Murder in MateraMurder in Matera
a True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy
Title rated 3.95 out of 5 stars, based on 27 ratings(27 ratings)
Book, 2017
Current format, Book, 2017, First edition., Available .Book, 2017
Current format, Book, 2017, First edition., Available . Offered in 0 more formatsA writer goes deep into the heart of Italy to unravel a century-old family mystery in this spellbinding memoir. Since childhood, Helene Stapinski heard lurid tales about her great-great-grandmother, Vita. In Southern Italy, she was a loose woman who had murdered someone. Immigrating to America with three children, she lost one along the way. Helene's youthful obsession with Vita deepened as she grew up, eventually propelling the journalist to Italy, where, with her own children in tow, she pursued the story, determined to set the record straight. Finding answers would take Helene ten years and numerous trips to Basilicata, the rural "instep" of Italy's boot, a mountainous land rife with criminals, superstitions, old-world customs, and desperate poverty. Though false leads sent her down blind alleys, Helene's dogged search, aided by a few luckyeven miraculous breaks and a group of colorful local characters, led her to the truth. Yes, the family tales she'd heard were true: There had been a murder in Helene's family, a killing that roiled 1870s Italy. But the identities of the killer and victim weren't who she thought they were. In revisiting events that happened more than a century before, Helene came to another stunning realization: she wasn't who she thought she was, either. Weaving Helene's own story of discovery with the tragic tale of Vita's life, Murder in Matera is a literary whodunit and a moving tale of self-discovery that brings into focus a long ago tragedy in a little-known region remarkable for its stunning sunny beauty and dark buried secrets.
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- New York, NY : Dey St., an imprint of William Morrow, [2017], ©2017
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