Rachel Rhys’s writting and storytelling is beguiling. This wonderful and eclectic cast of characters are not who they first seem. Consance is looking to spread her wings after the death of her husband and daughter but instead of flourishing under the Tuscan sun she seems to loose sight of herself, hearing noises, seeing things and starts to question her own sanity. Into this disfunctional family comes Constance Bowen, employed as a companion to William North, the Uncle. Evelyn’s eight year old daughter, who is awkward and neglected by her mother and Alina, the housekeeper who seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Then there is his niece Evelyn, young, beautiful, a social butterfly and newly married to the handsome Roberto. There is the older Uncle, rich, an art expert, widowed and currently unwell. What dawned on me as I was reading Murder Under the Tuscan Sun was that it reminded me of an Agatha Christie thriller, both in plot and the characters. I have loved her previous books and with her new book set just outside Florence, my favourite place to visit, and in a castle with some wonderful art and the setting of 1927 this was a book I had to read. Having read previous books by Rachel Rhys I was really excited to be part of the blog tour for her new book Murder Under the Tuscan Sun. In a remote castle high up in the Tuscan hills secrets are simmering among its glamorous English residents:Īnd Connie, the English widow working for them.Įvery night, Connie hears sinister noises and a terrible wailing inside the walls. (Oct.Follow me Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin (30 Mar. Above all, her observations about being at home in two very different cultures are sharp and wise. Not the least of the charms of her book are the recipes for delicious meals she has made. A poet, food-and-travel writer, Italophile and chair of the creative writing department at San Francisco State University, Mayes is a fine wordsmith and an exemplary companion whose delight in a brick floor she has just waxed is as contagious as her pleasure in the landscape, architecture and life of the village. The recently divorced author is euphoric about the old house in the Tuscan hills that she and her new lover renovated and now live in during summer vacations and on holidays. But here she finds considerably more to say about it than that, all of it so enchanting that an armchair traveler will find it hard to resist jumping out of the chair and following in her footsteps. Mayes's favorite guide to Northern Italy allots seven pages to the town of Cortona, where she owns a house.

Tuscan sun book