Can a young woman uncover her estranged father’s mysterious past to find a brother she never knew?

In 1944, British pilot Hugo Langley is flying a doomed mission across the Italian countryside when his plane is hit by the Germans. Hugo parachutes to safety in a section of German control Tuscany. His leg has been shot and he must find food and shelter to survive. A young woman named Sofia Bartoli discovers him and gives him aid. They work together to hide him in the old monastery that has been bombed. As the days go by, Hugo and Sofia build a relationship and begin to develop feelings for one another, even though both are still married. As the Allies continue to push the Axis powers out of Italy, the Germans become more desperate to find the pilot that was missing in the plane wreckage. Will Hugo and Sofia be able to escape together? Or is their relationship doomed?

Twenty-nine years later in England, Hugo’s daughter Joanna, has returned to Langley Hall after word of her father’s death. Now a boarding school for girls, the headmistress is ready to have her father’s belongings gone from the property. While going through the items, Joanna discovers an unopened letter addressed to Sofia Bartoli in a remote village in Tuscany with a reference to having hidden their little boy where only she can find it. On a whim, Joanna decides to embark for the small village of San Salvatore to discover more about her father. But when she arrives, she discovers that digging around in the past does not always find a warm welcome.

This was a really interesting book to read that was set in two past time periods. The author did a great job setting the scene for each of these periods based on technology. Many times I find a slip up or too when authors try to do this, but Bowen did a masterful job. I enjoyed reading both story lines, but tend to find myself more drawn to Hugo and Sofia’s story. I really enjoy that time period and it kept the story moving fast for me. The Italian hospitality was a keen as it has ever been throughout this story. Lots of talk of food that often made my mouth water. Especially for polenta! Love that stuff.

There is very mild language at times in the book and a small sex scene, but nothing graphic at all. I recommend this book to readers that love a good story and those that enjoy WWII era novels.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Oof. This one was really tough for me. I’m a huge, huge fan of Rhys Bowen’s, so when I was contacted by Little Bird Publicity to review her latest book, The Tuscan Child, I immediately jumped at the chance! I adore Bowen’s Molly Murphy Mystery series, and also her Lady Georgiana series. I also really enjoyed her first standalone book, In Farleigh Field, which I reviewed when it came out. So I went into reading The Tuscan Child with very high expectations! And I’m sad to say that I just did not connect with this title in any way. I found it very slow and a bit too serious.
Two different characters narrate The Tuscan Child: Hugo Langley, in 1944, and his daughter, Joanna Langley, in 1973. Hugo is shot down over Italy, and is aided by a woman, Sofia, as he hides from the Nazis. His story of how he escapes is interwoven with Joanna’s story, as she learns her father has died, and travels to Italy to learn more about his time there. The weaving of the stories was done well, although I found that there was too much time spent on Hugo’s story. His story of hiding in the woods and recuperating from his injuries just felt monotonous and bland. Hugo was a perfectly fine character; he just didn’t spark my interest in any way. I enjoyed Joanna’s story more, although I didn’t connect with her, either. When she arrives in Italy, she ends up staying at a local woman's house, and meets many of the villagers and makes friends with handsome Renzo.
I went into this book assuming it was a mystery. After all, every other book I’ve read by Rhys Bowen has been a mystery. This ended up being a mystery as well, but one with more of a leisurely pace than what I’m accustomed to with Bowen’s writing. There was no sense of urgency here. That doesn’t mean it is bad, just that it wasn’t what I was expecting, and so the pace felt much slower when compared with her other books.
Another issue I had with The Tuscan Child was that there wasn’t any sense of fun here. It felt so serious, and I felt bogged down while reading. You’d think that a tale of a lady traveling to the Italian countryside would have a bit of lightness and fresh air to it. There was such an air of sadness around this, and so this book felt much more serious than her other titles. There are some nice scenes involving food, and these were the highlight of the book for me.
As this is a mystery, it’s important to me that mysteries end well, and unfortunately, the ending was neither exciting nor unexpected. I got the sense that I was supposed to feel something powerful at the end, and I just… felt nothing.
Even though this one was a miss for me, I will absolutely still read this author’s works, and look forward to her next book!

