The Ancestor: A Novel
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- Create Date：2021-04-15 13:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Danielle Trussoni
- ISBN：0062912771
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Summary
"A lushly written， dream-like modern gothic with as many dark turns and twists as the Montebianco family tree has branches。 Welcome to the family。" – Paul Tremblay， bestselling author of Survivor Song
After a DNA test reveals that Alberta “Bert” Monte is the sole heir of a wealthy noble family in the Italian Alps， she leaves New York to visit the family estate: Montebianco Castle， a centuries-old compound isolated in the mountains。 What appeared to be a fairy tale inheritance， however， soon turns into a nightmare as Bert begins to uncover the dark legacy of her family: the truth about the abandoned village at the base of the castle; the whispers of stolen children; and the rumors of a legendary monster in the mountains。 As Bert unravels the truth， she learns that her true inheritance lies not in a noble title or ancestral treasures， but in her very genes， and now she must choose between preserving a secret centuries in the keeping or abandoning it forever。
“Vivid and uncanny…makes the most of Trussoni’s signature blend of science， myth， and mystery。” —Deborah Harkness， bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches
"Inventive and entertaining。" — People
“A Gothic Extravaganza。” —Kirkus
After a DNA test reveals that Alberta “Bert” Monte is the sole heir of a wealthy noble family in the Italian Alps， she leaves New York to visit the family estate: Montebianco Castle， a centuries-old compound isolated in the mountains。 What appeared to be a fairy tale inheritance， however， soon turns into a nightmare as Bert begins to uncover the dark legacy of her family: the truth about the abandoned village at the base of the castle; the whispers of stolen children; and the rumors of a legendary monster in the mountains。 As Bert unravels the truth， she learns that her true inheritance lies not in a noble title or ancestral treasures， but in her very genes， and now she must choose between preserving a secret centuries in the keeping or abandoning it forever。
“Vivid and uncanny…makes the most of Trussoni’s signature blend of science， myth， and mystery。” —Deborah Harkness， bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches
"Inventive and entertaining。" — People
“A Gothic Extravaganza。” —Kirkus
Reviews
Liv
，
Very engaging story， always leaving you with the feeling of needing to keep reading。 However， the last few chapters seemed rushed and confused。 The ending did not live up to the story's original ark。 Very engaging story， always leaving you with the feeling of needing to keep reading。 However， the last few chapters seemed rushed and confused。 The ending did not live up to the story's original ark。 。。。more
Troy
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Very original story of 2 species living in somewhat coexistence。 Highly recommended。
Bark | Ladies Of Horror Fiction
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It starts out as a creepy gothic novel complete with castle and a heroine who seems to go with the flow。 Somewhere past the midway point it turns into something else and that something else was certainly something else 😳😹。 A real review to come when life calms down （please let it happen）
Stephanie
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I’m disappointed in this book。 I expected something along the lines of her first book， Angelology， which I loved。 That said， I half-expected it not to be as good。 I set myself up for disappointment。It started mysteriously enough， foreshadowed enough for me to keep reading， only for the story to go in a direction I did not anticipate。 This is not bad in itself， I have been pleasantly surprised before， but that did not happen with this book。
Kate A。
，
FINALLY picked up a copy and it did not disappoint！ I fell in love with Trussoni's Angelology and it was just as easy to fall for her newest。 It's a breath of fresh air to read about OTHER legends and lore。 This book went beyond the typical "monsters" of stories we now see an overabundance of。 Thank you for something new 🖤 FINALLY picked up a copy and it did not disappoint！ I fell in love with Trussoni's Angelology and it was just as easy to fall for her newest。 It's a breath of fresh air to read about OTHER legends and lore。 This book went beyond the typical "monsters" of stories we now see an overabundance of。 Thank you for something new 🖤 。。。more
Meg Coulson
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2。5 rounded down。 Starts out good， then just takes some weird turns and ends up just meh。 Almost DNF’d it。
Bianca （Belladonnabooks）
，
