The Sicilian Inheritance Book Review

I spent 6 months in Milan after college so I always have a soft spot for books that are set in Italy.

We’ve read The House at the Edge of Night and Beneath a Scarlet Sky for book club in previous years but I loved that The Sicilian Inheritance is a more woman-focused historical fiction novel so I chose it for the 2026 book club list.

Curious if this book is for you? Check out my full review below.

Summary of The Sicilian Inheritance

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina, she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother. At once an immersive multigenerational mystery and an ode to the undaunted heroism of everyday women, The Sicilian Inheritance is an atmospheric, page-turning delight.

Book Stats

Published: April 2, 2024
Pages: 384
Genre: Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction
Get Your Copy: Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook

What I Liked

Here’s what I would tell my best friend about the book:

1. Alternating Timelines and POV: The story is told through two main characters, Sara and her great-grandmother Serafina. This is one of my favorite approaches to historical fiction because the modern day storyline is a perfect complement to the historical timeline.
2. Heart Racing Page-Turner: Each chapter ends on a gripping cliff hanger that had me racing through the second half of the book to see what happened next.
3. Romantic and Sumptuous: A story set in Italy just wouldn’t be accurate if I couldn’t use those adjectives. The gorgeous setting, the colorful characters, the tantalizing food, this book absolutely transports you to Sicily.
4. Authentic Girl Power: I so appreciate a story that celebrates the strength and power of women facing challenging circumstances. There is plenty of social commentary on the role of women in the world but it is highly relatable, very real, and quite moving.

What I Didn’t Like

Every reader needs something different from a book. What I may not have preferred may be your favorite part so take this with a grain of salt.

I finished the second half of the book in a single afternoon because I couldn’t put it down. I loved how the story built up to the final reveal but I felt like the ending was a bit forced and rushed.

It felt like the first 95% of the book was absolutely amazing and then a deadline was looming and the author had to wrap it up in a final rush or perhaps ran into a page limit by her publisher. I would have happily read a whole additional chapter or two for the ending to have been fleshed out a bit more.

However, don’t let that stop you. The ending is still satisfying and the rest of the book more than makes up for this one minor flaw.

Overall Score

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I give The Sicilian Inheritance 5 stars.

I finished the whole book in just 3 days, I found myself going to bed early just to get more reading time in.

The story was smooth, detailed, and filled with characters that I’ll be thinking about for days. I found myself searching up pictures of Sicily and considering whether I’d ever be brave enough to travel there!

This would make an amazing spring break or summer beach read when you want to dream of adventure with a dash of mystery.

If this is your first time reading one of my reviews, you may want to check out how I score my reads with this scale guide here.

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