Family Deceptions

by Loretta Giacoletto

Pietro and Isabella Rocca are living a marriage of convenience in 1928 Italy. He allows his wife to rule the household, the farm, and their young twins. Isabella thinks she rules Pietro too, until she discovers him in bed with the neighbor’s wife. Isabella sends him away, to work in Torino for the year it will take her anger to subside. Instead, he sails to America with hopes of acquiring enough money to buy his family’s forgiveness. The new life Pietro builds—one based on gambling, extortion, bootlegging, and lies—seduces him to stay. Meanwhile in Italy, Isabella adjusts to life without Pietro, using deceit to safeguard her family and later to aid WWII partisans who eventually regard the son a hero and the daughter a Nazi collaborator. Twenty-nine years will pass before Pietro returns as a wealthy man, along with an American son determined to befriend the family his father deserted. But first, Pietro must redeem himself to Isabella, their children, and the neighbor he betrayed.
Fans of historical romance and other fiction from The Prohibition Era, The Great Depression, WWII, and all things Italian American will find FAMILY DECEPTIONS an entertaining read..

Genres: Historical Fiction

514 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 11, 2010

About the author

Loretta Giacoletto has been named a finalist in the 2015 and 2014 "Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project" for her sagas, Family Deceptions and Chicago's Headmistress. She divides her time between the St. Louis Metropolitan area and Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks where she concentrates on writing fiction, essays, and her blog Loretta on Life while her husband cruises the waters for bass and crappie. Their five children have left the once chaotic nest but occasionally return for her to-die-for ravioli and roasted peppers topped with garlic-laden bagna càuda. An avid traveler, she has visited numerous countries in Europe and Asia but Italy remains her favorite, especially the area from where her family originates: the Piedmont region near the Italian alps.

Loretta's novels are filled with bawdy characters caught up in problems they must suffer the consequences for having created. ITALY TO DIE FOR, from her Savino Sisters Mystery Series, shows how too much togetherness can spell disaster for two thirty-something sisters vacationing in Italy. In REGRETS TO DIE FOR, BOOK 2 of the series, the sisters trace their roots to the Italian alpine village of their grandmother and learn why a teenage romance and three mysterious deaths during WWII resulted in her immigrating to America after the war. In LETHAL PLAY a grieving widow is suspected of killing her son's coach, a man with more enemies than friends. FAMILY DECEPTIONS follows two generations of earthy characters who learn to thrive and/or survive through a series of misdeeds, the worst against those they love the most. FREE DANNER features a cynical young man whose troubled past and deadly encounters hinder his search for the father he has yet to meet. THE FAMILY ANGEL is an Italian/American saga about the Americanization of an immigrant family of bootleggers, coalminers, winemakers and priests, and a mysterious black angel who enjoys sticking his nose in the family business. The previously mentioned CHICAGO'S HEADMISTRESS, a prequel and partial parallel to THE FAMILY ANGEL, follows a 1905 Italian street urchin's notorious rise to wealth and power as the headmistress of Night School, Prohibition Chicago's most popular and innovative men's club in the 1920s. Loretta is also the author of A COLLECTION OF GIVERS AND TAKERS, an anthology of twisted stories about the good, the bad, the self-centered and the disillusioned

In addition to the horror anthologies, Damned in Dixie and Hell in the Heartland, Loretta's short stories have appeared in a number of publications including The MacGuffin, Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, The Scruffy Dog Review, Allegory and Literary Mama, which nominated her story "Tom" for Dzanc's 2010 Best of The Web.

Reviews

[Jane]

Family Deceptions is a long (really long - I was ready for it to wrap up long before it did), multi-generational historical fiction novel. At times it read like the author swallowed a thesaurus (as an example, the word “porcine” was used twice in the opening pages). The author is fond of long passages that serve mainly to show how much research was done, rather than moving the story forward in any way. (OK, I get it, you did a lot of research.) There are truly unbelievable plot twists and melodramatic language (such as “Damn the influenza for making him an orphan before he became a man”). Still, Family Deceptions might appeal to lovers of extremely detailed historical fiction that spans multiple generations and multiple locations.

[Shadira]

A Gripping Family Saga That Keeps You Hooked!

Loretta Giacoletto's Family Deceptions is an absolute masterpiece. The story weaves together complex family dynamics, secrets, and betrayals with stunning realism. From the very first page, I was captivated by the vivid characters and the richly detailed setting. The author has an exceptional ability to draw readers into the world she creates, making every twist and turn feel both shocking and inevitable.

The characters are deeply flawed yet relatable, and their struggles with love, loyalty, and ambition are portrayed with heart-wrenching authenticity. The narrative flows seamlessly, balancing drama and emotion without ever feeling overdone. Giacoletto's writing is sharp and evocative, pulling you into the intricate web of deceptions that unfold within the family.

This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys compelling family sagas and stories of resilience and redemption. I couldn’t put it down and found myself thinking about the characters long after finishing. Highly recommended!

[Rosie]

Good

[Sharon Schram]

pleasantly surprised

I started reading with the thinking this tale would be a lightly written story. Wonderfully knowledgeable and deep .. and kept my attention

[Darlene]

Not a bad read. I felt the author could've left some things out. A man, caught with his godfather's wife, flees to America. Starts a new life, lives a life of lies. He doesn't forget the family he left behind, bit makes no attempt to contact them, feeling they're better off without him. Only when fate works in his favor, falling for a rich girl, marries her after learning she's pregnant. Works for her father, who, eventually learns of his past and sends money back to his family I'm Italy to keep him here with his new family. Through unfortunate events, his wife and mother in law are killed. He continues to live and work for his father in law because of his son, whom if he chose to leave and return to Italy, he would never be able to see again. He's faced with the choice of abandoning this son, or to continue to not have contact with his family he left. So, he chosez to stay. Years later, the father in law dies. He then tells his son about the family he left. They decide to go to Italy. He finds things the same, but yet so different. After 29 years, he wasn't sure what he'd find. He finds his wife, who accepts him back, his son, and a daughter he never knew about, buy she doesn't know he's her father. He finds his daughter, gets her to return home, along with her son. The family accepts his American son. In the end, he and his wife are in his hotel room. Would've liked yo of known if they stayed in Italy, returned to America. But, I guess its up to the reader to think what they want.

[Christine Rebbert]

I read the Kindle edition in short stretches of time. Beginning in 1928, it deals with the Rocca family, how the husband/dad had to emigrate to the U.S. to avoid a scandal, and how the wife/mother keeps things together at home in Italy, not knowing where -- or even IF -- her husband is. Some interesting things happen along the way, both in the U.S. and Italy (especially during the WWII years), but overall, the story seems flat and unimaginative. And there is never any doubt that love will win out in the end. It is kind of a poor man's (woman's) Adriana Trigianini (sorry for the misspelling!) -- similar story line but not nearly so well told.

[Jude]

I actually bought this book not only for the story line but because I liked the picture on the cover. Being of Italian heritage, it reminded me of my grandparents wedding picture. I had no real expectations of the book but I soon became very engaged with the story. It moved along very well and portrayed what I would think might happen in the "old" country.

[Francoise]

interesting life, many twists and turns and many secrets finally come out. A lot of "if only, if I had only known and sorry" come out of the characters.

[Anita Dobbs]

Overall a good book. I do believe that the story was drug out. It could have been shorter and not lost any of the story.

[Grace]

I continued reading this book because of the high ratings given by others. The book dragged on when I finally got to the ending all it did was repeat the story.

[Judie]

Absolutely boring.

[kathie Volante]

excellent read