The Sicilian Woman's Daughter

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Pub Date 22 Oct 2018 | Archive Date 30 Nov 2018

Description

Most victims of the mafia are the Sicilians themselves. The role of women both as perpetrators and victims has been grossly overlooked. Until now.


As the daughter of Sicilian immigrants, in her teens Maria turns her back on her origins and fully embraces the English way of life. Notwithstanding her troubled and humble childhood in London, and backed up by her intelligence, beauty and sheer determination, she triumphantly works her way up to join the upper middle-class of British society. There she becomes a bastion of civility.


But a minor incident wakes up feelings of revenge in her like those lurking in Maria’s Sicilian origins. As she delves deeper into her mother’s family history a murky past unravels, drawing Maria more and more into a mire of vendetta.


Print edition: 9781907230691, USD 19.95, GBP 9.95, EUR 16.95


E-book: 9781907230707, USD 6.99, GBP 4.99, EUR 5.99

Most victims of the mafia are the Sicilians themselves. The role of women both as perpetrators and victims has been grossly overlooked. Until now.


As the daughter of Sicilian immigrants, in...


Marketing Plan

This title will be exhibited at Frankfurt Book Fair, October 10th - 12th

This title will be exhibited at Frankfurt Book Fair, October 10th - 12th


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781907230691
PRICE £9.95 (GBP)

Average rating from 69 members


Featured Reviews

Sicilian Mafia Family

Living in London Maria (Mary) has sought to escape her Sicilian roots keeping her family history away from her English husband and her children. However a cup of tea with her Sicilian aunt results in her being draw her back to her roots, and the mafia connections.

Maria tells her story, her memories of her mother, the visits to Sicily and family there. An enthralling glimpse into another world where grandmothers keep a gun close to hand, and it pays to be very respectful to others - who knows what mafia connections they may have. Maria has recently retired, is enjoying life in West London, and uses some of her free time to visit her aunt. In so doing she is drawn into Sicilian plots and intrigues, ranging from making a man love a woman to dealing with a violent husband. Eventually Maria takes her family to visit Sicily, and becomes embroiled in revenge and justice mafia style. Certainly exciting and riveting reading.

The book has a list of characters and Sicilian/Italian words at the front, which I found a little daunting, but in fact I only referred to them on a couple of occasions. Although the book covers 4 generations of Maria's family, it is very clearly written and I was never confused as to who was who. The Sicilian/Italian words used are done so in context, blend in well, and are mostly explained in the main text.

4*s from me, as it was a fast moving book, included plenty of surprises, and gave an insight into different way of life and family ties. The book has left me wondering how much of it is based on the reality of life in some of the regions of this island. Thought provoking!

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An interesting and thought provoking read this one.Mary also known as Maria has two identities - an Italian one and a British one. She now lives in London but returns to the place known as The Village, in Sicily to unpack the mysteries of her past.

She’s living a troubled life, not feeling part of the world she’s now in - She’s known not by her name by many but as “the Sicilian woman’s daughter” and this separation of identities and anonymity is crushing to read about.

Maria tells her story of her Sicily and the image the world has of that place - its mafia connections and how she and everyone from there is tarred with the same brush. As the story takes us on that (very fascinating) train journey across to the island, secrets start to float to the surface, as do the bodies from the depths of the water no doubt.

A fascinating look at the mafia stain on a family of women and what they have to do to survive, bring justice and not be a victim. Thee’s four generations of women’s tories to immerse yourself in and this is a real treat, never too much nor too long. Sicilian words pepper the text as they would the pasta.

An enthralling read on many levels.

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From the get-go (catchy title), The Sicilian Women’s Daughter delivers an exciting multigenerational story. I enjoy reading fast-paced novels steeped in cultural drama. This one fulfills my love for mysteries and intrigue.

Linda Lo Scuro weaves the story about the daughter of Sicilian immigrants with layer upon layer of substance. Soak up the history and ride the turbulent waves of discovery as Maria learns about herself and the roles of women in the Sicilian families.

The novel “the Sicilian woman’s daughter” shows what it’s like to wake-up to your heritage and integrate that knowledge into your present life. It’s a must-read for mystery lovers.

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I really enjoyed the book. When I saw the list of characters at the front I thought I Would never be able to remember the names or follow. But once I got into it it was brilliant. I loved the scilian translations.

