Cis H. (californiadreamin) reviewed on 5/31/2020 + 279 more book reviews

I'm giving the author 3 stars for his writing ability. The details and descriptions are worthy of a talented writer. What he doesn't do is give depth to characters that makes the reader WANT to keep reading. I didn't really care about the Rosati family, and only a little about detective Serafina.
Story is written in parallel chapters during the war 1943-44 and eleven years later 1955, so many wounds are somewhat fresh, both physical and psychological. Serafina is assigned the difficult task of investigating the murder of one of the Rosatis, and ends up uncovering suppressed memories of her own hell during the war.
The surprise revelation at the end was worth the effort. And the strength of the least strong person in the family was her redemption.
Beautiful descriptions of countryside and of the Villa Chimera. Wish the publisher had printed a map of Italy on the inside cover. I referred to map to help follow war activities.
The story unfolds slowly and truly, I had to force myself to continue until about the half-way mark. Almost gave up but plugged away until storyline picked up and was worth reading. If you expect to get drawn in right away, Bohjalian isn't your guy.

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