My Two Cents (Book Review): THE INHERITANCE OF GIULIANA by Alessandra Benini

The Inheritance of Giuliana by Alessandra Benini is a story about grief, and how over time, it wears us down, weathering and overwhelming us, much as weeds overtake an untended garden, or disrepair eventually crumbles even the most impressive of mansions. The story's main character, the titular Giuliana, or Julie as she prefers, is already in the full throes of heartache and grief from the opening chapter, still mourning a breakup months earlier with a man with whom she'd thought she was in love. When she learns of the death of her maternal grandmother, who lived in Italy, she suffers a different kind of sorrow, one that comes from the realization that she'd never known the woman, that she hadn't seen her "Nonna Concetta" since she'd been very young, and now would never get the chance to again. Concetta lived alone in a crumbling old villa, and Julie's memories of childhood visits are distant and vague. When she learns Concetta left the villa, along with the rest of her estate, to her, Julie travels overseas to try and reconnect with her past. She finds a lot more than she bargains for, including the truth about her grandmother's own overwhelming grief and the desperate -- even maddening -- lengths to which it had driven her. The stain of Concetta's sorrow -- and the darkness it summoned -- remains like a blight across not just the villa itself, but Julie, as well, and in the course of the story, she realizes she will have to conquer not only her own demons, but her grandmother's as well if she hopes to survive.

This was a fun gothic horror story, with plenty of mysterious things going bump in the night, hidden rooms, and long-buried family secrets to make for a tense, quick, and enjoyable read. Benini paints a beautiful portrait of both the pastoral Italian countryside and the people who live there. The last quarter of the book shifts from the classic gothic formula to something else (no spoilers from me), and while it's not the ending I was expecting, it was still well done, even providing a wicked little twist just when you think the worst is behind Julie and her friends.

Speaking of friends, Julie's BFF Georgina was my favorite character in the book. She's the kind of bestie we all need: one who will drop everything on a dime, cash in her airline points, and catch the next red-eye to Rome to have your back when you discover you've inadvertently inherited a haunted Italian villa. Georgina's got a snappy one-liner, bottle of wine, or supportive hug always at the ready, and I absolutely adored her.

The Inheritance of Giuliana is available now. It's haunting, harrowing, and full of surprises.