The wealthy Lingate family always holidays on Capri, where they stay in a gorgeous villa near the Mediterranean Sea.
Even after a tragedy befell the vacationing Lingates many years ago, they continued their annual visit to Capri. Three decades ago, in 1992, brothers Marcus and Richard Lingate were on Capri with their families. The members of the household were:
Marcus and his wife Naomi;
and Richard, his wife Sarah, and their 3-year-old daughter Helen.
One evening the adult Lingates went to a party, everyone got drunk, and Richard and Sarah were seen arguing. The next morning Sarah's battered body was found in the Mediterranean Sea, right below the Lingates' villa. Evidence was scarce and Sarah's death was called an accident or suicide. Nevertheless, the residents of Capri regarded the family askance, and suspicion continued to simmer over time.
It's now thirty years later and the Lingates, as usual, are vacationing on Capri. As is their habit, the Lingates flaunt their wealth, look down on 'the help', and make sure to see and be seen by their fellow glitterati.
Things within the family are tense though. Marcus and Naomi remain childless, and Naomi drinks too much and takes prescription medicine. Naomi frequently seems befuddled, but Marcus is conspicuously caring, solicitous, and affectionate.
To help the family during the trip, Marcus has brought along his assistant Lorna - a recovering alcoholic who makes reservations, books activities, rents boats and cars, and takes care of all details related to the vacation. Marcus's wife Naomi seems to resent Lorna, who's young, pretty, intelligent and capable.
Widower Richard never remarried after his wife Sarah died. Over the years, Richard has become an ascetic who promotes meditation and thoughtful living.
Richard and Sarah's daughter Helen, now 33-years-old, is accompanied to Capri by her boyfriend Freddy - a carefree young man from a rich family.
The Lingates have sheltered Helen all her life, which Helen sees as being controlled. Moreover, Helen never got over the loss of her mother, whom the family NEVER talks about. The secrecy makes Helen skeptical about Sarah's death, and she wants to know the truth.
The book is narrated in the rotating voices of Lorna, Helen, and Sarah (before she died), and the story skips back and forth in time. Thus it takes some concentration to keep up with the tale.
To avoid spoilers, I'll be circumspect. Thirty-plus years ago, Richard and Sarah met in New York City. At that time Sarah was a successful playwright, Richard was an aspiring writer, and they 'clicked' and got married.
When the family patriarch in Los Angeles became ill, Richard and Sarah visited the west coast and, to Sarah's dismay, got 'stuck' there. Little Helen was born and the marriage limped on, in part because Lingates don't divorce.
In Sarah's sections she talks about the decay of her marriage, the nosedive her career took when she had to stay in California, and the feeling that she's trapped.
All this leads to the discord between Richard and Sarah on Capri in 1992.....and presumably to her death. When Sarah's corpse was found, her rings were on her fingers, but the gold serpent necklace she always wore was missing.
Skip to 2022, and during the Lingates' holiday on Capri, a package arrives at their villa. When the box is opened, it contains Sarah's gold serpent necklace!!
From the chapters narrated by Helen and Lorna, we discover they've known each other for years, and have hatched a scheme to expose the truth about Sarah's death. Their plan involves the gold serpent necklace, blackmail, and 10 million dollars.
Big money is often a dangerous thing, and another death occurs. This leads the Italian police to re-open the investigation into Sarah Lingate's death. The subsequent dual homicide inquiries make members of the Lingate family very nervous.
Many secrets are revealed in the course of the story, and the narrative leads to a surprising climax that - for some readers - will stretch credulity too much.
That said, the ambiance of Capri is wonderful: the yachts; the techno music mixed with church bells; the Hermès, Gucci, and Ferragamo stores; the bougainvillea dripping off balconies; the visitors dressed in linens and straw hats; the champagne and bespoke cocktails; the gourmet pasta; the ancient cobblestone streets; and more. Capri is undoubtedly a lovely, but expensive, place to visit.
For me, the fractured style of the narrative was distracting, but all in all, I'd recommend the novel to readers who like destination mysteries.
