In the Eternal City, no secret stays hidden forever...

Lottie Archer arrives in Rome excited to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers a valuable fifteenth-century painting, she is drawn to find out more about the woman who left it behind, Nina Lawrence.

Nina seems to have led a rewarding and useful life, restoring Italian gardens to their full glory following the destruction of World War Two. So why did no one attend her funeral in 1978?

In exploring Nina's past, Lottie unravels a tragic love story beset by the political turmoil of post-war Italy. And as she edges closer to understanding Nina, she begins to confront the losses in her own life.
The story is told on dual timelines as we read from both Lottie and Nina’s point of view. This is done really well and there’s no confusion when switching from one timeline to another.
The story is one of love, intrigue and danger and I enjoyed the female focus within the story. Both women were so brave and I loved the loyalty Lottie showed a woman she never even met.
A very detailed and intriguing book that I honestly would never have picked up but am so glad I did it was a perfect Spring / Summer read.
Thank you to Corvus and Netgalley for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This had me interested from the first page. I’ve read Elizabeth Buchan’s books before and always enjoy them as they are so intriguing. This one was no different. I loved the descriptions of Rome. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The preview of this story sounded fascinating and I started it full of enthusiasm expecting a gripping split timeline mystery but I am afraid I did not connect well with the characters and whilst the descriptions and the writing was excellent I found the plot a bit too slow moving and confusing, which given other glowing reviews must be down to me and my frame of mind rather than the book itself, which was well written and extremely well researched
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.

Lottie has been brought up in foster care and eventually meets and marries Tom. She has been unhappy up until this point and is happy with her chosen new life. Tom lives in Rome and Lottie starts a new career as an archivist. It does not start too well as the original archivist is still in her position and she has to bide her time before taking the role. Going through the archives of Nina Lawrence she find a fifteenth century painting which in turns draws her to the story of Nina. Reading through the papers she is completely drawn into her story as she finds out that Nina was murdered. Nina was in Rome as a landscape gardener in the 1970’s but as the story progresses we discover that she is also “spy” for want of a better word. She meets and falls in love with a trainee priest which causes so many problems for both of them in different ways. The story travels from the l970’s and present day easily. Lottie dips deeper and deeper into Nina’s life and is swept along even though Tom is trying to dissuade her for her own safety. She finds the Catholic Church is involved as is the Vatican. Are they trying to stop her from finding out the truth. The story is so well written and expressive I could believe I was there in the city. I loved the way the story evolves and completely intertwines with the characters from Nina’s era and Lottie’s era. Really enjoyable, thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this

My thanks to Elizabeth Buchan, Atlantic Books and Net Galley for the ARC of TWO WOMEN IN ROME.
Wow, how much did I love this story? Lottie has had a difficult start after being abandoned by her parents, and after being passed around homes and foster parents her past informs and shapes the way she sees her future. She marries Tom and moves to Rome where as a museum archivist she begins to work on the papers of Nina Lawrence. The journal Nina has written in the seventies becomes Lottie's raison detre, and she is determined to discover more about this woman who fascinates her and draws her in. Beautifully written. I didn't want it to end.

What an absolutely beautiful book, I enjoyed the 2 timelines, the past and the present day. This was a heartbreaking story but also a real feel good and uplifting story. I absolutely loved this.

