I’m sorry to say this novel wasn’t for me - I tried more than once but I couldn’t get into it & didn’t finish it but am grateful for the chance to read & review

This book had a great start, but after awhile I lost interest as it was hard to follow after awhile. Honestly I didn't end up finishing the book.

A well-told story. Very interesting and intriguing at least for me it was. I don't read many translated novels because translation can be a tricky thing. But this one was done well.

I received this eBook for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this mystery. Giulio, a Children's Book author, girlfriend is dead and he is the prime suspect. The problem is he was drinking and he does not remember anything of that night. The police do not yet have enough evidence to arrest him but they do put him under house arrest at his mother's house. His hometown has a lot secrets. As Guilio tries to remember what happened that night and solve the crime those secrets start to surface. Throughout the book three cats narrate and describe what really goes on below the surface. I really liked the small Italian town setting and the characters. The mystery was really good and held some surprises. Enjoy this atmospheric mystery.

I really liked this book. I think it is very well-written and marvellously translated (Kudos to Hillary Locke for translating it so well!). It is the first book by Riccardo Bruni I have read, but it won't be the last.

In "The Hawthorne Season" a young woman Patrizia disappears and her ex-boyfriend Giulio Rodari, who stalked her and threatened her, is the most obvious suspect. Giulio is a writer of children books about a gnom hiding in the old woods. He has an amnesia and doesn't remember what happened the night his ex-girlfriend disappeared. In a few words: he is in some serious trouble.

Giulio is placed by the police under a house arrest at his mother's hotel in a small town in the mountains, surrounded by the ancient woods. At first glance all is well in the sleepy community. But of course there are deeply hidden secrets, malicious intentions and murderous plans lurking within. Giulio wants to uncover what happened that night and if he really is responsible for his girlfriend's disappearance. But he finds out so much more. He ends up revealing the darkest, deadliest secrets of the town's inhabitants...

The story is told at the beginning by three cats: the orange cat, that has a secret, the black cat that died and a white cat that is evil. I liked the idea and also how the cats contributed to the story. There is a bit of magical realism in the novel, but it is only a delicate touch and the rest is a very engaging and well-thought thriller. It starts with a disappearance and an investigation in a small, sleepy town covered by snow and ice. It ends with an explosion of violence and a gruesome massacre. It was fun to read this book and uncover with the character what really happened that night.

I received "The Hawthorne Season" from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest review. I had such high hopes for this book but unfortunately it fell short. I liked the idea of it but for me the story just jumped around too much for me and made it hard to follow. I tried really hard but just could not get into it.

This book looked and sounded so good. The cover was very appealing—mysterious and ominous! Then the description continued with the same enticing appeal. And the first chapter drew me right in, but unfortunately after that I struggled to keep interested. The writing was good—it just wasn’t quite enough for me.

Giulio Rodari is a children’s book author that is suspected of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Patrizia. He had confronted her in an intoxicated rage on her last night alive, but he has no memory of what happened after that.

He’s put under house arrest and decides to retreat to the small mountain village where he grew up, staying at his mother’s hotel.

The village is haunted by a local tragedy—a bridge collapse that took seven lives. This tragedy is what brought Giulio and Patrizia together. As the police investigate, will he be able to fill in the missing pieces of the murder he’s accused of?

Thank you to NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review!
#TheHawthorneSeason #NetGalley

Intriguing novel that grabbed me and didn't let me go! This was a fast read and an enjoyable one! Definitely recommend!

I liked this book, but it was kind of hard to follow at times. I am not sure if that is because the names and entities were all Italian, which I am not familiar with, or because of the way the story jumped around a little. I was very intrigued by the murder mystery, but was a bit let down with the conclusion, which I found to be a little anticlimactic. I really liked the incorporation of the cats as narrators, and I enjoyed the other twist that I never saw coming.

The prologue aptly sets the scene for the novel and can not fail but entice the reader to continue to find out how the horrifying situation described therein was achieved. We are told that 10 bodies have been found of which 8 have met violent deaths with 2 being found buried and 2 are still alive. The story then begins with Giulio Rodari a well known children's author being transported by police to his mother's hotel set near a sleepy mountainous Tuscany village where he will be held under house arrest while evidence is being assembled concerning his involvement in the disappearance and suspected murder of his solicitor ex-girlfriend, Patrizia Alberti. The problem for Giulio is that he has suffered memory loss regarding the final moments he was with Patrizia, we know that he is obsessed with her and was stalking her prior to the final meeting but did he kill her?His memory now continually goes from reality to illusion.

