Sanctuary


Fiction - Horror
336 Pages
Reviewed on 09/17/2024
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Nino Lobiladze for Readers' Favorite

In Valentina Cano Repetto's Sanctuary, Sibilla and Giovanni Fenoglio moved from Torino or Turin to a villa in the Ovada area. Engineer Fenoglio's invention brought them money to buy land with a mill, which needed reconstruction. He hoped to relaunch the mill and put solid capital into this venture. But Sibilla was shocked to find their villa in a horrible condition. She heard strange noises and saw disturbing images. Were they a pregnant woman's fantasies? Her husband didn't pay much attention to her fears. He was busy at the mill, where frequent accidents nullified his efforts to rebuild it. Were these disasters connected to the dark past of the land once owned by the wealthy Caparalia family? Was the lady of the house, Maddalena, engaged in occultism? Sibilla must uncover many secrets to escape the trap she found herself in.

Valentina Cano Repetto's Sanctuary is for fans of historical fiction, horror, drama, and mystery. The novel covers the topics of greed, pride, and the price we pay for possessing these qualities. The narrative is captivating yet unsettling. Skillfully set in two different historical periods, the book has two storylines. Interestingly, Maddalena is a strong-willed, educated woman ahead of her time, in the sixteenth century. At the same time, Sibilla, almost our contemporary, is an insecure, submissive wife to an arrogant domestic tyrant. This contrast is intriguing and thought-provoking. The author raises difficult questions concerning our values and warns about the long-term consequences of our wrong choices. Valentina is almost brutal in her sincerity while describing human vices and weaknesses. Sibilla is a troubled soul, and we wait for the outcome of her story with bated breath. The book has a logical ending and staggering twists and turns.