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Maria, the protagonist of ‘The Sicilian Woman’s Daughter’, is a retired, respectable teacher. Happy wife, mother of two daughters and Benjamin’s granny. Life is gorgeous in her West London residence (or not?), by the Thames, and lovely Maria has all the time in the world to read books, drink tea, enjoy the time with her beloved husband Humps (or not?), or do whatever she wants to do, all the day long. Or not?
Zia, the other main character, an influential, fragile looking, old woman, and Maria’s aunt, will turn her niece way of life upside down. Despite appearances, Zia is made of iron. La famiglia before anything else is her motto, and she proves it along the action of the book.
Suddenly Maria’s easy life turns into a fast stream, and she hardly manages to keep the direction. Her values and belives are washed away and she has to face fear an anger.
Written in the first person ‘The Sicialian Woman’s Daughter’ immerses the reader deeply and actively and it blows away the benefit of the doubt for the perpetrators, because justice, in Mafia terms, is a matter of feelings, guts and immediat reaction. The charm of reading this book is that: always, and I mean always, the reader is satisfied with the result. An gun under the bed will make the owner more confident and his/her selfesteem 1000x higher. Just saying!
‘The Sicilian Woman’s Daughter’ is a confrontation between raw, unpolished power (men) and the sophistication’s of women’s mind. Guess who will win in the end!

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Maria is Siscillian. Not something she is proud of. She can't wait to leave Sicily and move to England. She accomplishes this at the age of eighteen. She's had to go through an arranged marriage, beatings, and being subjected to harsh conditions by her family. She's divorced and has married the man of her dream. She is far from her mafioso family. Yes, Mafioso!! She is in it up to her neck, no matter how much she tries to forget her roots.
It seems like the abusive men of her family seem to be dropping dead or disappearing. And two meddlesome sisters? Well, they're being meddlesome!
At the end of the day, though, family is family!!
I enjoyed reading this book immensely. Even though it's fiction it gave you an insight into what might happen in this sort of family. Plus, you learn great words in Sicilian!!!

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This is a crackling good read and it brings to life the Scilian family that Mary/Maria has tried to forget for over 30 years. Mary is married to Humphrey, a banker with two delightful daughters and a grandson. They live in an upmarket apartment and she has just retired from teaching in a series of prodigious schools. Despite her seemingly Englishness as the tale unfolds we learn of her connections to a family of women who are definitely Mafia and of her dreadful childhood of abuse and neglect. She has carefully created her place in society through her looks and intelligence making sure that her Scilian family stays out of her life, that is until she reconnects with Zia her mother’s sister and through helping her she begins to expose dreadfully deeds that have occurred and are still occurring due to the women in her family. Her life is then torn apart by realising that she is just the same as her Scilian family and she needs them to help her when the life of her immediate family is at risk.. A story that will bring alive the heat and the underbelly of life in a Mafia controlled Scilian village.

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Maria was born in Sicily and grew up in The Village surrounded by family. Her parents left Sicily when Maria was a teen and emigrated to England. One of her mother's sisters also left The Village and moved to England as well with her children. Maria, now known as Mary, wanted to leave her past behind and assimilated into the culture of England. She was successful in her career, married and had two children, not telling her family about her past or family in Sicily. Mary is now retired and has some time on her hands. Her cousin Susi asks Mary to go and visit her Zia (aunt) and spend some time with her. Mary learns some more of the family history and is drawn into helping her aunt. Mary's husband has always wanted to go to Sicily so Mary decides to take a trip there with her husband and her children and their spouses. Their trip is eventful and old relationships are renewed. When they return home Mary's husband reveals that he is in trouble. Mary needs to find a way to help him. The book makes you wonder how strong family ties really are.

This was a first reads giveaway from LibraryThing.

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A very interesting and thought provoking book. This book is full of cultural drama, which  I really enjoyed.

This book is about a woman who has been living with two identities. One as Mary who lives in London with her English family and the other as an Italian , a life that she has been trying to keep secret from her English family for over 30 years. (Don’t want to give anymore away)

The book is well written and flows consistently through to the end. This makes the book easy to read.  It is written in first person which makes you feel as if it’s a true account of Mary/Maria’s experiences rather than the story being fictional.  While reading this book you can tell that Linda Lo Scuro has researched the topics covered in the book thoroughly.

I really liked how Linda has given a list of characters at the beginning of the book.  when I first saw the list I thought, how am I going to remember all these characters, but as I  started reading I didn’t have any trouble.  Also, at the beginning there is a list of Sicilian /Italian words and definitions.  I thought this was a great idea, also not I know a few basic words in Sicilian/Italian.

An interesting ending as I wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did.

Definitely worth reading.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sparkling Books Ltd for my Advance Digital Review Copy in return for an unbiased review.

