Siracusa - Tapa blanda

`Ephron piles on the tension in this unflinchingly observed study of two couples' relationships imploding on a shared holiday. The presence of an eerily precocious child brings a chill premonition from the start.' * Sunday Times Crime Club star pick * `A brilliant, biting take on modern relationships... Ephron...has conjured a minor masterpiece that reads like a mash-up of Henry James and Raymond Chandler. It leaves you longing for the film - which is already in the works.' * Daily Mail * `A tense, taut cross between Big Little Lies and The Affair. A clever cautionary tale.' * i * 'A master of precise and keen character development, a virtuoso of pacing and surprise, a wizard at skewering convention and expectation, Ephron offers a bewitching take on relationships-marital, parental, casual, and serious-in this read-in-one-sitting, escapist escapade with a message.' * Booklist * '[Ephron] excels at [depicting] characters' unintended comedy, their emotional warfare and witty observations of travel and consumption....with a deft, stinging touch. They are a wise reminder that the hungers driving these people are a ravenous, even violent, business.' * New York Times Book Reviews * 'A seductive and edgy dissection of two imploding marriages-and an unhinged mother-daughter alliance... Each of these toxic relationships puts the characters on course to careen headlong into a dark place of deceit and rage in Ephron's brilliant takedown of marital and familial pretense.' * Publishers Weekly starred review * '[A] suspenseful, thoroughly delicious tale. You can almost taste the gelato.' * People Magazine * 'Sophisticated, elegantly written, delightfully cynical...Ephron's novel has the feel of a classic.' * Patrick Anderson, Washington Post * 'An irresistible novel for fans of psychological thrillers, or those considering vacationing with former lovers and spouses (often one and the same).' * Oprah Magazine * 'Siracusa starts innocuously enough, as an ironic travelogue about American sophisticates abroad...The situation begins to resemble a Ford Madox Ford novel, with each narrator recounting and interpreting the same encounters from vastly differing perspectives....As the clues pile up, the coming storm is expertly foreshadowed-but when it arrives, it's utterly surprising.' * Kirkus Reviews * 'The word `unputdownable' is somewhat overused when describing a good book-but really, I just could not put this book down. Delia Ephron's Siracusa is a dark tale with incredibly well-drawn characters. It reveals the slights and secrets that can bring about chaos among friends and within families, and adds more than a spoonful of evil into the bargain. I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish.' * Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbsnovels * 'Siracusa is dazzling. Here is Delia Ephron with a stunning noir tale of marriage and morality, as two couples tangled in secret longings and betrayals travel through Italy, along with a gimlet-eyed ten-year-old daughter who could have been created by Henry James. Beware. You will be up all night to finish. I was.' * Marie Brenner, author of Apples and Oranges * 'Witty, wicked tale of desire, betrayal and murder.' * i * `A seductive take on marital betrayal...the secrets and lies at the heart of all relationships.' * Tatler * 'A brilliantly observed novel.' * Good Housekeeping * `This is a delicious story, ripe for a cinematic adaptation.' * Bookbag * 'An unusually crackling, tricky journey into the distant land of other people's marriages... Ephron writes like a warm-blooded Patricia Highsmith.' * Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings * `Siracusa is an Italian aria, a Greek tragedy and a modern American masterpiece written by Delia Ephron at the height of her powers...unforgettable.' * Adriana Trigiani, author of The Shoemaker's Daughter * 'A stunning portrait of two marriages coming unraveled during the stress of travel abroad. Insightful and engaging. A must-read!' * Sue Grafton, author of X *

Delia Ephron is a journalist, playwright and screenwriter (including the smash hit You've Got Mail), as well as a bestselling author of both novels and non-fiction. She lives in New York, and co-wrote the movies Michael, Bewitched and Hanging Up. deliaephronwriter.com