An atmospheric historical mystery set in a crumbling Italian castle in the 1960s. Silvia has brought her mother and daughter to Italy and started a relationship with her aunt Gabriella, from whom her mother has been estranged, And then a film company decides to use Gabriella's castle for a movie in which Silvia has a role-and Gabriella disappears. Odd things happen and Silvia is the only one who seems to care, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good characters, a fun setting, and a twisty tale will keep you engaged,

Very much a suspenseful and mysterious novel indeed. I am super impressed with how the story kept me on the edge of my seat. I adore stories set in Old Hollywood and I think this was such a great twist on the novel about an up-and-coming Hollywood starlet trying to make it big.

The premise of this novel sounded intriguing and I was excited to read – moody gothic (I mean I LOVE du Maurier’s Rebecca) taking place in Italy in the 50’s with displaced Hollywood actors filming a horror movie in a crumbling castle owned by one of the struggling actress’ estranged aunts. While generally readable and enjoyable it fell a bit flat for me.

All the characters seemed one dimensional for me but the story was engaging enough to keep me going. There was a bit of mystery (wouldn’t quite call it a thriller) – the aunt goes missing once filming begins and there are some odd things that happen around the castle (some think it is haunted). I stayed in it because I wanted to know how it ended and I was attached enough with the characters. I enjoyed the ending and glad I read the novel but it wasn’t that suspenseful which I think was its purpose.

This is a 3.5 star for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to review

The Woman in the Castello was an intriguing mix of historical fiction and mystery that was enjoyable. I liked the time period and setting and the parallels between the movie and Silvia’s real life. I would have liked more depth to the characters and more meat to the romance subplot. Overall this would be an enjoyable read to take to the pool or beach and escape to another time.

This was a pretty good gothic-type mystery. I would not classify it as a thriller though. The story, atmosphere, and setting were my favorite parts of the book. The MC got on my nerves often because of her ridiculous decisions and ability to jump to a conclusion without thinking anything through first. But the ending made up for Sylvia's rashness. And I loved the inclusion of the making of the '60s horror flick in the "haunted" castle.

This was so disappointing for me. It sounded perfect. Italy, gothic horror, a mystery, giallo films, what’s not to love?

It wasn’t really horror or a mystery, though. It was partly there but this kind of read like Danielle Steel. I really liked Danielle Steel when I was younger but I’m past that stage. The romance was too much for me. Essentially this was romance and family drama with a cool setting and frame story. I was more interested in the summary than the actual story, though.

Thanks for the opportunity. I received this as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

Even if the "real" gothic novels were often set in italy I found hard to think about gothic atmosphere and crumbling castles when it's 35 degrees and there's a summer climate, trust 'I'm Italian
That said I liked this story, a sort of historical fantasy that mixes mystery and historical fiction.
Well plotted and entertaining
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I usually don't read a lot historical fiction but this one was so much fun. I loved the gothic 1960 setting and the italian vibe. There was drama and mystery and cool characters. I think it was great!!!

"Set in 1960s Italy, this stylish, atmospheric debut spins a bewitching web of ruthless ambition, family secrets, and the consequences of forbidden love, as an ambitious American actress snags the starring role in a mysterious horror movie shooting on location in a crumbling medieval castle outside Rome...

Readers who enjoy the moody Gothic allure of Kate Morton and Silvia Moreno-Garcia or the immersive settings of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Davis will be enthralled by Kelsey James' spellbinding web of intriguing mystery, family secrets, forbidden love, and midcentury Italian flair.

Rome, 1965: Aspiring actress Silvia Whitford arrives at Rome's famed Cinecittà Studios from Los Angeles, ready for her big break and a taste of la dolce vita. Instead, she learns that the movie in which she was cast has been canceled. Desperate for money, Silvia has only one choice: seek out the Italian aunt she has never met.

Gabriella Conti lives in a crumbling castello on the edge of a volcanic lake. Silvia's mother refuses to explain the rift that drove the sisters apart, but Silvia is fascinated by Gabriella, a once-famous actress who still radiates charisma. And the eerie castle inspires Silvia's second chance when it becomes the location for a new horror movie, aptly named The Revenge of the Lake Witch - and she lands a starring role.