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Family ties can be strong. The Sicilian Woman's Daughter shows how four generations of mafia women both protect and destroy. Maria, the protagonist, is a daughter of Sicilian immigrants to the British society. Where Maria herself seems to prefer settling in the UK and marries a local, her mother and grandma still pull. Illustrated in very Italian English, pull. Returning to The Village on Sicily is accompanied by three funerals and no wedding in sight. Women acting as perpetrators and victims of domestic violence, brutal murders, money laundering, alcohol and drug abuse, and adultery.

No matter how many rosaries you say, how faithful you are, there are always excuses to take revenge if that suits you well, Female sophistication and guns, poison, and network connections do the trick. The plot's convincing and rich in local flavors.

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I found this an engrossing read and an excellent first novel from Linda Lo Scuro. Told in first person by the protagonist, Maria, the story explores the role of women in the Sicilian Mafia: a role, until now, unknown and/or unspoken of.
Having come to live in London as a teen, Maria is determined to leave her impoverished and unhappy Sicilian childhood behind and make a good life for herself in a city where opportunities abound for intelligent and good-looking girls like Mary (as she is called in London). She works hard to gain a good university degree and adopts the life-style, appearance and manners of a middle upper-class English woman, including a ‘posh accent’. A successful marriage to a prosperous banker and raising children of her own, help her to promote this image.
But Mary can never completely forget her past, or her cruel, uncaring mother and other women like her back in ‘The Village’, her Sicilian home. She also has Sicilian relatives in London and, although she is very fond of them, they are further reminders of the roots she wants to forget. Yet, following retirement retires from work, Mary gets into the habit of visiting her Aunt Zia for a ‘cuppa tea’ and homemade cakes. She soon finds that Zia is never short of visitors – mostly women seeking the old lady’s help for one problem or another.
Zia is a fascinating and complex character, known back in Sicily as a ‘donna d’onore’: ‘a woman of honour’. We come to see what that title actually means and how much influence Aunt Zia still has in dealing out justice on behalf of those who have suffered at the hands of violent and controlling men – both in Sicilian-London society and further afield. Mary becomes involved with some of Zia’s plots for revenge and agrees to travel back to The Village in Sicily – which she hasn’t seen for forty years – in order to see mafia-style justice meted out on more than one character!
An exciting plot, great characterisation and an unexpected ending all add up to a thoroughly enjoyable read.

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This was a book that I enjoyed for the most part. I liked the premise quite a bit. I would most likely recommend it.

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Who new that living in the Sicilian culture in the 20000 was still so active amongst the villages in Sicily!? This book started a little slow however stick with it and this is an excellent read. Mary married on the second occasion to an English man, Humphrey, lives for 40 years in English culture hiding from her very abusive childhood. She re visits her family in London and becomes embroiled back in the mafia culture with all this involves. There is a real unexpected twist towards the end of this story.. This is full of intrigue and suspense leaving you guessing to the end.

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This book was an ARC from Net Galley. I enjoyed it very much!

The story was pleasing and easy to follow. When I started the book I read all the characters and got very confused and thought I would lose a lot trying to keep everyone together to get to the end of the book, not so. It was written in just such a way that it was easy to follow all the players.

Maria grew up in England and Sicily with a mother who was very mean to her. Her mother would hit and beat her at very change she had. Maria's Aunt Peppina her mother's sister was mean to her also.

Peppina was the reason that Maria was forced into an arranged marriage. She also hit and kicked Maria so badly that Maria lost a kidney. Maria never told anyone about this but kept it bottled up inside her.

The story tells of all the things that the mafia had done in Sicily and brought over to London when another of Maria's aunts moved there. Her name was Zia! She at least helped Maria to get through her life!

The story was very interesting and very easy to follow. I would recommend it to all my family and friends.

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Very intriguing good read. Mary or Maria, as she has double identities, is a great heroine. Thought provoking.

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I went into this book without knowing anything about it and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The book grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down !

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I really enjoyed Linda Lo Scuro style of writing it was like peaking into Maria's diary sometimes others it felt as intimate as having a conversation with Maria about her life. What an interesting life!

Lo Scuro has Maria take you on a wonderful journey from London to Sicily & back. Maria spent her childhood growing up in Sicily wanting to leave her life there & everyone behind. She finds her way out & begins her new life having her own a family & career detaching from her family in Sicily & her roots. But just like they said in the Godfather "Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in."

I love how Lo Scuro wrote from multiple woman's prospective about revenge, the way she built up the layers of multiple characters was quite fun to read. She even managed a couple plot twist that I didn't see coming in the storyline.

I will warn you when reading this book visits to Zia's house will make you hungry for some good Italian home cooking & baking. Best to read this book with a side of good cannoli to snack on!

