PORTOFINO SOUVENIR
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"I was inspired by this passionate, true story of Countess Agusta because I knew her. When her bizarre death was reported, as no one could have ever imagined it, I was shocked. The actual book was written over a series of years by me frequenting beautiful Portofino.
My aim in writing this story, based on the truth, is to depict la dolce vita with all its glamour and extravagances proving yet again money can't buy happiness and the greatest treasure we have is to seize each day living in the moment and loving with all the intensity life can bring." |
The protagonist in this story is CNN Reporter, Victoria Simmons, when she reports the disappearance of the aeronautics heiress, Countess Francesca Agusta the night she vanishes from her palatial Villa Altachiara in Portofino. After fifteen-years, the case has never been solved. This brings Victoria to return to the scene searching for answers...
Was it murder or suicide? Who stood to gain from the Countess' billion-dollar fortune? Her Mexican bodyguard turned lover - the sole person bequeathed her fortune?...Or, the ex-lover who reports the incident eight-hours later from Miami challenging her Last Will? Victoria's curiosity leads her to learn this is her same lover incarcerated laundering money for Prime Minister Craxi, involving Countess Francesca from years before.
Mystery sets in three-weeks later when the body of Francesca, the former Gucci model, is washed ashore on an obscure beach in France, 250 miles away from Portofino. The French coroner reports the unknown cadaver, (decomposed by sea life), died of a severe blow to the head and not drowning.
Victoria Simmons, returning as an author to investigate the death is moved by the plight of Francesca, understanding no one deserves to die this way. Meeting key individuals who are part of Italy's most privileged circle, Victoria realizes confiscated art and laundered money are a part of this scenario. She questions why the case remains without a verdict by Italian authorities and, simultaneously, the strange phenomena that the palatial Villa - that once belonged to Lord Carnarvon, the man who bankrolled the King Tut excavation, is cursed and remains unsold.
As revelations reach a crescendo, international banker Eddy Walton becomes part of the thrill of life Italian style and tangled web of the secrets. His VIP connections to international art and financial brokers astound Victoria. Together they bring Agusta secrets to life as their magnificent romance begins and a finale ensues that is startling.
Was it murder or suicide? Who stood to gain from the Countess' billion-dollar fortune? Her Mexican bodyguard turned lover - the sole person bequeathed her fortune?...Or, the ex-lover who reports the incident eight-hours later from Miami challenging her Last Will? Victoria's curiosity leads her to learn this is her same lover incarcerated laundering money for Prime Minister Craxi, involving Countess Francesca from years before.
Mystery sets in three-weeks later when the body of Francesca, the former Gucci model, is washed ashore on an obscure beach in France, 250 miles away from Portofino. The French coroner reports the unknown cadaver, (decomposed by sea life), died of a severe blow to the head and not drowning.
Victoria Simmons, returning as an author to investigate the death is moved by the plight of Francesca, understanding no one deserves to die this way. Meeting key individuals who are part of Italy's most privileged circle, Victoria realizes confiscated art and laundered money are a part of this scenario. She questions why the case remains without a verdict by Italian authorities and, simultaneously, the strange phenomena that the palatial Villa - that once belonged to Lord Carnarvon, the man who bankrolled the King Tut excavation, is cursed and remains unsold.
As revelations reach a crescendo, international banker Eddy Walton becomes part of the thrill of life Italian style and tangled web of the secrets. His VIP connections to international art and financial brokers astound Victoria. Together they bring Agusta secrets to life as their magnificent romance begins and a finale ensues that is startling.