Murder Under the Tuscan Sun is a marvelous mystery with a touch of malevolence and totally magnificent. Written as a first person narrative, the story is told by Constance Bowen, a woman whose husband has recently died. Evelyn is mercurial; at one moment all smiles and happiness, lavishing affection on Constance and at another, questioning everything Constance does. In a remote castle high up in the Tuscan hills secrets are simmering among its glamorous English residents:The ailing gentleman art-dealerHis dazzling nieceHer handsome Fascist husbandTheir neglected young daughterThe housekeeper who knows everythingand Connie, the English widow working for them.

She fears that she is losing her mind but gets little help from her employers who seem completely obsessed with each other and the local expat community. Though after a year as a widow and many more since she had a proper relationship with her late husband, it’s difficult not to be attracted. It’s 1927 and Fascism is on the rise in the beautiful country that Connie comes to love – and even present in the castle in the form of the handsome young Roberto who is married to Evelyn, William’s niece.

It's notable too that this scene is set shortly after the Second World War and the main storyline examines lives irrevocably affected by the First World War – and with the shadow of fascism and all the horrors to follow looming over everything.

There are a number of scenes which made my heart ache for this little girl but for all her suffering, there's a story attached to the castle about another young girl which is too horrific to even contemplate.Whilst dealing with his daily needs, his correspondence and reading to him might not seem too appealing, he does live in a castle in Tuscany, which should enrich her time there. They were all suspicious in their own way with their own unique backstories that gradually came to light. But there are secrets just below the surface in the castle… Is Constance losing her mind, or is there real danger in the idyllic Tuscan hills? Murder Under the Tuscan Sun’ by Rachel Rhys is set in an exquisitely beautiful place and the change of scenery is exactly what Constance believes she needs.

The story is inspired by a real diary which the author discovered by accident while helping her mother move house. Whilst life at the castle at first seems quite glamorous and tranquil, with the characters enjoying la dolce vita after the War, Rachel Rhys soon starts to slowly drop in points of darkness that build up so there is an undercurrent of suspense and suspicion; no one is really who they seem, like an old painting as the varnish erodes the truth is revealed.

Set in a remote castle in the lovely Tuscan hills at the time Mussolini was introducing Fascism and was starting to get a hold on Italy's disgruntled workers, this cosy mystery gives both a little escapism to the warm Mediterranean climate, so different from the cold English weather and claustrophobic house that Constance has left behind, and an insight into a diverse range of characters that Rachel has created. Rachel Rhys should be everyone's summer reading * CLARE MACKINTOSH * A thorougly absorbing and compelling read * JANE FALLON * Rachel Rhys is in a league of her own, creating compelling, engrossing historical mysteries that grip readers by the throat every single time * LISA JEWELL * Rachel Rhys takes us to an isolated castle in 1920s Tuscany for a brilliant and Du Maurier-esque tale of dark secrets, rising menace and the importance of taking a leap of faith. Historical fiction is something I’ve only fairly recently started enjoying and this was a good one as I found myself drawn into the plot chapter by chapter. Evelyn is married to the darkly handsome Roberto who is rather closer to the blackshirt movement than Evelyn is comfortable with.

The friendship of his charming niece Evelyn is unreliable, and Evelyn’s handsome husband Roberto is an unsettling influence. With each turn of the page I expected to find a character dead and then the discovering of who did it was set in motion. It has everything - sun, setting, and a cracking mystery not to mention a touching mother+don relationship (eventually! It is 1927 and widowed Connie decides she needs to make changes in her life and leaves London to take on the role of companion to art dealer William North, the owner of a castle in the Tuscan countryside. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as you see quickly drawn into the story and then you never want to leave these characters alone.

Reading a Rachel Rhys book always means being transported to another time and place; her stories are such a treat and despite some strong competition, I think Murder Under the Tuscan Sun might just be my favourite to date. I was immediately drawn into the atmospheric description of the castle, with its crumbling stone dragons, left devastated after occupation by German soldiers.