Overview

After she nearly ruins her family with a terrible misstep, Elena Spira is sent to Venice to escape disgrace and to atone by caring for the ailing Samuel Farber. But the crumbling and decaying Ca’ Basilio palazzo, where Samuel is ensconced, holds tragic secrets, and little does Elena know how profoundly they will impact her. Soon she begins to sense that she is being watched by something. And when Samuel begins to have hallucinations that make him violent and unpredictable, she can’t deny she’s in mortal danger.

Then impoverished nobleman Nero Basilio, Samuel’s closest friend and the owner of the palazzo, arrives. Elena finds herself entangled with both men in a world where the past seeps into the present and nothing is as it seems. As Elena struggles to discover the haunting truth before it destroys her, a dark force seems to hold Samuel and the Basilio in thrall—is it madness, or something more sinister?

Review

Elena is struggling to overcome a mistake. Her parents send her to Venice to take care of a patient in hopes of redemption to their name. Her patient, Samuel, is a mystery and she is determined to find out the truth. 

This novel has a little bit of everything. There are ghosts, a little exorcism, love, hate, disappearances and a good bit of excitement, along with a twist at the end. 

The setting of this story is amazing and the author did a fabulous job. I felt like I was in Venice with all the smells, architecture, and canals. 

What I did not enjoy was the interaction between her characters. The dialogue is stilted and contrived. Elena changes her persona several times in the book. One minute she is mousy and the next she is strong-willed. 

However, it is still a  good read. The story keeps the reader very interested with all the strange energy running throughout the tale. And is the cover not fabulous!!! 

I received this novel from Netgalley for an honest review.  
 

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