Bottom Line: I didn’t connect with this and thought it was slow and dare I say it, boring.

Well now I need to go to Italy. Specifically a small village in Tuscany to stay with a woman who will teach me all the wonders of cooking Italian food. I will walk in the countryside, eat delicious food, and drink lots of wine. I'm going to take a miss on the dead body and troubled paternal relationship though.

This book is told in two timelines and I really enjoyed both. I found Hugo's story so compelling and was so caught up in his relationship with Sofia and his struggles to survive. Joanna's story took me a little longer to get into. There was a lot of hinting about some traumatic event and she just seemed so bitter and unhappy I didn't like her at first. However, once she got to Italy and began spending time with the woman who rents her a room, Paola, she began opening up and I was completely on her side. I loved how Joanna really let herself embrace the warmth and friendship offered by Paola and the cooking lessons made my mouth water. All the while my heart broke for Hugo as right from the beginning I knew the beginning of the story and the end but not what happened in between. I felt like the fear, the frustration, and the scarcity of necessary supplies was really in focus here and I couldn't help but love Sofia for her positivity and resourcefulness. My only problem was that the ending felt a little rushed and I would have liked a little more resolution on one particular plot point.

This was a compelling read and a poignant one. I enjoyed this look at the Italian home front which was more front than home.

Thanks Lake Union Publishing and netgalley for this ARC.

Loved this past/present motif in this novel. It's done just right- we care just as much about both timelines. But what would you expect from Rhys Bowen but the best?

The two timelines of 1944 and 1973 work well in The Tuscan Child, and as I read, I was very pleasantly reminded of other suspense novelists such as Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Kate Morton. Joanna Langley is the type of main character with whom you can easily sympathize: wounded, wary, intelligent, and brave-- and she's willing to learn how to cook. A definite word of warning: if you love Italian food and you're hungry, you will drool when you read segments of this book!

Joanna has a lovely little Tuscan hill village to explore that's filled with interesting characters. Many welcome her, but some do not. And that ancient monastery that was ruined by the Germans is holding plenty of secrets all on its own, although with the clues Joanna has, they aren't going to be easy to uncover.

Bowen's characterization, pacing, and setting are all first rate (par for the course for this talented woman). She's created a two-pronged mystery, and while one part of the puzzle was rather easy to solve, the second one certainly wasn't and took me by surprise. It shouldn't have because the clues are there, but I was too caught up in the story to pay close attention.

If you like fast-paced stories with dual timelines, intriguing mysteries, and mouth-watering food, let yourself be tempted by The Tuscan Child.

So this book has one of my favorite things going for it - dual narrative. One storyline is 1944, a British bomber has landed in Italy and is injured and a local woman finds him and helps bring him back to life. The other storyline starts in 1973 and his daughter is trying to find the truth about him as he has recently passed and she found some interesting bits in his things and it sends her on this journey.

I love when I read a dual narrative and I love both storylines at the same level. Obviously having Joanna's story from her point of view was a little more entertaining, but I was on pins and needles throughout his story because I wanted to know how he ended up back in England and with his wife and a new daughter, I just needed to know what he lead him from there to here!

Rhys Bowen has a long running series and I haven't read any from that series, but I have read this and her other stand alone - In Farleigh Field and I loved them both completely. I am hesitant to start a big series, but I am hoping for another stand alone from her.

I am late to the party when I comes to Rhys Bowen. My second reading even though I have seen her books around and heard good things about them. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to meet the author last October at the Surrey International Writers Conference (where she was a presenter) that really put her books higher up on my TBR pile. It was during a mystery lunch where I had the honour of sitting beside her and the more we talked about writing, books and history the more I wanted to read her books. As soon as I came home I read the first book in Her Royal Spyness Series (review coming soon), but it was The Tuscan Child that really caught my eye.

