Loved

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Mystery

Published 2024 by Dutton Books

Soundtrack:  L’AMOUR DE MA VIE – Billie Eilish      

Mysterious, gripping, and full of references to fabulous food and a tiny Italian village, The Scilian Inheritance is yet another genre-crossing book. Per usual, I am a sucker for strong female friendships, and Piazza crafted them beautifully. I loved the detail she took to define the many facets of womanhood from the beginnings of motherhood, feeling powerless due ato an unspoken code of conduct, and the care with which she discussed the seemingly impossible tasks of managing a home, a job, and maintaining societies expectations of the ideal lady. 

From the opening pages, I was absorbed into a tale of two different yet oddly similar women: Sara, whose restaurant and marriage have fallen apart on a quest to solve the mystery of her great-grandmother, and Serafina, a woman fighting convention and embracing the freedom given to her with a husband working far away to care for the women in her village. Along the way, we have a murder to solve, land rights to dispute over, and gorgeous Sicilian men to lust after. 

The Dual timeline and POV allow you to follow Sara and Seraphina’s footsteps through altering chapters and a precise sequence of events in each timeline. The further the novel progressed, the more invested I became in the outcome of both women’s stories. Piazza’s writing was descriptive, engaging, and fast-paced. I loved her precise descriptions of Sicily and found the personal connections in the author’s note to be an overall positive experience.

I hate to admit it, but the ending did not work for me. After so much build-up, drama, and excellent character development, I was left wanting following the conclusion of the epilogue. Perhaps the author meant to leave some elements up to the reader’s imagination but I wanted more follow up.

Between the messages on womanhood, the Italian setting, and unraveling the twists, this would be a great book to digest with a group.  Overall, it is definitely worth a read!

This reminded me of a few books. Notably, Long Bright River by Liz Moore as well as The Henna Artist by Aika Joshi and Lady Tam’s Circle of Women by Lisa See