Juliet, by Anne Fortier

I quite enjoyed this new novel by Anne Fortier, which marries a modern mystery with a bit of history in the form of Shakespeare's famous novel, Romeo and Juliet.

Julie Jacobs is the shy half of a twin set, who spends her summers directing children's theatre. She and her her twin, Janice, were raised by their Aunt Rose in a life of relative luxury. Julie has never worried about the future, banking on inheriting half of her Aunt's estate, which she believes to be sizable. But when Aunt Rose dies suddenly, Julie learns her Aunt broke a lifelong promise to split her estate evenly. Janice inherits the entire estate while Julie is left with a key to a safety deposit bank in Sienna, Italy. Julie and Janice were born in Italy but were brought to the U.S. as toddlers when their parents both died.

Julie has no idea what is in the safety box. She hopes it's a stash of bonds or gold, but it turns out to be photocopies of old documents. Disappointed but intrigued as to why her mother would leave something that seems worthless in a safety deposit box, Julie starts to read the information and slowly learns the true story of Juliet and Romeo, the famous ill-fated young lovers made famous by Shakspeare. But, it turns out, Shakespeare was borrowing and building on a true story that was based in much earlier history, way back to the year 1340 and to the birthplace of Julie's ancestors, Sienna, Italy. As Julie gets drawn into the historic tale, she comes to realize that her mother has left her a message and a clue to her own heritage. As she learns more of her own past, she is drawn into multiples mysteries about her heritage, the mysterious death of her parents, and what really happened to her namesake, Guiletta Tolomei.

This book weaves several plots together beautifully. The pacing of the book keeps the reader wanting to learn more and more as bits of late medieval history and modern mystery come together in a very satisfying conclusion.