Technically I think I would give this ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I don’t usually do half stars, but here is why I was a bit torn with this one...
The novel centres around Lottie, a newly-married archivist who’s just moved to Rome to live with her husband, and Nina, the murdered spy/landscaper whose 1977/78 journals and belongings Lottie is archiving.
The mystery itself behind these two characters and the whodunnit side of Nina’s story are, to be fair, very intriguing and the pace really ramps up towards the end.
However, I found the first half a bit slow, possibly because of quite a lot of focus on Italian politics and art history - fascinating topics but not something I have an in-depth knowledge of! I also felt like the writing did not always make it clear where the story was heading, where we were in terms of setting, or even who was speaking!
In conclusion, a great story but hard work to read.
I don’t usually do half stars, but here is why I was a bit torn with this one...
The novel centres around Lottie, a newly-married archivist who’s just moved to Rome to live with her husband, and Nina, the murdered spy/landscaper whose 1977/78 journals and belongings Lottie is archiving.
The mystery itself behind these two characters and the whodunnit side of Nina’s story are, to be fair, very intriguing and the pace really ramps up towards the end.
However, I found the first half a bit slow, possibly because of quite a lot of focus on Italian politics and art history - fascinating topics but not something I have an in-depth knowledge of! I also felt like the writing did not always make it clear where the story was heading, where we were in terms of setting, or even who was speaking!
In conclusion, a great story but hard work to read.