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The Miracle at Assisi Hill
Personal struggle…Mystery and mysterious places…Friendship…Miracles…And, above all, a love story.
Emotionally scarred after battling cancer, amateur historian Cora Tozzi is troubled by religious doubts. She immerses herself in the life of a convent in her home town, Lemont, Illinois, agreeing to coauthor a book about the history of the religious order. Soon she discovers her problems are only beginning. She befriends a harmonica-playing young nun who is guarding a secret, and when Cora’s husband, Cisco, becomes seriously ill, she prays for help to a mysterious visitor from heaven. Soon Cora and her friends plunge into a desperate quest to solve a mystery from the life of a woman destined for sainthood, racing against time in the belief that solving the mystery will restore Cisco’s health. The quest takes them to 1886 San Antonio, Texas.
Emotionally scarred after battling cancer, amateur historian Cora Tozzi is troubled by religious doubts. She immerses herself in the life of a convent in her home town, Lemont, Illinois, agreeing to coauthor a book about the history of the religious order. Soon she discovers her problems are only beginning. She befriends a harmonica-playing young nun who is guarding a secret, and when Cora’s husband, Cisco, becomes seriously ill, she prays for help to a mysterious visitor from heaven. Soon Cora and her friends plunge into a desperate quest to solve a mystery from the life of a woman destined for sainthood, racing against time in the belief that solving the mystery will restore Cisco’s health. The quest takes them to 1886 San Antonio, Texas.
347 pages, Paperback
Published November 2, 2022
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Pat Camalliere
10 books36 followersPat Camalliere is the author of the popular, five-star-rated Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series. Her debut novel, The Mystery at Sag Bridge. was published in 2015. Her second book, The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods, was published in 2016. The Mystery at Mount Forest Island was published on 3/27/20.
Pat lives with her husband in Lemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She serves on the boards of the Lemont Historical Society and the Lemont Public Library District. She is a member of the Society of Midland Authors, Sisters in Crime and the Chicago Writers Association. She writes a blog about local history that can be read on her website at www.patcamallierebooks.com.
Pat lives with her husband in Lemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She serves on the boards of the Lemont Historical Society and the Lemont Public Library District. She is a member of the Society of Midland Authors, Sisters in Crime and the Chicago Writers Association. She writes a blog about local history that can be read on her website at www.patcamallierebooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 23, 2023
Pat Camalliere’s latest novel, The Miracle at Assisi Hill, deftly spans multiple genres and will greatly appeal to lovers of historical fiction and mystery. There is even a touch of paranormal intrigue and a fascinating look at Catholicism and the process of being recognized as a saint. With strong characters and exceptional, seamless writing, Miracle readers will delight in the journey of Cora Tozzi as she immerses herself in life at a nearby convent while unraveling secrets in her endeavor to understand the puzzle of history – both in her Illinois locale and extending all the way to Texas in the 1880’s. A medical crisis with Cora’s beloved husband unfolds in the background and provides a lovely anchor as well as a satisfying conclusion.
January 8, 2023
Just finished reading Pat Camalliere's newest mystery novel, The Miracle at Assisi Hill and, as usual, I enjoyed every page. Cora has become a cherished friend and I worried about her health as well as her safety as the story developed. As I have Polish roots, I enjoyed that aspect of the story also. New characters, such as Josie were welcome additions to the family. I have enjoyed the mystical, religious and historical events in each novel and again in this one. I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to read about Cora and her friends and family.
Ken Kirk
Ken Kirk
December 13, 2022
What a great read. Totally engaging, the plot pulls the reader along quickly through one intriguing situation after the next as Cora seeks solace and healing in an historical convent, which she plans to write about. Life is far from simple there, though, as the characters of the convent and her own husband Cisco develop new discoveries and challenges. The writing is beautiful and the characters come alive; Camalliere has a wonderful touch with dialogue and you can't wait to see what will happen with people next. Touching, sensitive, and creative, this thoughtful and well-researched story propels you along through Cora's ups and downs, her doubts and hopes. A lovely uplifting read with a disarming honesty.
