The author of Renato's Luck
makes luck a motif again in his second novel set in Tuscany—bad luck, that is. Perpetual rainfall, raging influenza and bizarre accidents beset the village of Sant' Angelo D'Asso at the start of this heartwarming tale by Italian transplant Shapiro. Single mother Petula (daughter of the eponymous protagonist of Renato's Luck
) feels as cursed as her fellow villagers. She loves her six-year-old son, Beniamino, but believes she's trapped in her relationship with volatile Daniele, Beniamino's father, who works with her at the train station bar. The town's bad luck lifts with the arrival of two newcomers: lusty Rosa Spina and her solemn, miracle-working adult son, Emanuele Mosè, who holds popular weekly prayer sessions for the eager townsfolk. Then Petula's bad luck lifts, too, with the appearance of Emanuele's ex-convict twin brother, L'Altro, who is as bright and outgoing as his brother is reticent. But is L'Altro all he seems to be? And what about Emanuele? The priest, Don Luigi, and his flock look askance at the cult over which Rosa and her "good" son preside, and Petula harbors some doubts about mysterious L'Altro. Sufficient suspense keeps the reader involved until the surprising resolution, and local color provides sustenance for armchair travelers. Agents, Linda Chester and Robert Levine. (Jan. 4)
