The Sicilian Amulet — Jo Manning

Jane Holland's mother warned her not to visit her relatives in Sicily when she went to Europe during college break, but when Jane reached Rome she found herself strangely drawn to the Mediterranean island south of the Italian boot. Once there, she contacts her mother's old friend and is introduced to a handsome and seductive prince named Lorenzo. He gives her an amulet -- a reproduction of an ancient Greek coin symbolizing Sicily. It was one of only two copies his grandfather Maurizio had had made many years ago. Maurizio had given the other one to a beautiful peasant woman with whom he?d fallen madly in love. The romance ended tragically; Lorenzo is sure his grandfather died of a broken heart. Later, Jane discovers that her great-aunt Caterina had been involved in a notorious affair with a married man, a prince named Maurizio, and that the affair caused a scandal that had repercussions to the present day. Jane feels a strange connection to Lorenzo, as if she's known him all her life . . . and before. Were they lovers in another time and place? Are the spirits of Prince Maurizio and Great-Aunt Caterina working through Jane and Lorenzo to bring closure to that old, tragic love affair?

Jo Manning lives in Florida.