I enjoyed this story, set mostly in Italy during World War II. An Italian Jewish family is sent to a detention (Red) house. We follow members intergenerational and toggle back and forth between modern times and the early 1940s when they are detained due to ethnicity, experience starvation, no heat in the freezing winter, and are forced to work (albeit more humanely than the concentration camps in Germany). While it is always difficult to read of the human atrocities in WWII, the story set in Italy was a fresh and enjoyable take. Well written.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really got drawn into this novel. The parallels between the mother and daughter were heartbreaking and powerful. The ending was both terrible and what I hoped for--the alternative was too overwhelming.

The Red House
Laura’s mother disappeared 30 years ago,leaving her husband and two children behind. The detective who was assigned to the case when Viola went missing couldn’t come up with any results at the time of the disappearance. Now 30 years later, he might have a new lead. Laura travels to Italy to try retracing her mother’s life when she was a child during WWII. Brief chapters alternate between present and the past, in a very confusing way. It’s not easy to figure out the constant change in time. Chapters are very brief, end suddenly and the writing is at best young adult level. Viola is the main character, I couldn’t sympathize with her either during the war or later leaving her family. She was always only looking out for herself. Laura’s affair with the detective not only doesn’t add to the story, it rather dilutes it. There are a lot of unnecessary details that makes the novel drag. Only 3 stars at best for this one.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, opinions are my own.

quite stream of conscious but i found that it worked fairly wel. a lot of perspective and people jumping but brings out interesting ww2 history. 3.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to Author Mary Morris, Doubleday Books and NetGalley for an ARC of The Red House.

Decades after her mother, Viola, goes missing, Laura finds her life and marriage in a slump. Her inner voice tells her that in order to move on, she needs to close the chapter on her mother's mysterious disappearance.

Viola grew up in Italy during WWII and Laura has very little to go on other than the name of the region that Viola grew up in, her maiden name, the paintings that Viola has created of a red house and the odd message she has scrawled on the back saying, "I will not be here forever."

Laura's trip to Italy turns into a puzzle, taking her from Brindisi where she was born to Puglia where she learns that her mother spent part of the war in the red house she had painted. She meets a man there who knew her mother during the war and learns things about her mother that starts to fill in some of the answers she has been looking for.

I found some of the writing repetitive in regards to how Laura's family fell apart after her mother's disappearance. However, I liked the overall story. Morris wove a tale of history with a criminal element as she bounced between Viola's life in Italy during the war and the aftermath of her leaving her family. Though largely a historical fiction, I also think this book would appeal to those who like a mystery.

I didn’t love this one and I had enjoyed this author’s previous book. I felt it had a bit too much stream of conscious writing and at times too much back story. Instead of drawing me in it left me just wanting to get back to the main story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really liked this book! I love how it was like a scavenger hunt with a lot of different clues, and we were putting together what happened to the mother. A lot of different secrets and revelations come up while reading. I thought there was a good writing style here in this book, and I enjoyed it.


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Reading this novel has been an unexpected and beautiful surprise! I often feel that books are very predictable, knowing where it will end after reading a few pages. This novel was an engaging and moving story of a woman in search of her mother. Laura’s mother literally walked out of her house one day and disappeared. An call from the detective spurs her to go on her own search.

Laura returns to Italy looking for a red house that had been portrayed in her mother’s paintings. What she finds is not only a house but a history of her family that she knew NOTHING about.

The author brilliantly blends fiction with history and creates a novel that is compelling and unforgettable. I highly recommend this to all my readers. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this exquisite novel.

Mary Morris has written another beautiful novel a family mystery that drew me in kept me turning the pages.#netgalley #doubleday

A book that takes place in Italy, yes, please! Our main character is trying to connect with her mother's past. I thought it was a great story and while slow, it was still enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A great emotional read. I do wish that the chapters had some indication of the person/time for which they are occurring in because that did slip me up a bit at times.