The Moonlit Piazza (Casa Maria 2)
Italy, WWII. This sequel to The Village Trattoria is described as a standalone, but I would disagree. It picks up where the previous novel left off, with the characters still reeling from events that are never recapped or explained. As a result, I struggled to work out what was going on and was unable to empathise with any of the protagonists. If you plan to read this book, I’d recommend reading The Village Trattoria first if you haven’t already and to stop reading this review now, because there will be spoilers for the earlier book.
Giorgio has had to flee to Rome (I never found out why) and is working at his uncle’s restaurant. Meanwhile, back in Amatino, his funeral is being held. The man in the coffin is Isaac, an old friend of Giorgio’s grandmother, Elena. Isaac died so Giorgio could escape, but poor Isaac gave his life for nothing because Giorgio is back in Amatino before long to check on his new bride, Sophia.
Sophia and Elena are trying to hold things together at Casa Maria, the family restaurant, while helping the resistance and trying to discover who has been betraying them to the Nazis. American codebreaker Kat and former family friend Davide are prime suspects – Kat because she is clearly hiding something and Davide because he was a supporter of Mussolini.
There is plenty of action, interspersed with some nice moments involving pasta-making and the developing friendship between Elena and a German. These scenes are well-written, and all the settings are beautifully described, but the plot is weak, and I found most of the characters unsympathetic.
Maybe I would have enjoyed this book a little more had I read the first, but perhaps not enough to be able to recommend it.
