Gothic thriller with supernatural elements.
I should have read the synopsis more closely. A grief stricken widow whose husband was killed in front of her (she had a premonition) inherits a huge Tuscan estate from a woman she's never heard of. Julia goes to Italy to check out the villa and vineyard, both worth millions. Once there, Julia, who was adopted as an infant, begins to suspect that the owner of this estate, Emilia Rossi, must be related to her. While ensconced in the villa and thinking about selling, Julia starts to experience visions, hallucinations, and crazy dreams.
This was a psychological thriller that never quite created any suspense or uneasiness for me especially when the paranormal events escalated and Julia started to believe she had special gifts in connecting with the dead and being guided by them. Most of what Julia did and thought defied credulity and I got bored very quickly. I am not a fan of anything metaphysical, paranormal, otherworldy etc. I do enjoy historical fiction and would definitely have liked more of those details, especially from the Renaissance period. The meet cute and instant romance (her husband had only been dead 6 months) was really off putting and pushed me over the edge. The whole conspiracy set up and explanation also didn't really even make that much sense as being the reason for all the persecution.
I have read most all of this author's legal procedurals and definitely prefer those to this kind of departure. I'm definitely not the intended audience for this type of mystery.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Maria Marquis, did a fine job of voicing the characters but her talent was not enough to overcome what I perceived as shortcomings with the plot and storyline.
This is a standalone and is a departure from this author's usual series.
Genre - astrology, paranormal, supernatural, gothic, mystery, psychological thriller
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