4.5 stars

Rome, 1951. Vogue. Espionage. Former lovers. A murder. The Italian Correspondent has drama in all the right places.

This one felt cinematic from the start. Rome in 1951. Fashion houses trying to reclaim glamour. Diplomats circling. War shadows still hanging in the background.

Veronica Gold is in Italy as Vogue’s correspondent, but she’s also carrying the weight of having been a war reporter. I liked that duality. Italy is trying to rebrand after fascism. Veronica is trying to rebrand after trauma. That parallel worked for me.

Then her ex-husband reappears. Then he’s murdered. And suddenly we’re in espionage territory.

I’ll be honest. There are pacing bumps. A few stretches where I felt the plot meander before tightening again. But once it locks in, it really locks in. There are twists here that I genuinely didn’t see coming. Not because they’re outrageous, but because Alexandra is careful about what she reveals and when. I never felt ahead of the story, which I always appreciate in historical fiction.

Veronica can be frustrating. She hesitates. She makes emotional calls. She doesn’t always read people correctly. But I didn’t mind that. Surrounded by strong personalities and complicated men, her uncertainty felt real. She isn’t written as a flawless heroine. She’s written as someone still bruised from war and love.

What I enjoyed most was the interconnectedness of the characters. Past lovers, former friends, political loyalties. Everyone is tied to someone else in ways that slowly come into focus. Sometimes that surprised me, but it never felt messy.

This is a story about espionage and love, but it’s also about the people who move through your life for a reason or a season. About how the past doesn’t disappear just because you’ve changed cities.

It’s dramatic. It’s stylish. It has glamour sitting right next to danger.

Not perfect in pacing, but overall a very enjoyable read.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley for my copy of The Italian Correspondent in exchange for an honest review.

The Italian Correspondent tells the story of Veronica Gold, who is a Vogue correspondent in post war Italy. The historical fiction novel is set primarily in Rome in 1951 where Italy is recovering from the war and the shadow of fascism.
Veronica was formally a war reporter with the Eighth Army and she like many is living through the trauma of what she saw and reported on.
This is primarily a murder mystery with lots of intrigue, espionage, past loves and romance.
There is a cast of wonderful characters all falling in love with Veronica.
I really enjoyed this new title by Belinda Alexandra.

Rome 1951. The country is trying to shake its fascist past, ties to Germany during the Second World War and move forward. Veronica Gold is the Italian correspondent for Vogue magazine, the new fashion is fun and chic.

Veronica lives with her cat Oggi and is trying to forget four things, the loss of her young daughter, her husband Lyle Cooper divorcing her when she needed him the most and marrying her best friend Emerald Evergreen and the terrible memories of her time as a war reporter alongside the Eighth Army.

Veronica finds respite at the Villa of Hope & Peace, an orphanage run by nuns, one young girl Jolanda and a sheep called Speranzo make her feel some hope for the future, she's not sure what it holds and despite bringing back memories of her daughter.

Just when Veronica is ready to tackle her plan of writing her first novel, her ex-husband arrives, she meets Marcello Fabbri and archaeologist and partisan who she had a fling with during the war and the dashing Count Carlo Durazzo the current spouse of Emerald.

Is it possible for one woman to have romantic feelings towards three men at the same time, not only does Veronica have to consider this, she left wondering what side are they on, who can she trust and is telling her truth and drawn into the world on the brink of a nuclear war and danger.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley for my copy of The Italian Correspondent exchange for an honest review. I can’t believe it’s been twenty four years since I read Belinda Alexandra’s debut novel White Gardenia, my all-time favourite book and made me a loyal fan and I was eagerly waiting for her next and it did not disappoint.

The narrative is a mix of interesting characters, all with a past, full of lots of twists and turns I didn’t see coming and mentions old buildings many still showing battle scars from the war, fashion, fast cars and scooter's, action, adventurer, mystery, murder, intrigue, spies and big secrets are revealed.

I highly recommend, pre-order a copy now, or make sure your library will have this novel, and a must read for fans of well written, gripping historical fiction and I can guarantee you will be hooked by the end of the first chapter and won’t be able to stop turning the pages.