of-age story.
