A Poisoner's Tale

A Novel

By: Cathryn Kemp

Narrated by: Gabrielle Nellis-Pain, Steve John Shepherd

The legendary figure of notorious seventeenth-century Italian poisoner Giulia Tofana—thought to be the first female serial killer in history—is brought to life in this feminist retelling.

Palermo 1632: Giulia is thirteen when she learns her mother's greatest secret: Teofania makes an undetectable, slow-acting, lethal poison—Acqua Tofana—which she uses to free the broken and abused women of Palermo. Now Teofania wants to pass her recipe on to her daughter, and Giulia soon realizes that in a time when women have no voice, justice is sometimes best served in a cup of wine or broth.

Rome, 1656: Years later, within the alleys and shadows of the Eternal City, Giulia forms her own circle of female poisoners, who work together under the guise of an apothecary shop to sell poison to women in need.

But even in a time of plague, when death looms over the city, it doesn’t go unnoticed that the men of Rome are starting to fall like flies. And with the newly elected pope determined to rid the city of witches and heretics, Giulia is more vulnerable than ever. How far is she willing to go to continue her mother’s legacy?

Weaving together the stories of the women Giulia helped, the men she killed, and those who wanted her dead, this is a tale of magic, secrets, vengeance, and sin in the back streets of Rome—and, ultimately, a fight for power.

©2025 Cathryn Kemp (P)2025 Dreamscape Media

The different telling of many fictional & nonfictional accounts of a this shameful period of our country.

From the start this book pulled me in with the narrator setting the beginning. It was a great idea esp with domestic violence running rampant now often w no repercussions. For many reasons it’s hard to prosecute. I worked at a public defender’s office. These fools need a serious beat down but too bad that won’t happen. But not as gruesome as the past was.

This tale is crafted with tantalizing alchemy!!!

I was bewitched with this book. The moment I began to listen I absolutely love the narrator. I never questioned that she was not Julia(Giulia) for one moment. I was hanging on every word. Absolutely stunning imagery. Hate this one is over. I will definitely put this author on my list of favorites!