“My ancestors lived in my bones and in my blood， in the connections of my nervous system， and in the unreachable recesses of my consciousness。 They would always be with me。”This gothic read was absolutely luscious and appealed to all my senses。Set in a gloomy castle in the Italian alps， the Ancestor oozes atmosphere and Wintery vibes。 It was the modern gothic novel of my dreams。 The story revolves around Alberta， who’s relationship status is complicated and confusing。 She finds out that as the l “My ancestors lived in my bones and in my blood， in the connections of my nervous system， and in the unreachable recesses of my consciousness。 They would always be with me。”This gothic read was absolutely luscious and appealed to all my senses。Set in a gloomy castle in the Italian alps， the Ancestor oozes atmosphere and Wintery vibes。 It was the modern gothic novel of my dreams。 The story revolves around Alberta， who’s relationship status is complicated and confusing。 She finds out that as the last living ancestor of the Montebianco family she stands to inherit everything within the family， including a castle and family secrets。 There is a slow build up as these family secrets are revealed following Alberta’s move to the family castle。 This is what I would call ‘quiet horror。’ It’s not an in your face scary read but is rather chilling and eerie。 Danielle Trussoni’s prose has a sensual feel and set the scene wonderfully。 I could really feel the cold， bleak weather of the Italian alps， could see the warmth of the flickering fire and could smell the rich leather in the castle。 It’s the kind of read that’s perfect when you feel like being whisked away to a remote location without leaving your home。 I’m fascinated with ancestry and enjoyed the incorporation of these elements。 This was such a unique narrative and unlike anything I have read before。 Those who enjoy gothic fiction， atmospheric reads and gorgeous prose are likely to love the Ancestor。 It’s truly a feast for the senses and an experience to be completely immersed in。 。。。more
Aarthika
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This book was pretty fantastic， the writing was so immersive and eerie。 Especially in the first half， it truly felt like the perfect gothic horror story in a large mansion。 There were a-lot of great themes touched upon in this， like family， grief and "otherness"。 I took a star off， only because it didn't head in the direction I expected or would have liked it to go in。 Where it went in the second half， was still interesting since it touched upon anthropological themes a bit， but I feel like it w This book was pretty fantastic， the writing was so immersive and eerie。 Especially in the first half， it truly felt like the perfect gothic horror story in a large mansion。 There were a-lot of great themes touched upon in this， like family， grief and "otherness"。 I took a star off， only because it didn't head in the direction I expected or would have liked it to go in。 Where it went in the second half， was still interesting since it touched upon anthropological themes a bit， but I feel like it would have been much stronger and gotten less mixed reviews if it had just sticked to the gothic horror elements that were in the first half。 It was still good， but it could have been great if that is where it went。 It was still definitely worth the read， and such a immersive reading experience; and will definitely get you out of your reading slump。 The journal entries in the middle were so heartbreaking and written very beautifully。 I can see this as a netflix mini-series in the future， since it gave me similar vibes to Bly Manor。 。。。more
Courtney Chartier
，
A lot of eye rolling from me。 Even before the awful reveal， the protagonist is beyond naive-a little dumb actually。 She has no sense of self-protection。 The author overused metaphor and doesn’t explore emotions or atmosphere; it’s barely “gothic”。
Tayelor Stuut
，
I liked this book a whole hell of a lot more than I thought I would。 They don't usually make mysteries that can hold my interest scatterbrained as I am but this one did pretty well。 The first few chapters are a little bit difficult to get through and usually when you find a main character writing in the retrospective it seems a little out of place but this one pulled it off okay。 that being said there is a point in the story where things switch and it starts reading like a biology textbook inste I liked this book a whole hell of a lot more than I thought I would。 They don't usually make mysteries that can hold my interest scatterbrained as I am but this one did pretty well。 The first few chapters are a little bit difficult to get through and usually when you find a main character writing in the retrospective it seems a little out of place but this one pulled it off okay。 that being said there is a point in the story where things switch and it starts reading like a biology textbook instead of a mystery novel。 it was OK for me because at that point I was invested but for some people it might be offputting。 。。。more
Kathy
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Ever have a book where the story sounds good but you hate the character that is telling the story？ This one is a prime example。 First person narratives are difficult and this one drive me you the wall。
Sue Bridehead （A Pseudonym）
