Customer Reviews

Season of Storms

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1920's Italy, Galeazzo D'Ascanio was unable to see the performance of his wonderful play, Il Prezzo. Celia Sands, his beautiful English mistress and star of the play, vanished without a trace the night before the opening performance.

Now, some eighty years later, Alessandro 'Alex' D'Ascanio, grandson of Galeazzo, has contacted Celia Sands, a struggling young English actress, asking that she perform the lead in Il Prezzo, a never performed play. The Forlani Trust is restoring Il Piacere, Galeazzo's magnificent villa on Lake Garda, and the play will be performed at an outdoor theater there.

Celia isn't certain that she should take this role, since it appears that she is desired merely because she possesses the same name as the original Celia. But her mentor, pseudo-guardian and director Rupert does his best to quietly persuade Celia to take this part. And Celia ventures off to Italy and the disquiet of Il Piacere. The maid thinks that Celia's room has ghosts of its own even as Celia seems drawn to Alex whose comings and goings lend an air of mystery to the place. Add to the mix Daniela Forlani, whose possessiveness of Alex alludes to Francesca, Galeazzo's wife, who was jealous of his relationship with Celia.

Written in the first person, SEASON OF STORMS is a top-notch suspenseful novel that evolves into a truly riveting read. The mystery is not in the form of cliffhangers but a more slow-paced discovery of clues that will fall into place like the pieces of a puzzle. Rich with evocatively descriptive language, SEASON OF STORMS will transport you to another place, where murder and ghosts are a distinct probability.

In 1921 Italy, playwright Galeazzo D'Ascanio writes what turns out to be his last play. Since his beloved mistress Celia Sands provides him with the needed inspiration, he bestows on her the honor of starring on opening night in the theater on his estate Il Piacere. However, Celia vanishes on the eve of her opportunity to attain stardom. The show never went on and whether he lost his inspiration or his soul that night, Galeazzo never wrote another play

Galeazzo's grandson decides to direct that play at the same theater that it was to first debut. He selects English actress Celia Sands, no relationship, because of her name. When she arrives at Il Piacere the modern day Celia feels an immediate affinity to her namesake especially at night. Unable to let the past stay buried, she obsessively begins to investigate what happened on that fatal night one day before this play was to first be performed.

Known for her background descriptions that feel like panoramic murals that enhance her starring charcaters, Susanna Kearsley paints a multi-layered vista. The Poe-like past counterbalances with the vivid energy of the present so that the reader is hooked in such a way that they feel they are on the grounds of the Italian estate in the now and in 1921. The modern day Sara is quite a card, as she knows that it is better to leave the past alone but cannot do it. Her compulsion turns SEASON OF STORMS into a somber Gothic like novel that verifies why Susanna Kearsley is an award-winning author.

Harriet Klausner

Kearsley's uncanny technique of molding coincidences of the past with happenstances of the present is explored again with great success in her latest offering "Season of Storms". Here fledgling actress, Celia Sands bears the same name as the infamous lover of famous Italian lake district playwright Galeazzo D'Ascanio of the early 1900s. . . and now seemingly serendipitiously she is chosen by the deliciously understated Alessandro D'Ascanio, grandson of the famous playwright, to actually perform the lead in a recently discovered but unknown and unperformed masterpiece written by his grandfather especially for that first Celia. Upon arriving at Il Piacere in Italy, our heroine is initially fraught with many emotions, many of which stem from her fear of failure in the distinguished company of other cast and crew members. She must cope with the bald fact that legendary actress Madeleine Hedrick is playing one of the other leads and that the selfish actions of her own actress mother caused Hedrick's marital breakup. With regret, she notices that Hedrick's newest relationship with a younger man, the third actor, eerily parallels the action of the play itself-- the older woman thrown aside for a younger lover. And this is not the only coincidence, for as the actors prepare for that first performance, other mysterious incidents surrounding the play come under the scrutiny of a light from the past which floods the future of the inhabitants of Il Piacere, placing them in the wake of imminent danger.
Kearsley seems to have discovered that knack for combining a luscious setting, a questioning damsel in distress, and a contained mystery with a smorgasbord of tasty male morsels to create a tantalizing reading experience in the worthy tradition of Mary Stewart.

