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Christa Polkinhorn
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The Italian Sister: An Emotional and Gripping Tale of Suspense and Family Secrets on a Vineyard in Tuscany (The Wine Lover's Daughter Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Christa Polkinhorn (Author), Diane Busch (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 279 ratings
Sofia embarks on a journey of suspense from California to Tuscany to claim her inherited vineyard and meet the sister she never knew. As if this wasn't turmoil enough, someone is out to kill her.

In the rolling hills of Tuscany, Sofia Laverne from California arrives with a heavy heart, and a secret that will forever change her life. After the death of her beloved father, Sofia discovers that he had been living a double life, and that she has a younger sister, Julietta, living in the Tuscan vineyard, part of which she has inherited. Despite the warmth of a few welcoming faces, Sofia finds that some of the locals are suspicious of her arrival, and soon strange occurrences begin to threaten her safety. With the help of a few new friends, Sofia must uncover the secrets of the vineyard before it’s too late.

The Italian Sister masterfully blends elements of intrigue, emotional depth, and cultural exploration, keeping readers eagerly turning the pages as they follow Sofia's gripping journey. As she unravels the layers of deception, the novel explores themes of identity, betrayal, resilience, and the power of familial bonds. With every twist and turn, readers are drawn deeper into the suspenseful narrative, sharing in Sofia's discoveries and emotional growth.
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Wine Lover's Daughter
  2. Print length
    277 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    July 10, 2015
  5. File size
    4.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

As in her other novels, Polkinhorn offers a keen sense of place, and whether she's showing the reader how Italian wine is made, narrating a trip to Florence, or depicting the flora and fauna of Tuscany, the author's vivid descriptions place us squarely in her literary territory. The Italian Sister is the ideal novel to read on a sultry night, preferably while sipping a fruity glass of Brunello di Montalcino, made from the Sangiovese grapes grown in Sofia's vineyard. I highly recommend this book and also look forward to reading more from the talented pen of Christa Polkinhorn.
- Susan Dormady Eisenberg, Arts journalist, member of the Author's Guild and author of the The Voice I Just Heard

Sofia's loss of her father, her discovery of his double life and a half-sister living in Italy (on an estate of which she is now part-owner), and her encounters with her Italian family in beautiful Tuscany provide the mix for a wonderful and uplifting tale of the complexities of life. I loved it for the passages descriptive of the scenery and the wine-making process, I loved it for the story and the bit of mystery swirling about it, I loved it for the depth to which the characters were drawn. In short, I loved it.
- Larry Enright, award-winning author of The Jennifer Project, Four Years from Home, A Cape May Diamond

Five Stars for The Italian Sister. A charming story set mostly in a vineyard in Tuscany. Christa Polkinhorn's descriptions are both interesting and spot-on - reading this book, you can feel the sun on your back and smell the grapes. A book for lovers of Italy, mystery stories, romance, and wine.
- Linda Huber, Switzerland, author of psychological suspense novels

Ms. Polkinhorn has a touch for providing the perfect amount of description to bring her characters and locales to life. As the threats to Sofia developed, the author kept me guessing on the identity of the culprit and then deftly wrapped up all the elements of the story with a satisfying ending.
- Linda Cassidy Lewis, Author of the Bay of Dreams and the High Tea series

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B011EXATSE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookworm Press (July 10, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 10, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 277 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 279 ratings

About the author

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Christa Polkinhorn

Christa Polkinhorn

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Born and raised in Switzerland, Christa Polkinhorn has always had the desire to explore the world outside of her beautiful but tiny country. She traveled in Europe, China, Japan as well as South America. Now, she lives and works as writer and translator in southern California. Her interest in foreign cultures informs her work and her novels take place in several countries. She published a volume of poetry (The Path of Fire). Now, she writes and publishes contemporary fiction with a focus on family drama/love stories (The Family Portrait trilogy) and family drama/suspense (The Wine Lover's Daughter series). Aside from writing and traveling, she is an avid reader and a lover of the arts, dark chocolate, and red wine.