Silvia immerses herself in the part of an ingenue tormented by the ghost of her beautiful, seductive ancestor. But when Gabriella abruptly vanishes, the movie's make-believe terrors seep into reality. No one else on set seems to share Silvia's suspicions. Yet as she delves into Gabriella's disappearance, she triggers a chain of events that illuminate dark secrets in the past - and a growing menace in the present..."

Nothing says Gothic horror to me like a mid-century movie set in Italy!

It’s 1965, and Silvia Whitford has traveled from Los Angeles to Rome with her mother and young daughter for a small part in a movie she’s filming. But before filming can even begin, she is told she’s no longer needed. Desperate for money and work, she goes behind her mother’s back and reaches out to her estranged aunt who lives near Rome. While their initial meeting is rocky, Silvia realizes that her aunt and her dilapidated castle may just be her ticket to fame. But what secrets and dangers lurk within the castle, and what isn’t her aunt telling her?

This was an intriguing work of historical fiction and mystery that was highly enjoyable. I quite liked the time and setting of this work. I also enjoyed how the author included parallels between the movie and Silvia’s reality – it made for some good, tense moments and some interesting red herrings. The characters were good overall. They were written well enough to not detract from the work, though I would have like a bit more depth and development from them all.

I did want a bit more from the atmosphere of the read. I was expecting it to feel more gothic and darker due to the setting, but those feelings never really came across. I thought this work would be a bit darker overall based on the blurb and genres. I also wanted a little bit more from the relationship. It was only a subplot, but it moved too quickly for me to find the relationship compelling.

Despite wanting more from this read in several aspects, I devoured this book and was highly entertained. This was an easy, intriguing story that kept me engaged and made me lose track of time – it would be quite suitable for a vacation/beach read. My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read this work, which will be published 25 July 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book and can't wait to see what this author writes next. Kelsey James is brilliant.

I feel like this novel tried to do too much and fell short. The characters weren't as well developed as I would have liked, the mysterious disappearance didn't hold attention, the twist at the end was predictable, as was the wrap up. Every book has it's reader of course, this one and I were not a good match apparently.

2023 is shaping up to be an awesome year for books and this one is no exception. A riveting and rambunctious historical mystery set in a dilapidated castle in 1960s Italy, it has everything - a resourceful but flawed heroine, a sick mother, a feisty and mysterious aunt, a handsome leading man, and a boatload of family secrets. Such a good story!

I really enjoyed this quick read! I felt like I was being transported back into Italy while reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Scognamiglio Books for my free-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The behind-the-scenes in a film set is a fascinating place where lives intertwine and stories unfold. The Woman in the Castello is a tale that artfully weaves together the struggles of a young actress, Silvia, and the complex relationships between estranged sisters, Gabriella and Elena.

Silvia, a determined single mother, juggles her passion for acting with caring for her ailing mother and young daughter. Her courage to keep her motherhood a secret in the face of societal prejudices is both inspiring and heart-wrenching. As we follow Silvia's journey, we witness women's challenges in the 1960s for having children out of wedlock. The love Silvia has for her daughter is palpable, but she must keep their relationship hidden, leading her to struggle with trust issues throughout the story.

The sisters' relationship is also explored, highlighting how opposing views can cause a divide in even the closest families. Gabriella and Elena's dynamic is relatable, demonstrating how family dynamics can shift and change over time.

The gothic setting of the decrepit castle adds an air of mystery and intrigue to the story, giving it an old-film filter while also creating a sense of foreboding.

The tale of The Woman in the Castello is a riveting account of how hidden family mysteries can unravel the very fabric of our lives. I highly recommend for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

A young actress arrives in 1960s Rome for what is sure to be her breakout role in a movie but it’s cancelled. Desperate she seeks out her mother’s estranged sister who lives in a crumbling castle outside the city which is the set for a horror movie about to be filmed and the actress has a job again. Enter the gothic music and the stage is set for a tale of secrets and terrors.

Silvia is an aspiring actress who after traveling all the way to Rome, finds out the film she was hired for is no longer being produced. Desperate to care for her young daughter and ailing mother, she searches for her estranged aunt who lives in a in a small Italian town. Silvia discovers that her aunt Gabriella lives in an aging castello that's being scouted as a horror film set and manages to land the leading role for that film. Family tensions run high with the estranged relationship between Sylvia's mom and aunt, as well as her hesitance to tell people about her young daughter. When it appears that Gabriella has gone missing, Sylvia is the only one to pursue an investigation as weird things keep happening around the castle and she has a suspicion that the castle is haunted. Overall, a suspenseful mystery centered on one family's history, set in a crumbling Italian castle. More focus could have been spent on the setting and the family history and how that tied into WWII, as that ended up being central to the story.

