The Queen’s Poisoner follows Exili, an Italian alchemist whose mastery of distillation and toxins draws him into the orbit of Olimpia Maidalchini—sister-in-law to Pope Innocent X and the most influential adviser at his court.
Her reach extends far beyond family ties: she receives ambassadors, manages key Vatican finances, and shapes the rise and fall of cardinals with a precision that unsettles her rivals. In this world of guarded alliances and whispered appointments, she hires Exili as her salaried poisoner, granting him access to private laboratories and the protection of her name. But when Innocent X dies, the new pope moves swiftly to purge her network.
Olimpia’s authority collapses, and Exili, once shielded by her power, is left exposed in a Rome eager to settle scores. Based on documented intrigue and the era’s clandestine chemistry, The Queen’s Poisoner traces a man whose craft placed him at the centre of a dangerous court—and then left him to survive it alone.
