THE NIGHT VILLA
Carol Goodman
Ballantine Books
Literary Thriller
ISBN: 9780345479600
THE NIGHT VILLA, award-winning author Carol Goodman’s sixth novel, begins with a tragic shooting on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. It involves the jealous ex-boyfriend of student Agnes Hancock, who opens fire on a classroom filled with students and teachers, and ends up taking two lives before turning the gun on himself. Injured in the attack is Dr. Sophie Chase, who bravely attempted to thwart shooter Dale Henry and ends up being shot in the chest, causing serious damage to her lungs.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, Dr. Elgin Lawrence puts together a team of experts (archaeologists, historians, theologians and a student) to travel to Italy as part of a project sponsored by a philanthropic billionaire. Dubbed the Papyrus Project, it revolves around the use of new spectrograph technology that allows ancient scrolls to be scanned and interpreted. The texts in question are located in the Villa della Notte --- the Night Villa --- and had been buried under centuries of ash and debris following the devastating eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
The narrator, and main focus, of THE NIGHT VILLA is Dr. Sophie Chase, and her reason for participating in the excavation is not just to escape the tragic campus shooting. Sophie also leaves behind the memory of her former lover, Ely Markowitz, who she has lost to his obsession with the Tetraktys, a cult that worships and follows the teaching of Pythagoras. The ritual of becoming a full-fledged Tetrakty consists of immersion at one of their communes and a five-year vow of total silence with no communication to the outside world. With Ely all but lost to Sophie forever, she has renewed interest in joining the Papyrus Project. During the excavation of the scrolls found at the Night Villa, an ancient story begins to reveal itself --- a diary scribed by Phineas in A.D. 79 that prominently features a young slave girl named Iusta --- and unearths a subterranean labyrinth that provides the team with further documents believed lost forever.
Iusta’s story is captivating as she proves to be more than just a simple slave girl. She is a strong-willed woman who seeks to win her own freedom from slavery in events that defy the pagan beliefs and rituals of the time and may potentially rewrite Italy’s religious history in the process. What is more striking are the similarities that Iusta’s tale has with the lives of both Dr. Sophie Chase and Agnes Hancock --- two modern women seeking to change their lives while revealing secrets of the past. What transpires at this point is an engaging mystery where revealing the secrets of the scrolls ends up being only one of the issues the team faces.
Goodman’s books always involve characters who are complex and whose present lives seem to be incomplete until past histories are revealed and understood. The parallel stories of Sophie and Agnes with the ancient tale of Iusta is utterly fascinating, and the novel switches back and forth at times between present day and the deciphering of the latest set of ancient scrolls. Readers may easily lose sight of the fact that they are involved in a page-turning mystery as they become further immersed in the stories of these deeply layered characters who never cease to surprise you.
Being a fellow Long Islander, I had the opportunity to speak with Carol Goodman regarding the impetus for THE NIGHT VILLA. In addition to her degree in Latin, she also has extensive knowledge of Italy, having conducted research there for her prior novel, THE SONNET LOVER. It was during the book tour for THE SONNET LOVER that she met up with an old friend and Greek professor who told her about the Papyrus Project. Regrettably, he passed away in March 2008 and is named in the book’s acknowledgements. Goodman’s husband, Lee, even gets into the act, having penned the poems that are included here.
Goodman’s novels always radiate with the tradition of Gothic literature made famous by authors like Charlotte Bronte and Daphne du Maurier, and THE NIGHT VILLA continues this tradition in admirable style.
--- Reviewed by Ray Palen
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