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2000s: A story of a city, inspired by the real life story of Vittoria Accoramboni at her infamous love triangle
The White Devil
What you need to know before your trail
In the hot, shadowy streets of Rome, Vicki Wilson’s lovers keep turning up dead.
Vittoria, as she’s known in Italy, is a small-time actress who left behind a dark past in her native Texas and followed her fading writer husband to the Eternal City.
Guided by her controlling, obsessive brother Johnny, Vittoria soon enters the upper circles of Roman society, becoming a paparazzi darling and mingling with shady cardinals and corrupt senators. Among them is Paolo Orsini, who quickly falls prey to Vittoria’s charms. Too bad he’s married; too bad his wife, an aging film icon, is murdered.
From the ravishing beauty of Rome – a city of dark secrets held within the frescoed walls of glamorous palazzos – to the pristine beaches of Malibu and the dangerous alleys of a mysterious South American city, Vittoria finds herself at the heart of a lethal chase, spiralling dangerously out of control…
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Quite the tour of Rome!
Rome; the eternal city. The city of winding streets and alleyways leading to goodness knows where. This novel evokes the old fashioned cinematic style of the city from the US bar, The Purple Bar in the Testaccio district close to the Circus Maximus, to the bustling market town of Campo Fiori. One character lives close to this market square and it’s the centre of so much activity both in the book and in real life.
Of course a city throughout Rome is not complete without a stroll beside the river Tiber and time trying to dodge the flies by the Colosseum. There’s also many feral cats spotted running around the city through the alley ways and hiding in the shadows at night.
Throughout the novel, the cinematic influence of Cinecittà Studios is omnipresent. The glitz and glamour this promises compared to the reality down on the mean streets of the city, from the religious corners to the political ones.
Lots of illicit meetings and time and space for hidden mysteries.
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
Vicki Wilson is climbing up the slippery pole of italian high life and wanting marriage and the trappings of a life of privilege. She’s known in Italy as Vittoria so sounds and acts rather better than she is but this is how she wants others to see her and, more importantly, to want her. Sadly, the men who come her way seem to end up dead. There’s no laws or morals where this woman is concerned – or the men of course. There’s even hints of her brother being involved, but I hope I read this wrong.
I was surprised to find out that the story was inspired by the infamous case of Amanda Knox (stated by the author in the afternote) as there’s only a tenuous link there. More likely is the fact that the real life story of Vittoria Accoramboni, a Renaissance figure at the heart of an infamous love triangle back in the times of the Medici family, was probably more likely.
It’s all very cinematic and stylish but take away the scenes, the props and the costumes and the script is lacking in substance. There’s not much to the Italian judicial system either judging by the novel and the religious overtones are loud and clear.
Good but not great.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The White Devil
Destination : Rome Author/Guide: Domenic Stansberry Departure Time: 2000s
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