The Ancestor

by Danielle Trussoni

Overview

"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 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062912756
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	116,523
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Danielle Trussoni is the New York Times, USA Today, and Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of the supernatural thrillers Angelology and Angelopolis. She currently writers the Horror column for the New York Times Book Review and has recently served as a jurist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Trussoni holds an MFA in Fiction from the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she won the Michener-Copernicus Society of America award. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages. She lives in the Hudson River Valley with her family and her pug Fly.

Editorial Reviews

02/03/2020

Trussoni (Angelology) concocts a deliciously creepy tale of a windfall turned nightmare. Twenty-eight-year-old Bert Monte lives in Milton, N.Y., and has recently separated from her husband, Luca, when she receives a surprising letter from Italy informing her that she has inherited the Montebianco estate, including a castle in the Alps and a large sum of money. Her grandmother, Nonna Sophia, explains that Bert’s grandfather shortened their name after they immigrated to the U.S., and shares some tragic family history about seeing her younger brother abducted by a horrific beast that was known to take children near the family castle. Luca agrees to accompany Bert to Turin, where she learns about her inheritance and responsibilities, but the trip is marred by a fight, culminating in Luca telling Bert that “her family is tainted.” She travels alone by helicopter to the isolated, snow-covered Montebianco Castle. After the helicopter does not return within a week as promised, Bert immerses herself in her family history, learning the truth behind the legend of the Beast of Nevenero and hoping to patch things up with Luca. Trussoni plausibly and expertly combines an intense, darkly gothic narrative with elements of mystery, the paranormal, and legendary tales. This odyssey of monsters and family will enrapture readers. Agent: Eric Simonoff, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

The intermingling of science, legend, and genealogy make for a truly captivating tale of literary horror.

Booklist

"Danielle Trussoni’s vivid and uncanny tale THE ANCESTOR makes the most of her signature blend of science, myth, and mystery. As the pages turn, family secrets come to light against a gothic backdrop that will keep readers following the startling twists and turns all the way to the end."

Deborah Harkness

The Ancestor is a wonderful shape-shifter of a novel. One minute you’ll suppose you’re in a haunted house: think Shirley Jackson. The next, you’re transported into the sort of world Mary Shelley might have created for Frankenstein. Danielle Trussoni is an immensely gifted literary descendant of both storytellers — they are among her ancestors — which is one of the many reasons why I savor her work so very much.

Chris Bohjalian

If gothic literature is your jam, then you absolutely must pick up Danielle Trussoni’s latest novel.

SyFy Wire

Ingenious and entertaining…chilling and inventive…[an] addictive book.”

New York Times Book Review

[A] gripping narrative. Trussoni has created her own distinctive, smart and sly style evident in her rewarding new novel.

National Review

[A] dazzling story. In the brilliant imagination of Danielle Trussoni, anything seems possible.

Dayton Daily News

The Ancestor is wildly entertaining and Trussoni is a superb storyteller that pulls elements from many genres and seamlessly weaves together into something that demands to be read.

Mystery Tribune

"Inventive and entertaining."

People

"A surprise inheritance, remote castle in the Alps, and a cursed family bloodline? Yes, please! The Ancestor is a gloriously modern Gothic novel, blending mythic monsters with modern science in ways that gave me a thrill. Danielle Trussoni has written one hell of a tale."

Victor LaValle

"Unputdownable. ... I was expecting a luscious, wine-fueled gothic mystery with plenty of Renaissance-inspired imagery. I got precisely that and far more. ... Trussoni keeps you glued to the page with her vivid descriptions, lyrical prose and inviting mysteries."

Bookreporter.com

"The setting here is a highlight: the remote, mountainous terrain holds great mystery and darkness, and the extreme and endless freeze gives the Montebianco family secrets the kind of dread that keeps the pages turning. This is an entertaining read that will leave a lasting impression."

San Francisco Book Review

"This smart, suspenseful thriller is at once an age-old tale and a fresh, scarily relevant trapdoor into our current genealogical obsession. Danielle Trussoni has written a biological and narrative labyrinth that you will happily get lost in, even as you question everything you think you know about yourself. "

author of Suicide Woods Benjamin Percy

"Danielle Trussoni's THE ANCESTOR is 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

The intermingling of science, legend, and genealogy make for a truly captivating tale of literary horror.

Booklist

01/01/2020

Alberta "Bert" Monte receives a letter at her upstate New York home, claiming she is the last member of an Italian noble family. With some trepidation, she is whisked off via private jet to her ancestral castle tucked deep in the Italian Alps. The chance to escape to a life of luxury and leave a community in which she was never quite accepted. Once she arrives, however, questions about her ancestors' dark secrets and why she is among the last survivors of this centuries-old family tree start to pile up, and her search for answers seems to be leading to monstrous ends. Told completely from Bert's perspective, the story will sweep readers up in the awe and wonder, asking us to examine our own complicated ancestry. VERDICT The rags-to-riches theme paired with long-buried secrets and a claustrophobic setting in which monsters can hide in plain sight makes this title appealing to a wide range of readers, especially in this age of ubiquitous DNA testing. Pair it with Jennifer Egan's backlist gem, The Keep.

Library Journal

2020-01-13
Scientific speculation seeps into the world of the eerie in Trussoni's (The Fortress, 2016, etc.) lush thriller.

Alberta Monte, known to all as Bert, is mourning a miscarriage and has recently separated from her husband when she receives a letter at her Hudson Valley home informing her that she has been identified as the last living descendant of the House of Montebianco. Despite a "creeping sense of danger slithering up my spine," Bert allows the estate's lawyer to sweep her off by private jet first to a luxury hotel in Turin and then by helicopter to Montebianco Castle in the remote, snowbound Italian Alps. Finding herself without cellphone or internet access, and observing that the helicopter pilot doesn't return for her at the promised time, Bert begins to suspect that her inheritance has its minuses as well as its pluses. Life inside the castle, which comes complete with eccentric caretakers, vicious guard dogs, and a madwoman in the attic, is hard enough. Outside the castle live blue-eyed, white-haired, big-footed monsters with whom, she comes to understand, she shares a surprising kinship. As she discovers her links with those inside the castle and outside it, her sense of danger grows. Trussoni plays here with the contemporary obsession with using DNA to uncover the past and employs some far-fetched scientific theories to explain the nature and existence of the humanoids that Bert gradually realizes are somehow connected to the complicated bloodline of the mysterious Montebiancos. Few, however, are likely to read the novel for its insights into genetics and biology. At its heart, this is an opulently romantic horror tale, with a plucky, if not always sensible, heroine who discovers she is part of a family whose dark secrets have been sheltered from the world at large.

Passion trumps reason in this gothic extravaganza.

Kirkus Reviews

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