Interesting, but ultimately disappointing
The premise of this book -- a woman travels to Italy to tend to the affairs of her deceased employer, a popular novelist of dubious ability who died under mysterious circumstances -- holds terrific potential for a compelling read, but ultimately I found Italian Fever a bit flat. Martin is certainly a skilled writer, and her descriptions of the Italian countryside, architecture, and art are vivid and enjoyable, but for me, the characters never really came alive. The plot also seemed two-dimensional -- mysteries were hinted at but their leads were never fully explored, passions were described but never fully savored. I wanted to be transported by this book to a mysterious villa in romantic Italy, but I never forgot that I was just reading about it. I think Valerie Martin may be capable of crafting a truly compelling novel, but she needs to dig deeper below the surface than she did here.
