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Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite
This story begins before the outbreak of World War II and ends over two decades later. Nineteen-year-old Eleanor is groomed by her art professor in Florence while studying, thus the title The Florentine Entanglement by Pamela Norsworthy. She hides out for the duration of the war, then meets and marries Talbot Bentley, who takes her back with him to America. He works for the newly formed CIA, but what should have been a happy marriage has a darker side. As Eleanor becomes more and more distant, Talbot finds solace in affairs with yet another secretary, while his wife turns a blind eye. Their social life and a settled though distant marriage in Washington is interrupted when the U2 spy plane flown by Gary Powers is shot down over Russia. Criticism and allegations fly in all directions, and Talbot finds himself in the firing line. In the meantime, Eleanor has secrets of her own that she is desperate to hide from both her husband, friends, church, and the CIA.
What an exciting read. I could not tear myself away from The Florentine Entanglement by Pamela Norsworthy. I am old enough to remember the Gary Powers incident and the shock and the media attention at the time. I am so impressed that this author has woven a tale around the incident, which, while fictional, has all the hallmarks of a very possible, real-life scenario. I connected with the characters; I really cared about them, which is always the sign of an excellent book. The pace, the tantalizing questions, and the drama all combine to make this story a five-star read, written not simply as a love story, but as a down-to-earth tale of two people caught up in a situation over which they had minimal control. I also liked the comparison of living under a totalitarian dictatorship as opposed to a libertarian one. I shall certainly look out for more books by this author.