This is a somewhat tepid book by this award winning author. Perhaps because her other novels are so terrific, this one pales in comparison. While well written, it moves along at a ponderous pace, a lull before the storm that never quite arrives.

The author weaves two stories in one. One is about a turn of the century actress, Celia Sands, who mysteriously disappeared, during a torrid affair with her wealthy, married Italian lover, who wrote a play for her. She never had an opportunity to perform the leading role in her lover's masterpiece, however, due to her untimely disappearance. The main story line is about a present day actress of the same name, though no relation, who is called upon to play the role the first Celia Sands was unable to play.

For this role, Ms. Sands is brought to a villa in Italy, which was once the home of the playwright and now belongs to his grandson, Alex. While there, Celia realizes that there are some strange goings on, but does not know why. All soon becomes clear, though it takes many pages for everything to fall into place. There is really nothing too mysterious in this mildly suspenseful novel.

Those who have read the author's other novels may be mildly disappointed. Newcomers to this author may enjoy it more. Nonetheless, it is still a well written, though somewhat tepid and belabored, novel.

Susanna Kearsley never fails to satisfy. I have read each of her books, and cannot wait to read the new one soon to come out. When purchasing her books, be careful to note that some books released in the US have a different title than the title given the same book in the UK. Reading a review (back cover, perhaps) will keep you from ordering duplicates. She is an excellent historian, and writes wonderful stories with romance and the paranormal. Very enjoyable.

Susanna Kearsley writes much like Barbara Michaels- her novels feature highly developed characters, a beautiful sense of atmosphere and an air of ghostly mystery that draw the reader in. If you enjoy the work of Barbara Michael's, Susanna Kearsley will not be a disappointment!

This is a somewhat tepid book by this award winning author. Perhaps because her other novels are so terrific, this one pales in comparison. While well written, it moves along at a ponderous pace, a lull before the storm that never quite arrives.

The author weaves two stories in one. One is about a turn of the century actress, Celia Sands, who mysteriously disappeared, during a torrid affair with her wealthy, married Italian lover, who wrote a play for her. She never had an opportunity to perform the leading role in her lover's masterpiece, however, due to her untimely disappearance. The main story line is about a present day actress of the same name, though no relation, who is called upon to play the role the first Celia Sands was unable to play.

For this role, Ms. Sands is brought to a villa in Italy, which was once the home of the playwright and now belongs to his grandson, Alex. While there, Celia realizes that there are some strange goings on, but does not know why. All soon becomes clear, though it takes many pages for everything to fall into place. There is really nothing too mysterious in this mildly suspenseful novel.

Those who have read the author's other novels may be mildly disappointed. Newcomers to this author may enjoy it more. Nonetheless, it is still a well written, though somewhat tepid and belabored, novel.

If you like Mary Stewart, and you have been disappointed by her last few books, then SEASON OF STORMS by Susanna Kearsley should be a delight. It sends you back to the early Stewart works of THIS ROUGH MAGIC and THE MOON SPINNERS. The reserved relationship between Alex and Celia, and the limited physicality of it, limited to polite kisses, were so much like Stewart, I was tempted to check the author's bio again. Even the subtle mystery, based on theft and smuggling, was signiture Stewart. It was a delicious trip into one of my favorite authors, and recalled my first romances. This is a must have.

I've read several of Kearsley's books and this one is now my favorite, even though I love the other ones too. Kearsley did an excellent job of weaving past and present(both were very closely paralleled). The setting and descriptions made me wish that I could go to Italy. In addition, all of the main characters and their relationships with each another were well developed, so much that I felt like I knew them personally. This book was suspenseful and kept me turning the pages. I spent all of my spare time reading this book until I was finished with it. Kearsley also added some supernatural elements to this novel, which were a nice touch. The only drawback was that the ending was somewhat predictable; however, this was minor compared to all of the good points of this book. Overall, it was very well written. Susanna Kearsley is one of the best authors of the romantic suspense genre!

Typical Susanna Kearsley - an interesting and emotionally rewarding read. She always does her homework, and that diligent research pays off in believability of plot and characters. Think I have read all of her work to date, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every book. My favorite is Marianna, but all are worth the investment of time.