I found myself impressed with this debut novel. The Lupton family thinks they’re just living in Italy for a short while as they design a home for a wealthy client. Instead of a pleasant working vacation, they find unwelcoming and suspicious townspeople and a big scary hole in the ground. I liked the Lupton family as characters, and Annamaria, the local schoolmistress. Emmett does a great job of letting the reader know who is good, who is bad, and who you shouldn’t be too sure of. I was also impressed by the description; the bloody lake splashing up against the white hull of the boat was particularly vibrant for me. Also, the Stymphalian birds taking down the planes.
The one thing I wish had been different is the build-up. I would have a loved another incident or two before the chaos really begins. Things go bad very quickly, when we’ve barely had a chance to get our bearings on the island and in the town.
Overall, this is a nice piece of horror with religious roots. It also made me think of the Italian "haunted island" of Poveglia, and I always like when I can relate a story to something in real-life.
