Review: The Italian Wife by Kate Furnivall

[dickens 100]

Italy, 1932, architect Isabella Berotti is sitting alone in a Café in the bustling town of Bellina,when a woman walks in and asks her politely to watch her ten year old daughter. Isabella reluctantly agrees, then, to her horror, watches the woman climb to the top of the tower, where she commits suicide. There then follows a frightening and breathtaking journey to find out difficult and dark questions from her past and present and to protect the girl from the horrors of Mussolini's fascist Italy.

This is historical fiction at it's best,mixed with suspense, drama and betrayl, this has it all. All the characters are wonderful and you find yourself really warming to them, especially the child, Rosa who is being looked after by Isabella and photographer Roberto. Mussolini's blackshirts are everywhere, killing everything in their path, Isabella has to try and stay one step ahead and protect everything she loves. Her husband was gunned down when she was younger and dark secrets need to be found out
This is a brilliant novel, I rate 5 out of 5