I love dual time period books, especially those revolving around World War 2, those that take place outside of England and France. Plus given the fact that I LOVE Italy I was extra giddy. The synopsis above does a great job of telling what the story is about without giving too much information away. As Hugo is first introduced and then his daughter Joanna I was struck by how different his character was (at the end of his life) and intrigued as to what took place to invoke such a dramatic change. The visuals that I experienced really gave me a wonderful feel of the landscape of Italy and a sense of the danger that this small village endured at the hands of the Germans (and current day as well). I loved the author’s writing style as well as the mystery taking place. While there were some parts I found predictable I really enjoyed reading The Tuscan Child and look forward to reading more by this author.

I received an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange for an honest review. Also in no way did my meeting Rhys Bowen influence my opinions.

Rhys Bowen has penned an excellent family mystery that will have you turning the pages as quickly as possible.

I fell in love this Bowen's writing when I discovered her cozy mystery series Her Royal Spyness. While I love that series, I felt the writing in The Tuscan Child was richer and more poignant.

Sir Hugo Langley is shot down over the hills of German-occupied Tuscany during World War II. He is helped by a village woman who he falls in love with. When he dies in 1973, his daughter Joanna discovers a letter to the woman and references hiding their 'beautiful boy'. She had just discovered she had a half-brother from Hugo's first marriage and now she wonders if there is another brother no one knows about. Needing to get away to sort out what her next steps in life will be, she decides to travel to the village in Italy to see what else she can learn about her father's time there.

In alternating chapters, the mystery slowly unfolds as we get a first-hand account from Hugo in 1944 and what Joanna discovers in 1973. I enjoyed both points-of-view equally. Often when stories are told in this fashion there is one or the other that is preferred and the reader feels anxious to get back to their favorite narrator. I never felt that way.

I thought I would prefer the 1944 chapters since I love WWII set stories. But I loved the characters surrounding Joanna in 1973.

The mystery is well paced with details being revealed in small pieces while developing the characters in both time periods. This allowed me to feel as if I was there in either period.

While all appearances point to The Tuscan Child is a stand-alone novel, I could see it having a sequel - just because I love the characters and would like to see what comes of them as secrets from the past are revealed.

If you love family history and unearthing stories that were never fully told, then The Tuscan Child is your kind of novel. I absolutely loved it.

I have been feeling the winter blahs lately so to have the ability to escape to Tuscany with this book was an absolute delight! Rhys Bowen paints a vivid picture of the landscape and atmosphere of Tuscany with her words, the reader feels as if they are there experiencing the food and magic of this village. The Tuscan Child is the story of Joanna, whose father Hugo passes away. While packing up his things she comes across a love letter to a mystery woman named Sofia. This is a side of him that she never experienced and she is determined to unravel the mystery of her father, Hugo. Also told in her fathers perspective, we see Hugo as a British bomber pilot shot down over Tuscany during the war. We see his fight to survive, and how his story unravels to reveal his relationship with Sofia. Joanna travels to Tuscany to dig into the mystery of her fathers time in Tuscany and his relationship with Sofia. I absolutely loved this work of historical fiction and it was a 5 star read for me until the end. The endings of these different stories were too tidy, and having certain people show up at certain times too far fetched and unrealistic. However, I did love this story, so for me this is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

I just loved this book! The setting in Tuscany was just amazing! I just kept turning the pages to see how the story ended! Wonderful read

Rhys Bowen proves once again that she is one of the best historical fiction writers today.

WWII romances are so my thing, but this book was so much more than just another romance. It’s story about family, loss, children, and life choices. It’s not very often that I find a book set during WWII that is set in some place other than England or France but this was that unique and rare occasion.

In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal.

