Return to Lerici is the second of a so-far two book series, continuing the story of the Greene sisters begun in The Invisibles. Half-sisters Elinor and Saffron are bound by a father who abandoned them as he pursued a near-infinite series of infidelities. After being involved in an explosion and nearly dying, Elinor has settled in their family home in Lerici, Italy, which is sweetly haunted by the ghost of Percy Bysshe Shelley who drowned in the ocean nearby. Family dynamics postpone Elinor’s wedding to her lover, Tonio, as the family reunites to help their mother, Betsy, deal with cancer. While undergoing treatment, Betsy obsesses with finding her husband’s child, listed on the birth certificate only as “Baby Boy” so she can reunite their family. The family must decide whether to take the “new” brother into the fold if and when they find him.
Dacus writes convincingly about family and travel with a touch of supernatural. The emotions of the characters ring true and are complex enough to be truly human. I’ve spent time in nearby La Spezia on the western coast of Italy, so can attest to the accuracy of her descriptions of Lerici. She very much captures the expatriate experience of living abroad.
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Return to Lerici (Independently published, January 5, 2024) is available through Amazon.
The Invisibles (Time Fold Books, October 22, 2019) is also available on Amazon.
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