I am looking forward to reading more by Lo Scuro she writes very interesting strong female characters in this book. This was definitely a satisfying read from start to finish!

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Vaffanculo..................I love the word as much as I love this book. Talk about attitude! Sicilian women are a surprising bunch according to Linda Lo Scuro's book "The Sicilian Woman's Daughter". Abused, scheming, vindictive, connected, murderous, victims and victors.

I loved discovering the story of Maria aka Mary who came from a poor Sicilian background to recreate herself in England as a successful and wealthy teacher and wife to a high flier bank executive.
She has just retired and with more time on her hands, she is encouraged to visit her Aunt Zia who lives in London also. Well, this little old lady is a complex web of hidden secrets and dodgy dealings. I don't want to tell here the extent of her power within the Sicilian underworld ...... but quite a few people are dead because of her scheming combined with her contacts. She is held in high regard and this goes along way in getting what you want in Sicily.

Maria goes for a family trip to Sicily and is further drawn into the shady world of mafia happenings....much to her dismay and attempts to stay removed from her past. Her morals and all she has created for herself/of herself are under threat.

I was fascinated by this story and can completely understand the fascination Linda Lo Scuro has also. The excitement of danger is enthralling.

Thank you #NetGalley and Sparkling Books for this advance read copy.

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This book was very good as the daughter Maria turns away from her origins she has a new life a good life .
But an incident happens and they like to lurch in Maria’s Sicilian ways .
I had an ARC for this book

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With my family being from Sicily, I knew I had to read this book. I fell in love with the characters and how family is so important to Italian families. I loved how it dove into the culture and history of this family and Sicily while making me laugh!

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Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I started reading this book without knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

This book is about a woman who has been living with two identities. On one hand she is Mary who lives in London with her English family, on the other she is Maria the daughter of Sicilian immigrants who come to England and it's a side to life that she has been trying to keep secret from her English family for over 30 years but becoming hard to hid for the past.

The book is well written and flows consistently through to the end it is written in first person which makes you feel as if it’s a true account of Mary/Maria’s experiences rather than the story being fictional. Well done to the author on producing an excellent read

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A great book which I felt was as true an account as you will get about how the Mafia can affect everyone who is involved with them even if they do not want to be. Lives have a very different meaning and whilst family connections are strong they can't escape it even if they want to.

I would thoroughly recommend.

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An intriguing story of how you can try to escape your family roots, but sometimes those ties are too strong. The author introduces us to independent women tied together through brutality, heritage, blood and secrets.
A really interesting read.

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The Michael Corleone quote from Godfather III “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”
sums up this book perfectly. An interesting read highlighting how different cultures are, or are they?
Sometimes it’s the person you think you know best you actually know least

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I enjoyed this book about a woman coming to terms with her heritage and its place in her world today. I found the story to be compelling and well written. I will definitely recommend this book to others. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

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This was a great book about Maria's two lives, one as the "Sicilian Woman's Daughter" surrounded by the mafia and the other in London that is "normal". I loved reading about the role of women in the mafia, both as victims and perpetrators. This book moved along at a great pace and was well written.

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When I decided to pick this up I really had no idea what to expect from it, but the glossary of characters and of Italian terminology included at the very front made me rather nervous as it usually indicates that you will need to refer back to them to keep the story straight in your head. However, I was pleasantly surprised that rarely was it necessary to flip back to that section whilst reading, and I ended up forgetting about it completely.

Refreshingly original, emotive and with a number of unique facets to the story, this is a highly accomplished debut novel. I particularly liked the fact that the line between fact and fiction was beautifully blurred with the two sides rubbing along seamlessly. It has you questioning throughout whether a particular event actually did occur in real-life or whether it's a figment of the author's imagination. Either way, it makes for a very interesting read. Written under a pen name, and having released very few biographical details about herself, Lo Scuro has said that when writing The Sicilian Woman's Daughter that she wished to remain detached from the link her family have had to the mafia which could've led to upset and repercussions within her family circle. I guess this also answers the question of why her profile picture on Twitter is only an avatar/cartoon. This for me makes the book even more interesting and intriguing than it already was!

You can tell that the author knows what she is talking about regarding the mafioso women in this story and the impact this had on their lives, everything about it feels authentic. It is sad but also obvious to me that this secrecy regarding the author's name is essential, but spare a thought for her because, as she has mentioned in interviews, if the book is successful there would be no glory for her due to the anonymity - so this has both negative and positive aspects to it. She continues by saying that she would not have written it had she needed to disclose her identity, so a big shout out to the publisher for allowing this. A fascinating book, immediately engaging and thought-provoking from first page to last, with an intriguing backstory, Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Sparkling Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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