An isolated castle, a deadly crime. Is this real or a nightmare?
High up in the Tuscan hills in a remote castle, secrets are simmering among its glamorous English residents:
The ailing gentleman art-dealer
His dazzling niece
Her handsome Fascist husband
Their neglected young daughter
The housekeeper who knows everything
and Connie, the English widow working for them.
There is a terrible wailing inside the walls and sinister noises at night.
Is Connie losing her grip on reality? Or does someone in the castle want her gone?
Filled with breath-taking Tuscan scenery, a sinister atmosphere and an English widow caught up in a family feud with a wandering murderer out to get her. Murder Under the Tuscan Sun is a compelling tale of classic crime with an escapist setting, a 1920s background, and vivid characters trapped in a murder mystery.
I'm delighted to be sharing my thoughts on Murder Under the Tuscan Sun today. Many thanks to Rachel Rhys, Penguin Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel.
Reading a Rachel Rhys book always means being transported to another time and place; her stories are such a treat and despite some strong competition, I think Murder Under the Tuscan Sun might just be my favourite to date.
While most of the novel is set in 1927, the prologue takes place in 1946 and finds an older Constance making an emotional return to somewhere clearly teeming with memories for her. It's notable too that this scene is set shortly after the Second World War and the main storyline examines lives irrevocably affected by the First World War – and with the shadow of fascism and all the horrors to follow looming over everything. Rachel Rhys conjures up a time of immense change and yet still captures the timeless beauty of Tuscany, and particularly Florence.
The younger Connie of 1927 is actually a middle-aged woman who has experienced the worst life can throw at a person. She is widowed with an adult son and is still grieving a tragic loss which turned her world upside down. It becomes evident that she was once the sort of person who rallied for change and had taken part in suffrage marches, but at nearly fifty, she seems to have almost stagnated and so it's perhaps not surprising that her son, James should be incredulous about her accepting a position as a companion for an invalided Englishman living in a castle near Florence. However, while he worries about what people might think of his mother taking up paid employment, it's clear to see that Connie feels unfulfilled and stultified by her life in Pinner.
Even at this early stage in the novel, I was drawn to Connie and intrigued to know more about her. During the course of the book she discovers what she is capable of and although this is a gripping – and rather creepy mystery – it is also a compelling character portrait. The other characters are just as vividly brought to life and perfectly evoke the period between the wars when the socialites of the age competed to host the wildest, most flamboyant parties. There is a sense of change in the air too, however, perhaps most chillingly personified by the apparently charming Roberto, who is in fact, a Fascist blackshirt. Roberto and his wife, Evelyn brashly welcome Connie to their castle but the same can't be said for the man she has been engaged to take care of. Despite his difficulties communicating, William North makes his feelings clear and it's to the author's credit that a man who was evidently once a powerful, influential figure remains a force to be reckoned with in spite of his diminished state, and became a character I was able to empathise with following an inauspicious introduction. A number of other characters fill the book with light and shade but it wouldn't be fair not to single out Evelyn's young daughter, Nora. There are a number of scenes which made my heart ache for this little girl but for all her suffering, there's a story attached to the castle about another young girl which is too horrific to even contemplate.
The building's dark history and fevered present is the perfect location for a mystery redolent of the Golden Age. The sense of place goes beyond just Connie's adopted home, however, and the area is brought so evocatively to life, I could almost smell the herbs and flowers of the Tuscan countryside. The contrast between the increasingly unsettling events which occur here and the stunning location is beautifully realised throughout and I couldn't tear my eyes from the page.
Murder Under the Tuscan Sun is a suspenseful, perceptive and haunting read – historical fiction at its absolute finest. I thought it was wonderful and can't recommend it highly enough.
Murder Under the Tuscan Sun is published by Penguin Books/Transworld. It is out now in ebook and audiobook and will be available in paperback on 30th March 2023. Purchasing links can be found here.
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About the Author
She lives in North London, with her three (allegedly) grown up children and her neurotic rescue dog.
Visit www.tammycohen.co.uk to find out more about her work, including her latest psychological suspense title THE WEDDING PARTY.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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