February 28, 2023
The Miracle at Assisi Hill by Pat Camalliere is a complex blending of the author’s own health issues as seen through protagonist Cora Tozzi, complicated by Cora’s faltering religious beliefs while simultaneously dealing with husband Cisco’s sudden health challenges suffered hundreds of miles away during the earliest days of Covid restrictions. Add to that equation Cora’s intensive research into establishing the sainthood of a nun who died over a hundred years ago and a handful of paranormal appearances attributed to the nun at that time as well as recently, this propels the reader through a lot of time jumps that are excellently handled by the author.
Although as a non-Catholic, I found the paranormal depictions somewhat of a stretch beyond my own reality, all of this was nonetheless historically accurate, intriguing, and informative: in order for a nun to be declared a saint, two miracles must be credited to her after her death which have to be authenticated as the direct result of the candidate’s participation and which must defy explanation by any natural cause.
Throughout Cora’s journey we experience a myriad of emotions, revelations and both spiritual and personal discovery.
Although as a non-Catholic, I found the paranormal depictions somewhat of a stretch beyond my own reality, all of this was nonetheless historically accurate, intriguing, and informative: in order for a nun to be declared a saint, two miracles must be credited to her after her death which have to be authenticated as the direct result of the candidate’s participation and which must defy explanation by any natural cause.
Throughout Cora’s journey we experience a myriad of emotions, revelations and both spiritual and personal discovery.
February 21, 2023
This fourth installment in the Cora Tozzi mystery series tackles deeply personal issues. Cora is a few years out from successful cancer treatment, but lingering physical issues and the emotional aftermath still haunt her. Picking up a writing project that she dropped during her illness, she goes to a local convent for a few weeks to research and write about its history. She also has a hidden agenda—to see if she can resurrect the faith she had as a child, a faith that has grown distant during the difficulties of the last few years. During her time at the convent, her beloved husband Cisco goes to visit a cousin in Arizona to have a golfing vacation.
Events grow very complicated very fast. The COVID-19 pandemic, which at first seemed like a far-away Chinese problem, reaches the United States and starts spreading quickly. Cisco has a stroke and has to be hospitalized out of state—and Cora is not allowed to travel to him because of the swiftly increasing COVID restrictions. And she discovered that one of the sisters she's befriended has been seeing visions of a heavenly visitor, a visitor who strangely enough is asking Cora for help.
I identified with Cora in several intense ways throughout this book. Like her, I have had successful treatment for cancer, treatment that left me with permanent side effects I'd rather live without, and my family has been strongly impacted by the COVID pandemic. Because of that emotional involvement, I wasn't able to speed through this book. However, I did enjoy it enough to keep reading despite the somewhat difficult reminders. I found the religious themes interesting, and I loved seeing how Cora and her team of friends worked together to track down the missing history of not one, but two possible candidates for sainthood.
The ending was satisfying, although I was glad to see that the author didn't resolve things too neatly. I prefer books with more realistic, slightly open endings.
Events grow very complicated very fast. The COVID-19 pandemic, which at first seemed like a far-away Chinese problem, reaches the United States and starts spreading quickly. Cisco has a stroke and has to be hospitalized out of state—and Cora is not allowed to travel to him because of the swiftly increasing COVID restrictions. And she discovered that one of the sisters she's befriended has been seeing visions of a heavenly visitor, a visitor who strangely enough is asking Cora for help.
I identified with Cora in several intense ways throughout this book. Like her, I have had successful treatment for cancer, treatment that left me with permanent side effects I'd rather live without, and my family has been strongly impacted by the COVID pandemic. Because of that emotional involvement, I wasn't able to speed through this book. However, I did enjoy it enough to keep reading despite the somewhat difficult reminders. I found the religious themes interesting, and I loved seeing how Cora and her team of friends worked together to track down the missing history of not one, but two possible candidates for sainthood.
