First published 2013
Cristina Rosati swims in her family's pool while war consumes Europe in 1943. The eighteen-year-old lives peacefully at their Tuscan villa south of Florence, playing with her niece and nephew among olive groves and gardens. When German and Italian soldiers arrive seeking an ancient Etruscan burial site, everything changes. A young German lieutenant pursues Cristina romantically. Nazis occupy the estate and transform the family sanctuary into a prison. Twelve years later, detective Serafina Bettini investigates brutal murders targeting the surviving Rosatis. The Florence police investigator carries her own war scars, both physical and emotional. As she tracks the killer methodically eliminating family members, Serafina uncovers connections between the victims and her own wartime experiences. The investigation forces her to confront buried memories while racing to stop the systematic destruction of the noble family. Two timelines converge as past betrayals fuel present vengeance across the Italian countryside.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, thriller, world-war-ii
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Florence, Italy, Tuscany
Period: 1943, 1955
309 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: death, violence, war