Murder Under the Tuscan Sun: A gripping classic suspense novel in the tradition of Agatha Christie set in a remote Tuscan castle

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But Nora is watchful, odd but endearing and maybe she sees and remembers an awful lot more than she is given credit for.

As Connie settles into her new routine, the setting of the castle and the surrounding countryside come alive.It is not a difficult read, but it is very well done, be it the descriptions of the landscape and weather or the odd events that keep happening, with great pacing and the mounting sense of something amiss. If you are looking for an easy read with a twist, then Murder Under The Tuscan Sun won't disappoint.

Carrying with her a double grief – for her husband, dead a year, and daughter Millie, five years earlier – Constance is wracked with nerves and doubt. Roberto and his wife, Evelyn brashly welcome Connie to their castle but the same can't be said for the man she has been engaged to take care of. Her son James can’t believe she’s going to Italy to take up a position in a castle full of strangers, or is he just a little bit jealous? The building's dark history and fevered present is the perfect location for a mystery redolent of the Golden Age.I have a love of Florence and Tuscany and Rachel Rhys made me feel I was there with the characters; the warmth of sun, the lemon trees, the blooming flowers, the beautiful villas and the soft golden light that seems to touch everything in Tuscany. Evelyn is mercurial; at one moment all smiles and happiness, lavishing affection on Constance and at another, questioning everything Constance does. Her confusion at what she sees and experiences, and her inability or unwillingness to challenge anyone, becomes repetitive until her son James arrives and asks difficult questions of his mother. Opportunity arises when she sees a job posting for a companion to Mr William North, a celebrated art expert and dealer, who has suffered a brain haemorrhage and whose recovery is expected to be slow. Connie strikes up a friendship with her as I felt she did with William the further the book progressed.

But we first visit the castle with an unknown character in 1946, after German occupation has left it in a dreadful state. Now a widow, her daughter succumbed to tuberculosis and her son increasingly distant she is feeling suffocated in her house in Pinner.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as you see quickly drawn into the story and then you never want to leave these characters alone. The castle is deliciously creepy with noises in the night, ghosts and strange goings on along with a not so dippy spoilt Evelyn and her Fascist husband Roberto who seem intent on spending all of William's money. Not quite the Murder expected in the title but a rich complex story with interesting characters not least the older woman Constance who following the death of her husband and daughter decides to take a job near Florence looking after William North a not so old invalid.

Connie leaves London after the death of her husband to become a nurse/companion to William North, but it soon becomes clear he doesn't want her there. I luxuriated in this story of repressed love, villains and vixens in such a glamorous and decadent setting overshadowed by the rise of fascism. I liked the characters of Connie and William both suffering from grief after the death of a child; Connie in particular has had a very sad existence , dominated by her late husband, unable to lead the life she wants and then losing the daughter she loved. Although when Connie spots Roberto with some Fascists she is aghast that he is apparently on their side. On a spur of the moment decision, she answers an advertisement in The Lady to be a companion to William North, a stroke victim in Tuscany.The tantalising descriptions of the Tuscan landscapes were impressive and made me very jealous of Connie. My first Rachel Rhys, Dangerous Crossing, was inspired by a handprinted and photocopied journal I found while rummaging through my mum’s cupboards. Rhys creates a vivid set of characters in and around this castle with some pretty loathsome characters, some pretty gruesome expat behaviour and a decidedly off kilter existence that overshadows everything that happens in this Tuscan idyll. Along the way there are mysteries to solve and flamboyant characters to encounter and mimosas to be drunk and silks to be worn. Evelyn and Roberto seem welcoming but are completely wrapped up in each other leaving Evelyn’s daughter Nora to occupy herself for most of the time.