The ending was satisfying, although I was glad to see that the author didn't resolve things too neatly. I prefer books with more realistic, slightly open endings.
January 15, 2024
The Miracle at Assisi Hill checks all the boxes for what readers might expect in a mystery by Pat Camalliere: Local history, personal development, women’s relationships, and a touch of the supernatural. Here we find amateur sleuth and author Cora recovering from a bout with cancer. A lifelong catholic, she discovers mysteries and more while exploring one of the several old monasteries in her home town of Lemont, IL. What is Sister Maryam up to on her barefoot walks into a forgotten grotto? How did these Slovenian and Polish nuns find their way to the hills southwest of Chicago? What secrets are hidden among the strange stone structures along the stations of the cross?
Cora has returned to this old (for the Midwest)Franciscan religious community to work on a history and help its founder attain sainthood in the catholic hierarchy. But no soon does she begin than her world is turned upside down by a worldwide pandemic and a personal tragedy—COVID and the serious health crisis of her beloved husband Cisco. Half a continent away, with much of society shut down, there’s little Cora can do—or is there? Cora’s research takes her back to the early history of the sisterhood’s founder in Poland, to the early years of the order in Chicago, and out to the charitable works in the Texas hill country. And with her usual skill as a researcher and novelist, Camalliere weaves this interesting history into the tale of Cora and the nuns of Assisi Hill.
Cora has returned to this old (for the Midwest)Franciscan religious community to work on a history and help its founder attain sainthood in the catholic hierarchy. But no soon does she begin than her world is turned upside down by a worldwide pandemic and a personal tragedy—COVID and the serious health crisis of her beloved husband Cisco. Half a continent away, with much of society shut down, there’s little Cora can do—or is there? Cora’s research takes her back to the early history of the sisterhood’s founder in Poland, to the early years of the order in Chicago, and out to the charitable works in the Texas hill country. And with her usual skill as a researcher and novelist, Camalliere weaves this interesting history into the tale of Cora and the nuns of Assisi Hill.
February 21, 2023
This book is a wonderful read. Cora Tozzi’s crisis of faith, and the personal travails that led to it, dovetail beautifully with an absorbing mystery concerning a long-dead nun, and glimmers of actual miracles only add more questions for Cora and her friends to answer. Pat Camalliere expertly weaves in just enough historical and cultural detail, without overwhelming the love story at the novel’s heart. She knows her stuff about southwest Chicago and the surrounding region, and has crafted a rich, multi-layered tale full of engaging characters, intrigue, and the delicate balance between fear and hope. Highly recommended!
—D. M. Pirrone, author of No Less in Blood and the Hanley & Rivka Mysteries
—D. M. Pirrone, author of No Less in Blood and the Hanley & Rivka Mysteries
February 11, 2023
The Mystery at Assisi Hill is the fourth book in the Cora Tozzi mystery series. The fictional story is set in the real Village of Lemont, Illinois and draws the reader into the setting through magnificent descriptions. Cora shows us her A game in solving a historic mystery while overcoming unexpected real-world challenges. We empathize with Cora as she deals with inner struggles, family health issues, and the reality of the pandemic. I could not put this book down and am looking forward to finding out what Cora will experience in her next adventure.
September 18, 2024
Have you ever bought a book because the author was perfectly charming? I did. Reading the book turned out to be as charming as she is. The characters are relatable and captivating. The mystery pulls you in. The writing is smooth as it weaves 2020 narrative with 2024 journals texts with COVID subtly in the background. You'll be grateful for reading the novel.
June 7, 2023
Loved this book. Many interesting facts about Lemont, Illinois where I grew up and Mount Assisi Academy from where I graduated after 4 years. Part love story, memoir, mystery and personal relationships. Can't wait for your next exciting book, Pat.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews