Happy Release Day!
Congratulations Normandie
on the release today of
Escape to Passignano!
Escape to Passignano by Normandie Fischer
Women's Christian Fiction, 468 pages
Published March 19, 2026 by Sleepy Creek Press
A Southern Widow, an Italian Doctor, and a Missing Child: Lost in Italy
CAN DREAMS BE TRUSTED WHEN LIFE FEELS LIKE A NIGHTMARE?
Sophia chose to honor her deceased husband’s wishes by visiting his hometown of Passignano sul Trasimeno in the Umbrian region of Italy. She’s trying to find the peace he promised, really she is, while she studies his language and sips caffè with a view of mountains and lake. Only, things begin to happen involving a red-haired child who speaks of things she cannot know—and the child’s father whose very presence challenges that peace.
Dr. Luca Moretti still wrestles with guilt three years after the death of his wife and older children. Overwhelmed by grief, Luca gave the care of his toddler daughter, Noemi, to his sister. It was supposed to be temporary; it wasn’t. Now, Luca wants Noemi back.
When his sister flees, taking Noemi into hiding, Sophia joins forces with a desperate Luca to piece together dreams and voices and supernatural nudges to retrace Noemi’s steps. It’s going to take trust, though, something in short supply for both Luca and Sophia. They’ll have to learn to trust in one another, and, more importantly, to trust in God—that a God who would allow such pain really does mean to work it all out for good. For Noemi. For the two of them. And for a troubled woman from North Carolina who enters their orbit with her own demons, demons God uses—and dispels—as He wills.
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First lines—"Everyone said the first step was the hardest, and by "everyone" Sophia meant all those pushers of advice who'd phoned or shown up at her door or sent her books."
It's been awhile since this author took us on an adventure to her Carolina Coast series. I know I was more than ready for another one. This time we leave the Carolinas and travel to Italy. I loved my little mini vacation across the sea.
Sophia travels to Passignano, her husband's homeland, after he passes away after a long illness. She feels this will help give her some peace with his death. After all, Peter's sister still lives there. What better way to keep his memory alive but to be with someone else who loved him. What she didn't expect was how easily she would become entrenched in the community and with the people she met.
But, as we all know, the world is a small place so when she runs into people she knows from her past, their lives and their drama spill over into hers. I loved that characters I already knew became a part of this story as well. I loved the characters (most of them anyway) that Normandie created for this story, especially the precocious little girl Noemi. I fell in love with her from the second she was introduced. And that chance meeting between Sophia and Noemi was more like destiny than chance.
As with all of Normandie's other stories, Escape to Passignano is filled with beautiful scenery, interesting characters, and an amazing storyline. I loved my trip to Italy and loved everything about this story! Highly recommend.
I received an ARC of Escape to Passignano and this is my honest opinion.
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About the author
Normandie had the best of several worlds: a Southern heritage, access to schooling in the DC area (which meant lots of cultural adventures), and several years of sculpture studies in Italy. It might have been better for her if she'd used all these opportunities more wisely, but it's possible that the imperfect and the unwise also add fodder for the artist and the writer.
She writes Southern women's fiction and romantic suspense from her waterfront base in coastal North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, her aging mother, two dogs and two cats.
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