An Italian Secret (Daughters of Italy)
This dual-timeline novel takes place in the Villa Rosa, a lovely Tuscan villa. In the present day, Annie, an American chef, learns she was adopted and she has inherited the Villa Rosa from her biological mother. In Italy, Annie finds out that someone else claims to own the villa, and that he plans to turn it into a conference center. Also, she may be the descendant of the child that the villa’s owner during World War II, Contessa Evelina Messina, had with a Nazi. Annie finds a journal, with missing pages, kept by Cara, the Contessa’s secretary, during the war, and realizes it might contain the secret of her identity. Cara’s story takes place in 1944, when Tuscany was occupied by the Germans. The Contessa collaborates with the Nazis to protect the nearby villagers. When Cara’s father is shot by the Nazis, she joins the resistance, along with the Contessa’s son, whom she secretly loves, and carries out a dangerous mission, carrying explosives for an attack on a Nazi stronghold.
Ella Carey draws the reader in with beautifully written details about the villa and the Tuscan countryside, and mouthwatering descriptions of Italian food. Although technically not a mystery, the book contains a strong element of intrigue in Annie’s search for her heritage. Both timelines held my attention, and I kept wondering whether Cara would survive the war. I figured out the connection between Cara and Annie, but it didn’t spoil the book for me. The Contessa is a complex, somewhat mysterious, character, and there is enough doubt about her activities during the war that you don’t know, until the end, which side she is really on. There are some descriptions of wartime violence, but nothing too graphic. I highly recommend this book.