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I can't remember the last time I wanted to tear through a book in 2-3 days like this， nor the last time I stayed up past the point that my eyes got heavy， just so I could finish it before going to sleep。 That's my review。 Anything more I say about this would be spoilers， so I'll mark this review as such。 Spoilers below。。。This gets off to a slow start， and the marriage between the narrator and her husband never feels quite real to me。 BUT--once she gets to the gothic setting， it's a solid， grippi I can't remember the last time I wanted to tear through a book in 2-3 days like this， nor the last time I stayed up past the point that my eyes got heavy， just so I could finish it before going to sleep。 That's my review。 Anything more I say about this would be spoilers， so I'll mark this review as such。 Spoilers below。。。This gets off to a slow start， and the marriage between the narrator and her husband never feels quite real to me。 BUT--once she gets to the gothic setting， it's a solid， gripping yarn。 I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like this。。。 a gothic， romanticized family saga about cryptozoology。 My favorite part was when the narrator is captured by monster hunters。 I really felt her shock and horror， and while of course you know by this point in the book that she has some non-human ancestry， it's very jolting to be in her head when she realizes she's being treated like a specimen。 Effectively written， really entertaining。 If you liked The X Files creature-of-the-week episodes or any of the Preston & Child collaborations， you'll likely enjoy this book。 。。。more
Lizzie
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Halfway through the audiobook and so far it’s a good story， but I’m surprised the narrator didn’t better research Italian pronunciation as most of the few such words were spoken incorrectly。。。Finished。 A fast read but a bit bonkers。
Shannon
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Using CAWPILE rating system by: ”Book Roast” on youtube as it seems to be working for me。 This was weird， unrealistic and just not written well。 Characters: 2/10Did not care even a tiny bit about any of them。 Atmosphere: 2/10Writing Style: 1/10Plot: 2/10Intrigue: 1/10Logic1/10Enjoyment:2/10Overall Rating 1。57 – 1 Star
Karen Saupe Alduenda
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2。5I don't know what to make of this book。 Something about colonialism and honoring your ancestors？ Strange book。 2。5I don't know what to make of this book。 Something about colonialism and honoring your ancestors？ Strange book。 。。。more
Jennifer
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Is it true every family has a dark side？ Alberta “Bert” Monte has known her family was different。 But， when Bert receives a letter detailing an inheritance of a title， a castle， and a small fortune， she begins to uncover secrets that reveal just how different her family is。What a captivating twist on the monster novel。 Intriguingly， at the start， it was hard to tell where this novel would take me。 Bert was complicated and lonely， the letter was mysterious， and her relationship with Luca complex。 Is it true every family has a dark side？ Alberta “Bert” Monte has known her family was different。 But， when Bert receives a letter detailing an inheritance of a title， a castle， and a small fortune， she begins to uncover secrets that reveal just how different her family is。What a captivating twist on the monster novel。 Intriguingly， at the start， it was hard to tell where this novel would take me。 Bert was complicated and lonely， the letter was mysterious， and her relationship with Luca complex。 I found myself reading quickly， trying to absorb the story as fast as I could because I was so curious as to where I would end up。I ended up in icy， extremely rural Italy。 Oh my goodness， if you， too， do not feel the frostbiting chill racing through you with each mention of snow， ice， and biting cold， you need to go back and re-read。 I pulled my blanket up tighter and kept going。Creaky hallways， deserted rooms， mysterious figures in windows， eerie & viscous dogs with equally eerie & viscous handlers， cagey & quiet servants， sketchy phone connections。 The list of creepy elements kept growing and the hairs on my neck refused to relax。Then began the slow-meld into curiosity and puzzlement。 With each reveal of a new tid-bit of research or family history， my mind raced with possibility。 Was Bert’s ancestry possible？ Were the answers plausible？As a lover of Frankenstein and Dracula who was entranced by The Walking Dead， this was a refreshing， unique take on the monster trope。 A read that should not languish on TBRs but be moved immediately to the top – with tea brewed， lamp lit， and blanket pulled tight。 Oh， and make sure the front door is locked。 *wink* 。。。more
Nicole
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The premise of her books is always interesting; the execution of that tale， not so much。I'm not sure how this one was so boring， but it was。 Everything was predictable， ridiculously so， that I had to force myself to continue。 The premise of her books is always interesting; the execution of that tale， not so much。I'm not sure how this one was so boring， but it was。 Everything was predictable， ridiculously so， that I had to force myself to continue。 。。。more
Kelli
，
Different than I expected
Robin
，