I found this hard to get into and quite slow in the beginning. I knew nothing of Italian politics in the seventies and only did this become relevant as the story progressed. I enjoyed the book more as it gathered pace and the mystery unfolded. There were also evocative descriptions of Rome which brought it to life. Well written and with everything brought to a satisfactory conclusion, I really wish I could have engaged with the characters and liked it more than I did. I’m sure many will enjoy it and it could be an excellent book club choice.
Thanks to Atlantic books and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book, it appeals to so many senses. Who doesn’t love a romance? When we are talking about the forbidden love of a would be priest and a woman half his age, well that’s intriguing when you are 60+, you think, way to go girl!! Set in Rome, the eternal city, full of wonderful views, sights , sounds and such history, it gladdens the heart.
There are two timelines in this story, late 1970’s and the present day. Lottie Archer, newly married to Tom, has moved to Rome, where Tom has a job working for the British Council. Lottie manages to get a job as an Archivist, and is given the task of cataloguing the papers and effects of Nina Lawrence, a English lady who worked as a garden designer, in Rome, and was murdered in 1978. No one attended her funeral, and the Police don’t seem to have done a proper investigation into her death. Lottie finds a beautiful painting of the Annunciation, that belonged to Nina, and takes it to be assessed by an art expert. They find a hidden motif in the painting, that sets them both on the trail of other pictures, and by reading Nina’s journal, they manage to fit all the pieces of this mystery together, whilst putting themselves in danger, both from Nina’s past and others who were involved in the war.
I enjoyed reading about and imagining the beautiful paintings and the clues hidden in plain sight. I would love to do something in that vein, perhaps I’m just nosy, but it was intriguing to read about past events and try to place what effect they had had upon the present day, and the lives that had been sacrificed both during the war and beyond. The idea of flowers being used as codes was done by the Dutch resistance in the Second World War, and the language of flowers was used to great effect here.
I always try and guess the ending, got completely led up the garden path here ( pardon the horticultural reference) there are many surprises along the way. What I shall remember from this read, is the descriptions of the paintings, the paints used and the hidden significance of art.
This is a completely different way of honouring Women, who worked in dangerous roles in the war. It works as a piece of fiction, but hints at greater sacrifices made in order to protect the innocent from harm. I certainly remember the Aldo Moro kidnap and murder case, and although it could be a book that plays upon the stereotype of Catholic Churches and priests, it rises above that. A wonderful read, I shall recommend this.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic books for my ARC, in exchange for my honest review. A 5 star read.

I wanted to like this book more than I did as the premise intrigued me - an archivist who has just moved to Rome comes across the journal of a woman who lived and worked there in the 1970s and who died in mysterious circumstances. Mystery surrounds many of the characters in the book but I just didn’t find the characters interesting or engaging enough to keep me wanting to turn the page and solve the mystery.

This story follows the similarities and differences between the lives of two English women living in Rome at different times. Nina Lawrence is embedded in the politics of the 60s and 70s with the climax of her narrative coinciding with the kidnapping of Aldo Moro by the Red Brigade. Italian politics has always been challenging - after all the country changed sides during WW2! This therefore makes Nina's story the more complex of the two.

Lottie is an archivist but the job requires a certain level of detective work to understand the materials she is dealing with. Bit by bit she unravels Nina's story, with a lot of help from her journal. No one is as they first appear and the reader is kept guessing until nearly the end of the book. A bit of a struggle at times but worth persevering to finish this atmospheric read.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Having read and enjoyed previous books by Elizabeth Buchan, I was looking forward to reading this title. I was unfortunately disappointed. i struggled to engage with the characters, they came across as transparent and Lottie and Toms relationship rather false.
The storyline was interesting with some beautiful descriptions of Rome, but ultimately, unfortunately, I could not form ant attachment to the characters.

I did wonder how I was going to actually finish this book as the first half was slow and rather heavy going and convoluted. However, it did pick up and moved on at a faster pace. An intriguing plot set in Rome, between two timelines, 1977/8 and the present day. Lottie, the main character who is the key to pulling it all together, is an archivist who comes across some old papers that pique her interest. There follows a story full of mystery, skullduggery and suspense in relation to Italy's chequered past involving, particularly the church plus the state full of underhand dealings.

I found the book didn't flow quite as well as previous novels I have read by Elizabeth Buchan, possibly as I didn't really get into it until halfway through. The descriptions, however, transported the reader to Rome and the surround so a good escape nonetheless.

A wonderful escapist read, I felt as though I was transported to Rome. The split narrative was easy to follow and I loved getting to know the characters well and the unveiling of struggles throughout. I learned a lot about where and when the story was situated and I’m sure many will thoroughly enjoy this read!

I requested to read and review this book as I am currently enjoying a burst of historical fiction and wanted to read something different from the WW1 & 2 books I have mostly been reading. I'll admit, I've also been experiencing a bit of wanderlust, as I am sure many of us have been amid these restrictions - so a book set in Rome felt like a nice way to feed the need for travel.

We are following the current day third person narrative of Lottie, a young, recently married woman who has moved to Rome and works in the archives. She begins to archive documents related to a second woman, Nina Lawerence, who was murdered and seemingly no investigation was made. Lottie takes it upon herself to investigate more.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It took me a long time (for me) to read this novel, which tells me something about how gripping (or not) it is. I wasn't particularly invested in the characters, when given their pasts I really could have been. I wanted to care for Nina and Lottie, but I just couldn't - there wasn't enough there for. me to do so.

