Maison Grimaldi

Capri, nicknamed Island of the Sirens because of its relentless allure; where a dismissive glance in 1955, unnoticed by all but the two people involved, spawns murder, sadism, supernatural evil, and love in a riveting epic that throbs through the decades from wartime Italy to Africa and Canada in the near present. Beautifully written seemingly unrelated stories from different countries and times intertwine in this panoramic novel. An abandoned boy comes under the influence of a deranged escaped convict - but are the latter's voices only a mental aberration? A rejected son in Africa finds solace in his faith yet struggles to relate to God. A hardened street girl on the run responds to the island's pull and the man who awaits her with darkness in his heart. An embittered Tuscan socialite twists under a burden of guilt while an Umbrian kidnapper obsesses over a lost victim. All are inexorably drawn to Capri in a surging epic of tension, unforgettable characters and the indefatigable love of God, culminating in a swirling vortex of brokenness and, sometimes, restoration.