Nearly thirty years later, Hugo’s estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father’s funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.

Still dealing with the emotional wounds of her own personal trauma, Joanna embarks on a healing journey to Tuscany to understand her father’s history—and maybe come to understand herself as well. Joanna soon discovers that some would prefer the past be left undisturbed, but she has come too far to let go of her father’s secrets now (summary from Goodreads).

Rhys Bowen is an experienced author with a couple of impressive mystery series under her belt. I have been lucky enough to read a few of the Molly Murphy mysteries in the past and have grown to love her prose and abilities. Recently Bowen has started writing some stand alone novels set in WWII, I read her first one In Farleigh Field a few months ago and while it had a few technical flaws, I liked that she was trying to make a stand alone book for fans of the historical era.

This book sounded similar the In Farleigh Field novel, but different enough to grab my attention and read it. I loved the the novel was set some place other than England or France and I think that the freshness of the location added a lot to the narrative. I loved her descriptions of the locations and landscape. I loved how much of the story took place in the Italian countryside. I haven’t been to Italy but the way that Bowen describes the countryside was exactly how I would imagine it in my mind. I want to visit there even more so than I did before reading this novel. I could almost feel the sun on my skin and all the glorious Italian food mentioned.

Another thing that stood out to me was the intricate plot. I wouldn’t say that it was overly complex or twisted, but delicately intricate. I never felt rushed in the plot nor did I feel that it was too drawn out. I loved how the ‘modern’ (1970s) side of the plot fit right into the ‘historical’ (1940s) part of the plot. The relationship between Hugo and his daughter (or lack there of) was dynamic and made the plot more interesting and so much more than just another ‘war romance’. I thought that it added depth and value to the characters. The romance, setting and intertwining past/present stories made the book so moody and a pleasure to read and it hit me in the all the feels.

While this book had a lot of romance and romantic elements, I thought it had more than just love and a boy meets girl plot. It had family secrets, a great location with vivid descriptions, likable characters, history, and of course love. It had a so much to like and I think readers looking for something to escape into that isn’t frivolous or over done will find a lot t enjoy with this book.

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen

Kindle Edition, 329 pages
Expected publication: February 20th 2018 by Lake Union Publishing
ASIN B074QL7WNM
Review copy provided by: Author/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 4 out of 5

Genre: Historical fiction, Romance, WWII, war romance

Memorable lines/quotes: NA

This was my first book of Ms. Bowen’s but certainly not my last. This book sucked me in from the first page til the last. I fell in love with Hugo, Joanna, Renzo and all the characters. I highly recommend this book

Thank you Little Bird and Lake Union for the ARC to review.

THIS BOOK! I'm just going to jump right into this review and tell you that you need not read any further and just go ahead and put this on your immediate TBR when it comes out and you can thank me for the recommendation later.

There is a little bit of everything in this novel. It's a historical fiction book, with alternating (interwoven) story lines between WWII and the 1970s. There's a murder mystery, there's family mystery and drama and even a little bit of a love story. And with Italy as the scenery, you know it's going to be beautiful and delicious!

The storytelling is so lovely that I felt like I was in Italy, learning right to make picci right along with Joanna.

The Tuscan Child is hands down, my favorite read thus far this year, and I think it'll be a hard one to top!

The Tuscan Child is a book I have enjoyed very much and while I know all books have to end I did not want to finish-it was that good. This book tells of British bomber pilot Hugo Langley, who had to parachute from his burning bomber in WWII, into German occupied Tuscany. Hugo gets badly injured and can't walk so when a young woman, Sofia Bartoli finds him laying in the vineyards she helps him to seek shelter in a ruined bombed out monastery.

Sofia comes to Hugo as often as she comes and nurses him back to health, taking a risk, knowing if the Germans see her they will kill everyone in the village. After a death scare, they start feeling love for each other.

