This book, with its two time lines, tells us a story which unfolds gradually as the past is revealed. I love this style and find myself torn when we leave wartime and come back to more recent days, and vice versa as we return to the past. I enjoyed the artistic references, as well as reading of wartime Italy and the privations of the local people.

The tale centres on a lost painting, as Jude, the art dealer, having lost his nerve as well as his money after buying a clever fake, is reluctantly helping Beatrice to trace the painting. She finds more about her family's history as a result. I found it fascinating, gripping and satisfying.

I really enjoyed this historical mystery set in two timelines - Rome during World War Two and the present day.

Jude is reluctantly drawn into the search for a missing portrait left to Beatrice by her mother. The search takes them to a safety deposit box in Rome, her estranged family and an exploration of her parents’ past and their love story.

The chapters dealing with the reality of life under Mussolini and then German occupation were hard to read and I was surprised by the lengths the Vatican went to protect its reputation.

I enjoyed the developing relationship between Beatrice’s parents which was mirrored by her own with Jude.

Interesting and absorbing.

One to be recommended.

A very enjoyable and captivating read. Set between UK 1997 and 1940s in Italy, we learn how Beatrice parents met and how they came to be in possession of part of a very old painting.

What an interesting novel this is. I dont usually enjoy books moving from one era to another, but this did seem to have consistency. Maddalena, who is a maid in the Chateau belonging to the Montefalcones, somehow ends up marrying the Count. It was perhaps a little far fetched, but the descriptions of the war years were excellent.
Later, moving on to 1997, Beatrice, Maddalena's daughter finds some photographs that might be interesting to a collector, and asks Jude to value them. The story becomes quite amazing, leaping from famaily revelations , hidden treasure, to a possible Caravaggio find, moving from London to Rome.
It's intriguing but again, a little impossible to beleive. However, I enjoyed reading the novel. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review it.

A 2,5* review rounded to 3*.
I did not enjoy this novel. I did like the part dealing with (explanations about styles of paintings, of paintings themselves). However, the characterisation felt poor to me. Cliché personalities, sometimes unrealistic. When it came to expressing feelings, it felt flat and very clumsy. This made the characters unconvincing. The modern timeline was particularly uninteresting because of the characters and because it was ever so predictable in its outcome! The historical timeline was better but not really suspenseful as the reader quickly guesses where the storyline goes. This is however only my opinion. A quick and very easy read.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

At the start of WW2 Maddalena is sent to Rome from Sicily to work for the wealthy Montefalco family. Homesick she finds solace in exploring her new city and falls in love . As the war progresses and the Nazis arrive she must make some desperate choices.
Beatrice Fermont ,looking to raise funds to pay off her elderly mother's debts, invites Jude Adler an art dealer to value her father's photographic collection . He is intrigued with a small portrait which he thinks could be a lost Caravaggio. After her mother Maddalena's death the two set off for Rome after Beatrice discovers a letter . Jude to see if he can uncover the find of a lifetime Beatrice to uncover a family secret.
I devoured this fabulous book in one sitting . The story is set in war torn Rome and modern day London and smoothly flicks back and forth between the two timelines. Essentially a story of betrayal and love ,the characters feel very real and so too do the historical events.
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