The Sicilian Wife

This literary noir combines all the elements we expect from the genre and this talented and prolific writer: drama, passion, and literary sophistication. Who else would be able to smoothly mesh the labyrinthian workings of the Sicilian police force and the mafia with quotes from the 5th c. philosopher Empedocles of Sicily, snippets of Greek mythology and fairy tales rooted in Sicilian culture? […] Sensuous, fast-paced, and erudite, The Sicilian Wife satisfies on every level.

A gritty, passionate novel, The Sicilian Wife unravels the complicated world of revenge and protection that is at the heart of the cosca, the spiky artichoke of clan that supersedes conventional law and order. In a shadowy web of lies and illusion, an Italian-Canadian exile and a determined Italian female police chief unveil a tangled lattice of cause and effect. Imbued with tales ancient and modern, The Sicilian Wife gleams with silence, cunning, and courage. This is a brilliant portrait of the stuttering heart of secrets and sensuality.

The Sicilian Wife is both a political thriller and an absorbing psychological page-turner. It is set firmly in Sicilian noir and yet travels a Canadian immigrant’s dark childhood past. This is a novel, like Sicily herself: full of marvelous contradictions and beauty. Of course, I raced along with the police investigation. I enjoyed each Sicilian proverb and delicacy. But in its final pages, I’m sure I could taste the sting in the Sicilian dust.

A story that is both a literary novel and a work of crime fiction, The Sicilian Wife offers satisfaction on many levels. The author deftly interweaves a criminal investigation with a backstory of first the child, then the adult, finally the widow of the victim. But who, here, is the victim – the husband who died in a fiery car crash in Sicily, or his enigmatic wife, at home half a world away? […] The Sicilian Wife is a fine, textured novel that both entertains and informs. Readers will want to follow the work of its gifted and award-winning author. Caterina Edwards.

Edwards builds a rich and complex story, moving smoothly between past and present and between Italy and Canada. She develops characters and story lines independently, and then connects them convincingly to build a credible and wonderful literary noir story of love, hate, deception, and revenge.