I asked some time ago: what book should I have taken on my visit to Rome as I read ‘A Room with a View’ whilst in Florence. Well, I think I have answered my own question, I should have had ‘Two women in Rome’ with me by Elizabeth Buchan. It would have been perfect I think. I have read some of her work before and ‘The Museum of Broken Promises’ was particularly memorable.
We have one woman, Nina, in Rome in the 1970s. She is a landscape gardener but also much more than that. It gradually becomes clear that she is involved in some sort of covert intelligence work but who she is working for is very questionable. It does not end well.
The second woman is Lottie, full of unresolved personal problems, recently married and in a new position as an archivist. She comes across Nina’s file and is perplexed as to what actually happened nearly 50 years ago and why no one attended her funeral. As she investigates and researches it becomes obvious that people don’t want to answer her questions but she can’t work out why this would be.
The book slides across genres. It is part romance, part mystery and thriller and also strays into the area of crime novels. This is a very good read. I recommend it, even if you are not in Rome.