The Ancestor

A lushly written, dream-like modern gothic with as many dark turns and twists as the Montebianco family tree has branches. Welcome to the family. - Paul Tremblay, bestselling author of Survivor Song

After a DNA test reveals that Alberta "Bert" Monte is the sole heir of a wealthy noble family in the Italian Alps, she leaves New York to visit the family estate: Montebianco Castle, a centuries-old compound isolated in the mountains. What appeared to be a fairy tale inheritance, however, soon turns into a nightmare as Bert begins to uncover the dark legacy of her family: the truth about the abandoned village at the base of the castle; the whispers of stolen children; and the rumors of a legendary monster in the mountains. As Bert unravels the truth, she learns that her true inheritance lies not in a noble title or ancestral treasures, but in her very genes, and now she must choose between preserving a secret centuries in the keeping or abandoning it forever.

"Vivid and uncanny...makes the most of Trussoni's signature blend of science, myth, and mystery." --Deborah Harkness, bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches

Inventive and entertaining. -- People

"A Gothic Extravaganza." --Kirkus

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Custom House
Published: 04/13/2021
ISBN: 9780062912770
Pages: 384
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.31w x 0.83d