I was engaged by this story from the start. It is the 1960s, the height of Italian Cinema. A young American actress is hired for a film in Rome. But the film is canceled. She is the sole support of the toddler and dying mother and she has just lost her job! She reaches out to an estranged aunt. Things turn around- the aunt has a castle which is going to be used as a movie set and the young woman gets a starring role. There is even then possibility of romance. But the aunt disappears and things get gothic!!

A gothic mystery set in the heyday of the Italian cinema scene of the 60's with a spooky setting of a remote castello and a woman desperate for her chance at fame.
Silvia needs a big break and gets it when she is suddenly cast in the lead in a horror film being made at her estranged aunt's castello. Between a romantic interest in one of the producers, her aunt's sudden disappearance and horrible night terrors she has little time for anything else, especially ghosts of the past. A dangerous cat and mouse game played out in a spooky Italian castle and a powerful ending. The perfect escape and an easy pick for Agatha Christie fans or gothic mystery lovers. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Italy, 1965….when reality and fiction blur during the filming of a horror movie at a decaying castello.

Silvia Whitford is an aspiring actress and single mother, the sole support for her young daughter Lulu and dying mother Elena. She has been hired to work on a movie being shot at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, and has used all of her resources to bring her mother and daughter from California to the country where her mother was born and raised. She arrives only to find out that the movie’s funding has dried up, and that she is out of a job. Not sure how she and her family will live….they have nothing left to return to in the US, and precious little money to live on in Italy….Silvia in desperation seeks out her mother’s estranged sister Gabriella, who lives in a small town outside of Rome. When she arrives in the town, she finds that her aunt lives in the large but somewhat decrepit castello overlooking the local lake. Silvia makes her way to the castello, and her aunt invites her in with pleasure. It was not clear to Silvia why there is an estrangement between the two sisters (Elena would never tell her), but Gabriella says that in large part it was due to Gabriella being involved with a fascist, and acting in Nazi-funded propaganda films, while Elena was left behind only to see her parents killed by retreating Nazis angered by Italians who supported the Allied forces. Elena ultimately fell in love with and married an American soldier, who brought her and their daughter Silvia to the US to start anew. Now, through a twist of fate, a film crew looking to shoot a horror film outside of Cinecitta is considering using Gabriella’s castello as the location for their production. Silvia is brought in to test for the lead role, that of an ingenue being haunted by the ghost of an ancestress who was burned as a witch. Not only is Silvia given the lead role, but the Castello del Lago is chosen as the filming site. Elena is furious that Silvia has made contact with Gabriella, but out of necessity agrees to stay in lodging in the nearby town with Lulu while Silvia works.
The story is part historical fiction, as long as the reader can accept the mid-1960’s as historical (being born around that time, it pains me a bit to acknowledge how long ago that was). Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” had been released to great acclaim just a few years earlier, and the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone were also finding box office success, so it is certainly a rich period of time to set a novel about the making of a film. Alongside Silvia as the ingenue, there is a sultry Italian actress (Lucrezia), a handsome assistant director to whom Silvia finds herself attracted, a conceited but wildly successful leading man who drinks (among other things) to excess, and a German director who champions SIlvia against her detractors. Not everyone is happy about Silvia’s casting nor about the chosen locations, and petty jealousies and temperamental outbursts abound. Almost immediately, Gabriella disappears, and Silvia finds disturbing signs that perhaps the disappearance was not voluntary. Is Silvia overly identifying with her relative and fellow actress? Is the creepy plot line, coupled with the pressures of a nasty costar and a starring role weighing on her mind and making her imagine things? Or is the castle really haunted, as her aunt believes? A gothic feel is woven through this story of family secrets, against the backdrop of Italian filmmaking at its most hip. Kelsey James’ debut is hard to resist if you like a bit of creepy atmosphere with your trip into the mid 1960’s. Readers who enjoyed Jess Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins” should pick up a copy of “The Woman in the Castello”, as should fans of Kate Morton and even Daphne du Maurier. Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books/John Scognamiglio Books for the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s copy of this, Kelsey James’ debut novel.