Visit the author on her website and blog: https://www.christa-polkinhorn.com

Christa Polkinhorn can also be found on Facebook as Christa Polkinhorn and Author Christa Polkinhorn as well as on Twitter and Instagram as cpolkinhorn.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
279 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a gripping tale of suspense with many twists and turns, featuring a good family storyline. They appreciate the characters and find it a treat to read, with one customer noting its exceptional wine-growing information. The writing quality receives mixed feedback, with some customers finding it well-written while others point out grammatical typos.

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18 customers mention "Story quality"18 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the gripping tale of suspense in this book, which features many twists and turns and a good family storyline.

"This was an interesting story. It explained how an American who inherited property in Italy might migrate and fit in to their new environment...." Read more

"...My mother would love this great book. It has stories of family,love, mystery and crime. And it's clean." Read more

"...: An Emotional and Gripping Tale of Suspense and Family Secrets on a Vineyard in Tuscany,” is the first book in The Wine Lover's Daughter series by..." Read more

"...I really like this story! It was intriguing from the start. Polkinhorn’s writing creates an atmosphere that sunk you in the story straight away...." Read more

16 customers mention "Enjoyment"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thoroughly enjoyable, describing it as a treat to read and a great vintner book.

"...My mother would love this great book. It has stories of family,love, mystery and crime. And it's clean." Read more

"...Anyway, it’s an excellent book and I do recommend it!" Read more

"...They were a few errors but apart from that, this was a good read." Read more

"...There was enormous opportunity for the author to bring in the true quality of Italy, the flavor and passion, but it was somehow lacking; the..." Read more

8 customers mention "Character development"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one customer noting the smooth transition between characters and another mentioning how well the scenery is integrated.

"...A wonderful story about family and love...amazing characters! I'm curious to see how this story continues!" Read more

"...I found it to be just right in its character and scenery development. It was neither emotional nor gripping as the title suggests...." Read more

"...The characters have a lot of emotions that develop throughout the book. I was able to feel the need to know who was after Sofia all the time...." Read more

"...Christa Polkinhorn made a great job by creating characters that are fully developed such as Sofia...." Read more

5 customers mention "Information quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's information quality, with one customer highlighting its exceptional wine-growing content and another noting its good research.

"...And due to an evident combination of good research, personal experience, and her writing ability, it’s almost as if reading this book gave me..." Read more

"...Very enjoyable. Interesting into On wine production." Read more

"Love the characters in the book and learning a bit of vineyard and the hard work to get great wine" Read more

"...was excellent, the Italian family as expected and the wine growing information was exceptional. Great read! Thanks" Read more

9 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book, with some finding it well-written and appreciating the descriptions, while another customer points out numerous grammatical typos.

"...combination of good research, personal experience, and her writing ability, it’s almost as if reading this book gave me memories of spending a..." Read more

"...would benefit from an American editor to correct the huge surplus of grammatical typos, technical errors and awkward sentence structure...." Read more

"Well-written and edited--the only grammatical errors I noticed were those in speech by the characters, and that referred more to the way that people..." Read more

