I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni Published by William Morrow on April 7 2020
Genres: Adult, Horror, Gothic
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A promising start deteriorates into some very odd plot choices and pacing issues, although I adored the author’s atmosphere-infused writing.
Have you ever read a book that started out strong—I’m talking five-star strong—but later deteriorated into a much lower rating? Well unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to me with The Ancestor, I’m very sorry to say. I absolutely loved the first half of this book, with its creepy Gothic vibe and dusty old castle setting. Before the secrets are revealed, when those secrets could be anything, I was reveling in the anticipation of this story. There were actually a couple of jump scares and some shocking twists that made me think the story was going in a certain direction. And then bam. I got to about the fifty percent mark and everything came to a screeching halt.
But let’s back up a bit.
Alberta “Bert” Monte is separated from her husband Luca and is trying to figure out how to get back together with him, when she receives a mysterious letter in the mail one day. Addressed to Alberta Isabelle Eleanor Vittoria Montebianco, the letter claims that Bert is the last in a long line of Montebiancos, and that with the death of the family patriarch, Bert has inherited the Montebianco fortune, including a castle in Italy. In order to claim her inheritance, Bert must travel to Italy and meet with the family lawyers. Bert is shocked because she doesn’t know anything about this mysterious family of hers, but Luca’s grandmother Nonna, who has a connection to the family, tells her Castle Montebianco isn’t safe and begs Bert not to go. Nonetheless, she’s intrigued enough to make the trip to Italy, and somehow manages to convince Luca to go with her.
Arriving by helicopter—the castle is situated in the Alps and is only accessible by air during the winter months—Bert finds a huge, secluded castle, tucked away in the snow and ice at the foot of the mountains. There she meets a handful of odd caretakers: a groundskeeper named Sal, Basil the family secretary, and a housekeeper named Greta. None of them seem pleased at all with Bert’s arrival, and they appear to be hiding something from her. It isn’t until Bert meets her elusive great grandmother Vita that she begins to wonder if she should have come at all.
I want to talk about the things I enjoyed first. Trussoni’s writing is absolutely wonderful. She nails the Gothic sensibility of the story, which was creepy and atmospheric. I loved her descriptions of the castle, a monstrous place full of dust and decay, with rooms that haven’t seen the light of day in decades. It was this first section of the story, when Bert arrives at the castle and meets Vita and the others, that I loved the most. There was so much promise in the idea that the mysterious family secret had something to do with the castle, or someone inside the castle. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough at this point!
The reader is immediately thrust into several unsettling mysteries. Nonna tells Bert of a legendary “beast” who roams the icy mountainside and steals children. When Bert discovers the family mausoleum, she notices a number of dead babies—stillborns—scattered throughout the list of deaths. And the biggest mystery of all is Vita, Bert’s 102-year-old great-grandmother, who is sequestered in the northeast tower of the castle. When Bert finally meets her, she’s shocked by her odd looks—her white skin and hair, strangely shaped head, and large eyes—and even more startling, Vita tells Bert about her birthright, a family secret that needs to be protected at all costs.
This thrilling set-up had so much promise, and even after a couple of batshit crazy twists, I was still having fun, until about the halfway point when Vita reveals her secret. And that’s where The Ancestor went sideways for me. The story abruptly switches tone from spooky Gothic to a weird, anthropological tale involving the odd bloodline of the Montebianco family. Even worse, Bert, who makes one terrible choice after another, doesn’t ever seem to wise up and continues to go down a completely unrealistic path that had me scratching my head in confusion. Just about every single decision she makes is ridiculous. She goes to the castle alone without Luca, who later leaves her there with no way to get home. When she realizes she’s trapped in the castle, she attempts to escape to the nearby village of Nevenaro and gets caught up in a bizarre scheme with two strangers. When she’s SHOT IN THE LEG by Sal, who is trying to find her after she’s run off, she acts as if it’s perfectly normal for the groundskeeper of your ancestral castle to SHOOT YOU IN THE LEG. And I can’t even talk about the last quarter of the book because I probably shouldn’t spoil it for readers who sincerely want to read this. But, ugh Bert! Why why why??
I also found lots of loose ends and contradictions that didn’t make sense. Luca flies to Italy with Bert, but ultimately doesn’t make the trip to the castle and instead stays in a nearby town and then just…goes home? Bert seems about to freeze to death in one scene where she’s walked miles through the snow, but later in the story she finds herself climbing the icy mountain and proclaims that she could probably survive out in the cold. What? There are more of these weird inconsistencies but I can’t really talk about them due to spoilers.
