The Past Always Comes to Light

After a brutal killing in 1950s Florence, Serafina, the only woman in the crime squad, is assigned to the case with her partner, and when a second murder targets the same family, Serafina quickly focuses in on the past and the war as the motive behind the deaths.  The novel flashes back and forth between the investigation, and World War II era Tuscany and the family home of the Rosatis.  Their oldest son is at war in Sicily, the middle child is working in Florence helping to preserve Italy’s cultural heritage by working with the Germans, and hoping to prevent them from plundering too much, and the baby of the family, Cristina, lives at home at Villa Chimera with her parents and sister-in-law Francesca.  Full review.