Sicily, 1977.
Ten-year-old Lily and family arrive for their annual summer holiday in Sicily. Adopted as a toddler, Lily's childhood has been idyllic. But a chance encounter with a local woman on the beach changes everything...
10 years later...
Ever since that fateful summer Lily's picture-perfect life, and that of her family, has been in turmoil. The secrets of the baking hot shores of Sicily are calling her back, and Lily knows that the answers she has been so desperately seeking can only be found if she returns to her beloved island once more...
Today we are kicking off the Secrets in Sicily blog tour with a review from Emma below. It's been a while since I last featured Penny Feeny on the blog having done a Q&A with her back in 2013 which can be read here as well as featuring a review from Louise in 2014.
Many thanks to Aria via NetGalley for my copy of Secrets in Sicily to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Secrets in Sicily is the third book from Penny Feeny but there has been an incredibly long gap since publication of her last book The Apartment in Rome. The author seemed to have dropped off the book radar but I was always secretly hoping she would write another book and every now and then would check online to see if she had anything new coming out. So I was very surprised when at last Secrets in Sicily popped up with its bright, colourful cover and intriguing title. Reading the blurb the premise for this book sounded very promising. Initially I thought it might have been a dual timeline novel but I was soon proven wrong.
It begins in the summer of 1977 on the island of Sicily where Jess and Alex McKenzie holiday at Villa Ercole with their children Lily and Alex. They stay with a friend Gerald who lives there year round with his maid Dolly. These two characters are more on the periphery of the story but yet are important as the villa is an anchor to which the characters at certain stages found themselves bound to. Both Dolly and Gerald are constants in the story when all around them is turmoil, uncertainty and anguish caused by an event whose repercussions are very far reaching and have an emotional impact on all those involved. The author sets the scene well of the enjoyable times the McKenzie's have spent on the island. Alex and Jess need this one month every year to stop, relax and take stock before facing into what the next year holds.
It's made clear from the outset that Lily is adopted. Alex several years before was doing charitable work and helped in the rescue of people following an earthquake in Belice. Lily was the baby he pulled from the ruble and following some time in a convent with nuns, Alex formally adopted her and later went on to have Harry with Jess. They are like one family unit now but what happens when elements of the past begin to sniff around the fringes of their holiday and family time? All actions have consequences and in this case the question is raised what actually happens after a natural disaster? What are the repercussions for those left behind? No doubt Alex and Lily were selfless in adopting Lily not wishing her to linger in a convent when they could take her back to England and give her a good home. But was everything done to ensure no family members remained?
A chance meeting on the beach with a woman sets in motion a chain of events that will test the family to their limits. Fractures begin to appear in the relationship of Jess and Alex and maybe they were there to begin with but this new found pressure only exasperates and widens the cracks ever so slightly. The character of Carlotta was mysterious and I was unnerved reading the chapters which featured her in part one. You never knew her true intentions and at times I just wanted her to back away and leave sleeping dogs lie but I suppose you have to follow what your heart and soul was says. I did find Carlotta's back story and family history slightly confusing at the beginning, there were different names and information bandied about and I found it challenging to follow what was going on. I think things needed to be made a little clearer for the reader as Alex and Jess attempted to uncover some information re Carlotta.
As the book progressed and split into different sections and the years passed, both Carlotta and Lily found more of a voice and I found myself preferring the later half of the book where Lily is now a young adult exploring the world. She is now old enough to begin to discover what really happened to stop Alex and Jess visiting Villa Ercole. She showed maturity and understanding as she sought answers. You did have to remember when reading that this book is set in the late 1970's and up to 1988 so certain things had not been invented then which would have made things much more plain sailing. I am someone who needs firm, concrete evidence in order to believe something so I found it difficult when certain characters took things on face value. If it had been me I would have wanted definitive answers and would not have been willing to engage in discussion or even attempt a relationship until I had said answers.
I think if the book had begun in the late 80's and followed on to the 90's the ending would not have been as ambiguous leaving the reader to make up their own mind as to what had happened. Lily I feel has to take great leaps of faith and trust that she is making the correct decision. At times there was a lot of skirting around the issue but the story was packed full of uncertainty and tension which did make for a very good read. But certain points I felt it would have benefited from the major characters sitting down and really getting everything out in the open and maybe even to throw in a few more surprises and twists and turns as the secret as mentioned in the title is revealed very early.
Overall Secrets in Sicily was an enjoyable read with beautiful descriptions of the island and what it means to the characters. The cover may suggest it's a light beach read but I think you get a lot more than you bargained for as it is a thought provoking read which throws up many questions - How can we forget those in the past when they seem to have such a forbearing on the present? How can one simple, loving, selfless act cause so many repercussions? Moral dilemmas make themselves know and each character has to question themselves and those around them very carefully. An interesting and pleasing read from Penny Feeny. Let's hope it won't be quite as long a wait for book number four.
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