"...It felt like it was written by a teenager. The dialogue is so basic and the characters are completely predictable...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Bill Pupkis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and easy read..
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This was an interesting story. It explained how an American who inherited property in Italy might migrate and fit in to their new environment. It also was a look into the running of a Vinyard.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Glenda
    4.0 out of 5 stars A very nice, relaxing story.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I love books about vineyards and Tuscany. I could imagine the scenery as I read the descriptions on the pages. My mother would love this great book. It has stories of family,love, mystery and crime. And it's clean.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Amy K.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really Enjoyable!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    “The Italian Sister: An Emotional and Gripping Tale of Suspense and Family Secrets on a Vineyard in Tuscany,” is the first book in The Wine Lover's Daughter series by Christa Polkinhorn. A wonderful story of a dearly departed father and vintners who had a hidden Italian daughter to reveal to his American daughter. At her father's death, Sophia discovers her secret sister in Italy, as well as the knowledge that she inherited a property and vineyards in the country. As she travels to Italy to meet her Italian family and claim her property and vineyards in Tuscany, strange things begin to happen. A wonderful story about family and love...amazing characters! I'm curious to see how this story continues!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • myyorkies1994
    3.0 out of 5 stars A good story but this book needs an American editor
    Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This is the first book I'm reading by this author. I enjoyed the overall story but there are many, many errors that continually interrupt the good read. American English is not the author's first language which explains almost all of the 70+ errors that I noted on my Kindle. I stopped noting at 75% and just finished the book, tripping over the errors along the way. The author would benefit from an American editor to correct the huge surplus of grammatical typos, technical errors and awkward sentence structure. The descriptive of 'fat police officer' on page 189 is extraordinarily insensitive in today's modern world.

    I won't reiterate the blurb of the story, as it is well documented. Since this book is categorized as a cozy mystery I wasn't looking for a lot of depth in the budding romance. I found it to be just right in its character and scenery development. It was neither emotional nor gripping as the title suggests. I'm not a wine aficionado so I skimmed over those passages and just registered them collectively as 'wine' or 'grapes' in my mind's eye. Uncharacteristically for me, I just wanted to absorb the words and enjoy the read. I was let down by all the errors. Too bad. It's unlikely I'll read anything else by this author.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Agustina
    5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect mix between love and mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Christa Polkinhorn is the author of a saga called The Wine Lover’s Daughter which has 3 books. The first one “The Italian Sister” sets the foundation of the plot and several characters to come. Starting with Sofia, the main character, and the death of her father, with all the pain in her heart she is not only grieving but also in the lookout for the truth after she finds out she has a 14-year-old sister living in Italy and she is the owner of a vineyard in Tuscany. Her whole life is turning upside down.
    I really like this story! It was intriguing from the start. Polkinhorn’s writing creates an atmosphere that sunk you in the story straight away. The characters have a lot of emotions that develop throughout the book. I was able to feel the need to know who was after Sofia all the time. I couldn’t put this book down! Highly recommended.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Evelyn
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great page-turner!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This is an intense book full of surprises and plenty of twists that caught my attention immediately. I always enjoy a mystery novel, and this one that involves a familiar conflict, a big disappointment and a claim of an inherited vineyard, is my new favorite one.
    Christa Polkinhorn made a great job by creating characters that are fully developed such as Sofia. She’s the perfect protagonist and her interactions with the rest are just amazing.
    However, as far as I can see things and despite the fact that it’s a fast moving story, there were some moments where I felt that the amount of details given weren’t enough and I lost my interest for a couple of minutes. Anyway, it’s an excellent book and I do recommend it!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Linda
    5.0 out of 5 stars Polkinhorn has a touch for providing the perfect amount of description to bring her characters and locales ...
    Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Ms. Polkinhorn has a touch for providing the perfect amount of description to bring her characters and locales to life. And due to an evident combination of good research, personal experience, and her writing ability, it’s almost as if reading this book gave me memories of spending a summer at a Tuscan vineyard with a complicated, but mostly wonderful, family and their associates! As the threats to Sofia developed, the author kept me guessing on the identity of the culprit and then deftly wrapped up all the elements of the story with a satisfying ending.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Tina D. Birkett
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Italian Sister-what a story!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    A great story of the secret life of a dearly departed father and vintners with a secret Italian daughter to share with his American daughter. Sophia learns of her secret sister in Italy at her father's passing and the fact that she inherited a home and vineyards in Italy. A little sinister events occurring as she arrives in Italy to meet her Italian relatives and claims her home and vineyards in Tuscany. A great story of family and love...great characters! Would love to see where this story continues...
    2 people found this helpful
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