The story itself seemed gentle and plodded, when it could have been pretty interesting and pacy. This book could have been gripping, it could have pulled me in and refused to let go. But it just didn't... many aspects of the story felt underdeveloped. There was both too much information of some kinds, and not enough of others. There were paragraphs of writing which just seemed irrelevant to the overall story, but then on the next page I was wondering why something was relevant because there hadn't been enough detail.

My final gripe, was that it wasn't clear to me just why Lottie was so intent on finding out more about Nina Lawerence. Indeed, one of the characters says "Signora, it shows Christian spirit that you care about a dead woman after so long a time. Do you have a personal connection?" Lottie responds 'No', to which he replies "Why, ten, are you interested?'. And he has a good point. Lottie's narrative states 'there were several answers' but none of them seem to justify the intent with which Lottie pursues this case. It just didn't feel convincing to me.

That said, some parts of writing style were beautiful. The few descriptions of Rome as a city were captivating, and some of the secondary characters were developed enough to feature in the story and have impact. I would recommend this to people who are perhaps not expecting too much and are up for a slow, gentle, 'plod' of a read.

2 women in Rome, Lottie in the present day, and Nina who died in the 1970's, apparently friendless and unrespected. Lottie reveals the background to Nina's life.

Two Women in Rome is the beautifully-written story of two women. Lottie, an archivist newly arrived in Rome with her husband Tom, and Nina, whose papers she finds in the archives, along with a beautiful miniature painting. Nina was brutally murdered in 1978. Lottie decides to find out why. Italy had a turbulent post-war history which forms the background to the book. Tom's role is somewhat ambivalent and he's not keen on his wife getting involved. The most intriguing character is Gabriele, the book restorer. Another enjoyable tale by Elizabeth Buchan, but not one where you care deeply about the protagonists.

I found the first half of this book heavy going . The story is told in two time frames and by two different women and it required concentration to sort out who was who and how they were/are connected. Added to this was a political background which was also fairly complicated. The writing could have grabbed the reader's interest more . I do not give up easily though and gradually the plot became clearer and the lives of the two women more understandable. Some parts remain a mystery (why was Lottie so obsessed by Nina) and the descriptions of the places and Italian life could have been better. Lots said about this is the way life in Rome is and the way people live, sometimes with descriptions to illustrate the point and sometimes not.
Gradually the stories do come together and my interest was piqued but then the ending is wound up within a few pages . Definitely worth perservering with this book but it could have been better
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is a story set in two timelines. The late 70’s and present day.
Lottie Archer is recently married to Tom and has settled with him at his home in Rome. She secures a job working as an archivist. She is given the task of cataloguing a painting belonging to Nina Lawrence who was murdered in 1979.
Lottie becomes determined to seek justice for Nina and her unsolved murder.
A wonderful story with fabulous characters set in the magnificent backdrop of Rome.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

I read this straight after a couple of quite literary novels and worried at first whether I might find this a bit ‘light’ (did I really just write that? Good grief, I appear to have become a book snob). However, I was really drawn in to the story; I liked the writing and found it easy to imagine myself there in Rome.
Split narratives seem to be quite the thing these days. I’m wary of them at first but done well I find them very effective. Lottie’s present-day life seems plausible rather than too glamorous to be improbable. Neither is she a blinkered fool who fails to consider what other people might be up to. Nina is full of talents and compassion. There was some exposition about the troubles in 1970s Italy but I didn’t find it clunky.
Ion both timelines, it is the interaction of the many communities to which Rome plays host – the Church, state, locals, expats, academics and others less easy to categorise – that provides the impetus for the stories. Where their paths cross, they become tangled, and that has consequences.
I’m not one to try and guess what’s going to happen in a story but there were a couple of hidden identities that I noticed early on. I don’t think that detracted from my enjoyment of the book, though – there was still plenty to learn about what happened, how and why.

Two Women in Rome is an intriguing book about an archivist called Lottie who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to an Englishwoman named Nina who was murdered in Rome in the 1970s. Lottie is tasked with archiving some of Nina's personal papers and the book weaves between Lottie and Nina's story.

I found the storyline interesting and the author does a wonderful job in describing Rome- I felt like I was walking the streets with the characters and it made me want to holiday in Italy again!
I did feel that some parts of the story were underdeveloped and I wasn't sure why Lottie became so obsessed so quickly with the story of Nina, considering that as an archivist she probably came across personal stories all the time. I also thought the storyline with Lottie's husband Tom was unconvincing.
Despite this, I still found the story an entertaining read. I think it would be good for book groups as there is a lot of content to discuss, such as Italy's history and the influence of religion in politics.