Thanks to Netgalley, Katy Hays, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the novel.
Even after a tragedy befell the vacationing Lingates many years ago, they continued their annual visit to Capri. Three decades ago, in 1992, brothers Marcus and Richard Lingate were on Capri with their families. The members of the household were:
Marcus and his wife Naomi;
and Richard, his wife Sarah, and their 3-year-old daughter Helen.
One evening the adult Lingates went to a party, everyone got drunk, and Richard and Sarah were seen arguing. The next morning Sarah's battered body was found in the Mediterranean Sea, right below the Lingates' villa. Evidence was scarce and Sarah's death was called an accident or suicide. Nevertheless, the residents of Capri regarded the family askance, and suspicion continued to simmer over time.
It's now thirty years later and the Lingates, as usual, are vacationing on Capri. As is their habit, the Lingates flaunt their wealth, look down on 'the help', and make sure to see and be seen by their fellow glitterati.
Things within the family are tense though. Marcus and Naomi remain childless, and Naomi drinks too much and takes prescription medicine. Naomi frequently seems befuddled, but Marcus is conspicuously caring, solicitous, and affectionate.
To help the family during the trip, Marcus has brought along his assistant Lorna - a recovering alcoholic who makes reservations, books activities, rents boats and cars, and takes care of all details related to the vacation. Marcus's wife Naomi seems to resent Lorna, who's young, pretty, intelligent and capable.
Widower Richard never remarried after his wife Sarah died. Over the years, Richard has become an ascetic who promotes meditation and thoughtful living.
Richard and Sarah's daughter Helen, now 33-years-old, is accompanied to Capri by her boyfriend Freddy - a carefree young man from a rich family.
The Lingates have sheltered Helen all her life, which Helen sees as being controlled. Moreover, Helen never got over the loss of her mother, whom the family NEVER talks about. The secrecy makes Helen skeptical about Sarah's death, and she wants to know the truth.
The book is narrated in the rotating voices of Lorna, Helen, and Sarah (before she died), and the story skips back and forth in time. Thus it takes some concentration to keep up with the tale.
To avoid spoilers, I'll be circumspect. Thirty-plus years ago, Richard and Sarah met in New York City. At that time Sarah was a successful playwright, Richard was an aspiring writer, and they 'clicked' and got married.
When the family patriarch in Los Angeles became ill, Richard and Sarah visited the west coast and, to Sarah's dismay, got 'stuck' there. Little Helen was born and the marriage limped on, in part because Lingates don't divorce.
In Sarah's sections she talks about the decay of her marriage, the nosedive her career took when she had to stay in California, and the feeling that she's trapped.
All this leads to the discord between Richard and Sarah on Capri in 1992.....and presumably to her death. When Sarah's corpse was found, her rings were on her fingers, but the gold serpent necklace she always wore was missing.
Skip to 2022, and during the Lingates' holiday on Capri, a package arrives at their villa. When the box is opened, it contains Sarah's gold serpent necklace!!
From the chapters narrated by Helen and Lorna, we discover they've known each other for years, and have hatched a scheme to expose the truth about Sarah's death. Their plan involves the gold serpent necklace, blackmail, and 10 million dollars.
Big money is often a dangerous thing, and another death occurs. This leads the Italian police to re-open the investigation into Sarah Lingate's death. The subsequent dual homicide inquiries make members of the Lingate family very nervous.
Many secrets are revealed in the course of the story, and the narrative leads to a surprising climax that - for some readers - will stretch credulity too much.
That said, the ambiance of Capri is wonderful: the yachts; the techno music mixed with church bells; the Hermès, Gucci, and Ferragamo stores; the bougainvillea dripping off balconies; the visitors dressed in linens and straw hats; the champagne and bespoke cocktails; the gourmet pasta; the ancient cobblestone streets; and more. Capri is undoubtedly a lovely, but expensive, place to visit.
For me, the fractured style of the narrative was distracting, but all in all, I'd recommend the novel to readers who like destination mysteries.
Thanks to Netgalley, Katy Hays, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the novel.
Rating: 3 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment