Perspectives by Laurent Binet
I really enjoyed Binet's previous books HHhH and Civilizations, so this was a no-brainer purchase.
Binet uses history like clay, he plays around with it. He can make a realistic sculpure or an abstract representation. He zigs-zags over the line between history and fiction intelligently and in a way that always keeps you guessing his next move. His anachronisms and alternative events are precisely calculated and so much fun.
In Perspectives he constructs a Renaissance whodunnit told exclusively through letters between the main characters. He perfectly mixes classic detective work with the personal drama of aristocrats, artists and craftsmen, and the geopolitcs of an Italy caught in a war between France and Spain, all through the lense of painting and the history of art. There's an awesome scene where a character literally uses his knowledge of perspective to nail a crossbow shot.
I came for the murder mystery but stayed for the world building. Binet paints a Florence vivid with passion, treason, love for the arts and social unrest. The embelished language the characters use to address each other is cleverly used for comedy. The resolution of the mystery ends up being the least important part of the book, Binet is so original with his approach to history that you just want to stare at his fresco for ever.
I will read anything Binet writes next.