The Witches of Santo Stefano : A Novel

An investigative journalist uncovers the haunting secret history of her own ancestors in a bewitching novel by the bestselling author of Daughters of the Lake. When Cassie Graves discovers her husband’s affair, it’s enough to chip away at the foundation of her life. But after researching her family’s Italian ancestry, it completely crumbles beneath her. Her grandmother Gia’s often-told stories about the past are a lie. Her much-romanticized great-grandfather Giovanni may not even have existed. Most alarming of all, it appears her mysterious great-grandmother Violetta died by stregoneria—witchcraft. Now, piecing together the puzzle of her family tree in the small, centuries-old hill town of Santo Stefano, Cassie finds help from a welcoming group of locals: the accommodating Renzo; Dante, whose own family history connects with Cassie’s; and the ethereal Luna, an interpreter of dreams who gives Cassie a protective amulet—and the warning that she may have walked into a trap. When Cassie comes upon an old spell book, she gets closer to unearthing long-buried family secrets, the truth about a powerful female lineage, and the haunting discovery of who she really is.