This was a complex and exciting book
This was a complex and exciting book, full of adventure and rich detail, spanning centuries and full of interesting characters and places, all vividly described. There were many twists and turns along the way and at times it wasn't an easy read, but well worth persevering with.
It's a sometimes gory and violent tale in spite of being peopled by many deeply religious characters as well as Mafiosa. I found it exciting and emotional.
The Priest of Santa Maria by Alexandra Kleanthous is set in Italy. It's a sometimes gory and violent tale in spite of being peopled by many deeply religious characters as well as Mafiosa. It tells the story of a newly trained young priest, Christiano, and a young woman, Angelica, who we are introduced to shortly after she becomes a servant at the Convent of Santa Maria L'Adorata. After a series of unfortunate occurences to his predecessors, Christiano becomes the caretaker priest at the Convent...or could there be another, more vital, reason he finds himself in this place at this time. The plot is gripping and fast-moving and, though I struggled with the religious premise at the heart of this novel, I found it exciting and emotional. The characters are well-drawn and the writing style makes for easy reading. Already working on a sequel, the author has left a very large cliffhanger at the end to encourage her readership to continue with the saga...they undoubtedly will want to know what happens next!