This story goes back and forth in time from WW!! when Hugo is hurt, to the present time. Hugo's daughter, Joanna has never really known much about her father and she has come home to arrange for his funeral. Her mother died when she was 12, and so it was she and her father for a long time but he was never the same after her mom died.

While going through her father's things she finds a box and inside is an unopened letter to Sofia-a letter he wrote to her after getting rescued by the British and being brought to the hospital, then going home. He wanted Sofia to come with him to England.

Joanna reads the letter and decides to go and see where her father was in the war and to see if she can find Sophia and ask her about Hugo and how they met and fell in love. When she gets there she finds that everyone remembers Sophia-going off with a German! The enemy.

No one seems to know about her father being there at all, except for one person and it his actions that change the course of the life of everyone!

I loved this book and I loved all of the characters, the plot was good and in many scenes I held my breath waiting for Hugo to get caught of Sophia as well. The ending was a surprise for me, and I liked the way that the book went back and forth in time so we could see both sides of the story.

I finished reading the ARC of The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen on Thursday night, but I am still in heavy book hangover. This book is one of those rare books that not only sticks with you but that you feel like you lived through. It was undoubtedly brilliant and engaging, and just how Rhys writes it I could see this as a major motion picture with academy award accolaids. I am not usually a fan of historically based cozies, mysteries or stories, at least that was until I discovered everything Rhys Bowen has written. Each book is so rich in history but presented in away that just envelopes the reader. I enjoyed this book in so many ways. The characters are complex and well layered. The setting is unmistakably beautiful even though it doesn't exist you feel like it does. The storyline, mystery and jaw dropping reveal are some of the reasons I could not put this down. This is one of the best reads I have had the good fortune of having on my table and it shall stay forever in my heart. I loved it. The Tuscan Child will be released February 20th. Clear your schedule and turn off your phone. This is a binge read.

This is a lovely dual time line novel set in WWII and 1973. Joanna's hunt for the mysterious Sofia, who her estranged father Hugo so clearly loved, is the top level but her effort to learn more about him is the real story. It's got a great setting, a deep secret, and a murder. The characters are terrific and you'll find yourself rooting for Joanna, who could really use some positivity in her life. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

Rhys Bowen's other standalone, In Farleigh Field, set the bar very high and unfortunately this pales by comparison. The Tuscan Child feels like a short story that was stretched out to novel length. It didn't have the usual wit and humor of Rhys Bowen's other books, though she does include a lot of details about cooking and Italian food that will make you hungry as you read and frequently look up recipes. Neither main character here -- Hugo in the 1940's and his daughter Joanna in the 1970's -- has much depth and Joanna's story in particular suffers from a too slow reveal of her recent backstory. The dialog is written to reflect conversations between non-fluent speakers which makes it very choppy to read. Things finally pick up at about the 60% mark, though they fizzle out at the end with some anticlimaxes. Overall I didn't hate the story but it felt like a chore to get through. I'd recommend it for the atmosphere of the Italian countryside and the decadent food descriptions, but not for anyone seeking a thrilling mystery.

Thank you to Lake Union Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

Great story, well written absorbing! Never read this author before but I will look for others. Just very well written

I tend to gravitate towards WW2 novels, so when I saw The Tuscan Child’s cover and blurb, I knew I had to read it. It’s not often that I come across a novel from this time period that is set in Italy, specifically the Tuscany area. I was not disappointed at all. This story is told from two different time periods: WW2, obviously and 1973, another feature that I enjoy in a good book. Joanna is dealing with the death of her father, Hugo Langley, a former English fighter pilot who was shot down in Italy during the war. She was never really close to her father, and he never spoke of his time as an officer. While going through his belongings she finds items that intrigue her enough to take a trip to the little Tuscan village to investigate. This trip leads Joanna to finding out what really happened to her father, and how this will shape her future.
This was a most enjoyable read. I loved how the author describes the war torn yet beautiful Tuscan region, and made the town’s people come to life in my mind. I’ll be looking into more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.