Because this is ultimately a story about a family’s terrible history, I wanted even more of that history. We get some interesting snippets in the form of some journals, which go into greater depth about Vita’s birth and childhood and touch on some of the tragedies of the past, but more of those sections scattered throughout the book would have made this stronger.
And speaking of that last twenty-five percent, it’s almost unbearably rushed and crammed with way too much plot. There’s a big time jump of several months that really destroyed the pacing for me. Trussoni’s almost careful pacing in the first half completely disappears, and the story ends up in another place entirely.
My three star rating might seem too high, based on all my complaints, but I have to give the author credit for an amazing beginning, hence that extra star. This is definitely one of my biggest disappointments of the year so far, however, though I encourage you to take a look at some of the highly rated reviews on Goodreads. Clearly there is an audience for this book, it just isn’t me.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
I am so sorry this book disappointed you so much! I have tried to read this author in the past, but it wasn’t a thing for me. I have read one of her books, and even if I liked the writing and the atmosphere, finishing that book was a struggle, so I decided that she wasn’t for me…
Interesting, I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggled with her.
Oh I’m not used seeing a three star review of you! It’s really too bad it started out so strong and then went downhill. I’ve been there too. It sucks.
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
I know, I try to pick my books carefully so I don’t have three or below stars, lol.
It’s a real pity that such an intriguing idea was lost to poor plotting and characterization – and once you mentioned the main character’s foolish choices (not to mention the shooting-in-the-leg) bit I understood this might very well be the kind of book I can abandon with no qualms at all…
Better luck next time! 🙂
maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE SIEGE OF TILPUR (Powder Mage 0.1), by Brian McClellan
Thanks Maddalena:-)
Strange, it almost sounds like two books were smushed together. Well, I dig Gothic stories, so I still may give this a go. Good review!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…One Sentence Reviews: My 1st Quarter 2020 Reads
It did sort of feel that way!
Oh, I would be crushed and not write such a thoughtful review, I must admit. Not sure if it’s for me, but I appreciated the care you took with the review.
I hate bashing books, but sometimes…
Yes, I know that feeling exactly. That’s why I was excited to see your Book of Koli review yesterday while reading it. I rarely do well with time jumps so that is a big warning for me when it’s not executed well enough to keep the pacing. Great review.
This time jump was just out of nowhere and it just felt like lazy writing to me.
How disappointing! Someone just gave me a copy of this book and I thought it looked really good — now I’m a little hesitant about starting it after all.
I’d love to hear another opinion, if you end up reading it!
Oh noooo… I recall your initial excitement when you mentioned that you’d just started reading a remarkable book, The Ancestors. What a shame! I really hate it when a book tanks like that. I hope you find something very soon to make up for this dreary experience.
Thanks Sarah, I have plenty of good books coming up:-)
Bummer. But they can’t all work. It’s just that much more disappointing when it starts out strong and then disappoints. Sometimes authors have a far different end in mind that we’d like. But there is a reader for everything, so to each their own. Here’s hoping you get more enjoyment out of your next read!
Thanks Todd! For sure, we didn’t write the book, so we can’t expect our vision to line up with the author’s. I have to remember that sometimes!
Okay, I considered this one but now I’m glad I didn’t request it because wow, that’s quite a big list of things wonky with the book. It’s funny you mentioned you were probably generous giving it 3 stars, I probably wouldn’t have been so forgiving 😛
I do wish another blogger would read this so I can see if I’m totally off base or not, lol.
That is a shame – such a good start too. Thanks for the review, I’ll give this one a miss.
Lynn 😀
Yes, it really was a good start.
Oh I hate when they start out so great then bomb, bummer! Great review !
Thanks Stormi:-)
Sorry this one wasn’t a perfect read but at least the atmosphere was good. Definitely going to pass on this one despite my love for a good gothic now and then. Thanks for the review, Tammy!
I’d actually like to try her again, she’s such a good writer:-)
Oh wow, this sounds like a book that would have probably turned into a DNF for me. So frustrating since it sounds like it started out great.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Weekly Recap #151: Week of 4/12 – 4/18
It really did, I was very disappointed:-(
Lol- im laughing at “acts like it’s perfectly normal for your housekeeper to shoot you in the leg.” Great review Tammy. It’s a bummer the plotting wasn’t better constructed.