I downloaded The Sicilian Wife onto my ipad before a long flight.  I was actually looking for another book by the same author, Finding Rosa.  It was not available as a ebook at the time, so I purchased The Sicilian Wife instead. Once I started reading, I could not put it down.  I have not read many crime thrillers.  This one was very ‘film noir-ish’.  In fact, I kept visualizing every scene in grainy black and white on a big screen.  I hope someone is working on a screenplay!

The book features 2 strong female characters: Marisa De Luca is the decorated commissario in a small Sicilian village, dealing with local organized crime, a station full of chauvinists and investigating a mysterious death, and Fulvia Arcuri, the reluctant mafia princess, constantly running from her troubled upbringing.  Fulvia immigrates to Canada and starts a new life free from the reach of her family…or so she thinks.

The Sicilian Wife goes back and forth between different timelines, as well as a double setting, Sicily and Edmonton, Alberta. These are not hard to follow, despite twists and turns in the plot.  Sicilian folktales and proverbs, and contemporary Italian history add to the themes of escape and migration.  Just when you think you know what is going on ….. I really can not say any more without giving away too much.  Just read it, especially if you are Italocanadese!

I give it 5 peperoncini out of 5 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶!

Note:  The author of The Sicilian Wife, Caterina Edwards, is a fellow member of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers (AICW), although we have not met. Hopefully we will meet at a future conference!  I purchased the ebook and the opinions written here are my own.

Buona lettura, Cristina