For some readers this may not be the easiest of reads as the narrative switches from one plot line to another as we are introduced to a multitude of characters. It is somewhat like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle as you try to work out how everything fits into place to explain what we know from the prologue is coming. We also have the narratives of several cats which are intrinsic to the story line and gives the book a somewhat metaphysical dimension. The writing is very descriptive and you can visualise the falling snowbound late winter setting. For a crime novel several quite profound themes are explored including the need for environmental protection, corruption and how the past influences the present. Many of the characters are haunted by the loss of loved ones that occurred in a bus accident on a falling bridge 4 years previously. There is a big twist at the end which I for one did not see coming despite now looking back several clues.

Riccardo Bruni apart from writing fiction is an Italian journalist who also writes for newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs and can be congratulated in producing this fast paced but intelligent read. The translation is good and the cover also aptly gives the deep foreboding atmospheric feel of dread inside. If you like a good crime which is also a bit challenging then this could be for you.

Pre-pub courtesy of NetGalley Aug 14, 2018. Published by AmazonCrossing. Translated from the Italian by Hillary Locke.Hawthorne Season

Summary: A murder, a bridge accident, three cats, a teenage girl and a gnome. These five things appear to have little to do with each other but in the Hawthorne Season, almost nothing is as it appears to be.

Guilio Rodari, the artist/author of a children’s book series, is suspected of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Patrizia Alberti. Guilio admits to stalking her and being completely obsessed with her, but he can’t believe he murdered her. Guilio has a problem because he has partial amnesia from a bad reaction to alcohol. He can’t remember anything during a four-hour period, the exact time Patrizia went missing. The police have a problem because they don’t have a body.

The authorities decide to put Guilio under house arrest while they gather evidence against him. Guilio is sent to stay with his mother at her hotel, which is closed for the season. But his seclusion is very permeable as people and information drift in and out of his dubious lock-up. With his guilt a foregone conclusion for the authorities, Guilio knows he must use whatever resources he can to recover his missing memories.

Comments: It took me a while to get into the rhythm of reading this book and I did lots of highlighting and jotting down of notes on my Kindle along the way. That served me well at the end of the book when all the various people and incidents came together in some completely unexpected ways. The book was well written, and the translation was clear, I was just nudged out of my fiction comfort zone.

There is a thread of fatalism that runs through the thinking of almost all the characters in this book. For them, it is pointless to buck the system and external forces always prevail. Those who don’t accept this are punished. The Hawthorne Season made me think about American/European cultural differences as expressed in modern literature. I’m glad it did.

4 out of 5 for a smashingly good ending.


#NetGalley #TheHawthorneSeason

The Hawthorne Season by Riccardo Bruni provided an imaginary relief from the heat. Set in a small Italian town at a time when people are beginning to anticipate the end of winter, there is plenty of snow, numerous secrets, and hidden agendas.

Giulio Rodari has been placed under house arrest at his mother's hotel in the mountains. Accused of murdering his former girlfriend, Giulio admits to stalking her, but has no memory at all of her murder. The problem lies in his reaction to alcohol. Giulio has only drunk alcohol twice in his life, and both times have resulted in loss of memory.

Giulio, an author/illustrator of children's books, doesn't want to believe himself guilty of the crime, and the only way to know for sure is to try to recover the blanks in the hours after he confronted Patrizia in a drunken rage.

Could some of the secrets in his small hometown have any connection? Although Guilio is an important character, there are other characters who are equally important. The Marshall, Viola, his mother and her friends and frenemies have differing opinions about the possible construction of a waste plant in the middle of their venerated "old woods."

An odd assortment of characters, small town secrets and rivalries, and a winter setting kept me intrigued from beginning to end.

NetGalley/Amazon Crossing.

Mystery. Aug. 14, 2018. Print length: 288 pages.

I could not put this novel down. It was a short and easy read for me that kept me intrigued and on the edge of my seat till the very end. This held mystery, suspense, tragedy, and a creep factor which is why I enjoyed this novel so much. It was able to hold enough mystery to make you wonder what is reality and what is not.

I recommend this novel.

Thanks Netgalley!!