I Give It To You by Valerie Martin

Jan Vidor seems like the ideal tenant for a long summer holiday in a Tuscan villa. Unobtrusive and quietly sociable, the American academic can be relied upon to entertain herself - but her aristocratic landlady Beatrice has made a terrible mistake.

A chance remark about a violent death at Villa Chiara during the war piques Jan's writerly interest and sends her digging into the Salviati family's tragic past.

Was Beatrice's uncle Sandro really mistaken for a partisan, or was his killer someone closer to home? Does it matter if Jan just fills in the gaps?

After all, Beatrice said she could do as she liked with the story, she even said 'I give it to you' . . .

Exquisite - Jane Shilling, Daily Telegraph

Martin's writing is a reward in itself, a wonderful precision-tool. She uses it to chisel at the human condition - and the effect is astonishing - Financial Times

Immensely satisfying ... cleverly plotted and packed with great characters, both Jan's creative struggles and her beautifully wrought stories of the Salviati family lift themselves effortlessly free of their source material, whatever or wherever that may be. They demonstrate the enchanted moment when words on a page rise by virtue of the alliance of a mysterious grace and sheer hard work, and create magic - Christobel Kent, Guardian

The story slips between past and present and is an interesting reversal of all the usual mellow Italian tropes. We may be Under The Tuscan Sun, but we're definitely in the shadows here ... an absorbing read. - Daily Mail

Yes, the narrator of Martin's new novel is a middle-aged American woman vacationing in Tuscany, but this prickly, uncomfortably relevant dive into personal and societal ethics is no escapist romance... Martin parses personal and social politics with methodical care and a reserved tone reminiscent of Edith Wharton. - Kirkus, starred review

An Italian villa and the family that owns it capture the imagination of an American writer in Martin's intimate, disquieting latest ... Martin's engrossing tale explores relationships among family members and workers over four generations ... Martin's masterly descriptions of the villa and its gardens are transportive. Evoking the charms and complexities of 20th-century Italy, Martin offers a thought-provoking reflection on writing, friendship, family, and betrayal. - Publishers Weekly