An entertaining family mystery. Anna returns to Italy to uncover the family secrets that surround her mother’s death. She has lived with the accusations of being responsible for her mother’s death but needs to find the truth for herself. Her relatives each have their own agendas that interfere with her ability to find the truth. Enjoyable but some parts seem a little unbelievable and I would have liked to have more depth to the setting and characters.

Anna returns to the family home in Tuscany following the death of her father. She had left at the age of 12 following her mother’s death. Anna remembers little of the night her mother died but many blame her. Anna searches through the villa searching for her mother’s missing necklace, which is supposed to be cursed.

Very well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Excellent characters in this well paced, mystery novel. Anna has night terrors and is finding more about her family, not all good. Much is shocking and there is danger for digging up the past.

Thank you to NetGalley & HighBridge Audio for the ALC!

RECAP: When Anna inherits her family’s Tuscan villa, she returns to the scene of her mother’s mysterious death and a missing heirloom. Haunted by night terrors and village rumors, she must uncover the truth—and whether a family curse is to blame.

REVIEW: I think this book had a lot of potential, and it kept me listening - I wanted to know more about this “curse” & dive deeper in Anna’s familial history and backstory. But the plot didn’t deliver like I’d hoped it would. No plot twists, nothing particularly juicy, and it felt like it started to drag toward the end.

Ana has inherited her families, luxurious home in Venice. She has them in back since the death of her mother, six years earlier. And even though her mother’s death was ruled an accident, the locals still believe that Ana got away with murder. Ana is still coping with the unpleasant childhood that she had at the villa and fighting the ghosts of her past, both imaginary and literal.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This was an edgy thriller novel, and I enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. I also really enjoyed this as an audiobook!

The Medici Curse is a fast-paced historical thriller. It has a nice mix of art, mystery, and romance. I enjoyed trying to unravel the secrets tied to this ancient curse and I liked the twists through out the story. The past and present timelines kept me entertained for hours. The setting in Italy is beautiful. Overall, I thought the audiobook was nicely done.

Many thanks for my gifted copy.

Anna inherits her childhood home, a villa in Tuscany that she was forced to leave after the murder of her mother. A murder that she is thought to have committed as a twelve-year-old while in the midst of a night terror. Even Anna doesn’t know the truth about that night. The women of the family are supposedly cursed by the Medici necklace passed down between the generations and dooming each one, and anyone else who wears it, to death. Her mother was wearing it the night she died, but it was stolen and hasn’t been seen since. When Anna returns to Italy so do her nightmares, along with more death and dark secrets coming to light.

This was a perfect thriller for summer. The imagery was both beautiful and eerie. I purposely only listened to this during daylight and still got goosebumps at least three different times. Anna is an unreliable narrator which I love. She makes some questionable choices and I honestly did not see the plot twists when it came to the murder, though I had suspicions about another twist that I was excited to be right about! The whole story had me wondering what was real and what wasn’t. If I could trust Anna or any of the neighboring family she was distantly related to. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a little spooky warm weather read. The short, well paced chapters made this a quick read that pulled me in right away and the audio was fantastic, especially for the parts in Italian I would have butchered in my head without the narration.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the ARC!

What a fascinating story. Perfect setting in Italy. I liked the character of Anna. She navigates an inheritance, her concerning past and a very interesting and possessive extended family.
Beautifully written and interesting. Great job by the narrator.
I enjoyed all the dimensions this book had.

To be published July 1, 2025

Anna, who spent her childhood in a villa in Tuscany, has been gone for many years after she believes her mothers fatal accident is her fault. When she returns to inherit the villa and with it, she discovers the curse that has been following her family and the necklace her mum was wearing when she died.

The book itself was pretty fast paced and the large cast of characters really enhanced the story itself. I would liken this to a gothic thriller, full of old family curses and drama and a desire to claim your birthright.

Cassandra Campbell as a narrator was phenomenal and I'll add her to my list of must-listen to narrators.

Anna inherits her family`s villa in Tuscany but it is a place that brought her night terrors as a child and where her mother fell down the stairs and died. Did Anna push her mother or did something else happen. This has supernatural elements in it. There is also a creepy gothic vibe going. There was mystery from the very beginning about Anna`s family and the necklace too. I liked this book but did not love it.