For the most part， I enjoyed this book and especially loved the creepy northern Italian castle setting （not many gothic type novels are set in Italy）。 The mysterious characters that were introduced had me intrigued and the story was compelling。 And then it took a weird little twist that at first I didn't care for but after thinking about it， realized the author did a good job of making it believable， and I loved the ending。I always try to give a few "readalike" authors in my comments but I'm a l For the most part， I enjoyed this book and especially loved the creepy northern Italian castle setting （not many gothic type novels are set in Italy）。 The mysterious characters that were introduced had me intrigued and the story was compelling。 And then it took a weird little twist that at first I didn't care for but after thinking about it， realized the author did a good job of making it believable， and I loved the ending。I always try to give a few "readalike" authors in my comments but I'm a little stumped trying to think of who might enjoy this book， but maybe that's a good thing as Trussoni has taken the gothic genre up a notch。 I guess this could be most compared to a combo of Ruth Ware and Stephen King， and， really， that is a compliment。Update: I just read another gothic-type novel with an exotic setting that would work as a "readalike，" so I think fans of Mexican Gothic would definitely find this a similar compelling read。Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital reading cop 。。。more
Kelly
，
I debated adding stars to this review， but just couldn't。 Characters were a little flat， one-sided。 The setting， too， fell a little short with atmospheric description。 Endlessly wandering the halls without emotion。 I debated adding stars to this review， but just couldn't。 Characters were a little flat， one-sided。 The setting， too， fell a little short with atmospheric description。 Endlessly wandering the halls without emotion。 。。。more
Laura
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This was just weird。 Did not enjoy this。
Kathleen Kaufman
，
beautifully gothic and atmospheric， loved it。
Dru
，
Enthralled by this modern version of a fairy tale about a supposed “beast” in the Alps as Alberta goes to an imposing castle which belonged to her family unknown to her。 Her discovery of her lineage and the responsibility， whether a blessing or a curse， comes with it。 Trussoni does it again with a twist on mythology in the modern times。 I read it in two days！
Terri
，
What an unusual story is told in this book！ Alberta Monte finds out through a letter that she is the sole descendent of a very old family in Italy。 She is taken to the family castle where she finds out about the dark side of the family and the secrets hidden in the mountain side。This is quite the gothic tale and will keep the reader involved through the pages。
Yolanda
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This was a surprisingly good book ， completely different from what I expected。Very interesting and thought provoking
Cindy Morgan
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Loved it！
Mindy Rose
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 a woman finds out that she is the sole surviving heir of a noble family she knows nothing of and has inherited a castle in the remote mountains of italy， where she goes literally immediately and （SPOILERS AHEAD） becomes taken hostage by family members and is told a lot of cryptic bullshit and witnesses a murder which she does not seem affected by at all and then nearly escapes but instead gets kidnapped by people who want to turn her in to some cryptozoology organization for reward money because a woman finds out that she is the sole surviving heir of a noble family she knows nothing of and has inherited a castle in the remote mountains of italy， where she goes literally immediately and （SPOILERS AHEAD） becomes taken hostage by family members and is told a lot of cryptic bullshit and witnesses a murder which she does not seem affected by at all and then nearly escapes but instead gets kidnapped by people who want to turn her in to some cryptozoology organization for reward money because she's GOT YETI DNA which is the Big Dark Family Secret but that we figure out super early on because basically all we know about her is that she's always had Huge Weird Embarrassing Feet and honestly i thought， this bigfoot thing has GOTTA be a misdirect， but no， it was not， her great great uncle or something fucked a lady bigfoot and ever since then their bloodline has every now and again produced hairy， sharp-toothed little weird-footed babies） and then a guy who works for the castle rescues her from the kidnappers but then shoots her when she runs away so she's just trapped in the castle some more waiting to heal and then her aunt introduces her to the local yeti that live just up the hill & she goes off & lives with them for the summer and feels At Home with them bc for the first time ever she's NOT ASHAMED OF HER BIG WEIRD FEET and then after learning that the yeti regularly steal children to try to integrate them into their own bloodline to strengthen it -but that the children always die- she steals a yeti baby after the mother dies giving birth and returns to the castle and simply decides she's going to leave now， which is suddenly just fine with the aunt who was keeping her there in the first place， and she goes to france to raise her monstrous looking stolen yeti baby but she knows that soon the yeti baby will become too obviously monstrous and they'll have to go live in the castle to keep yeti baby hidden from the cruel world。 uhhhhhhhhhhhhh。 like this was nuts but it was all written so seriously and the protag didn't have a personality and also was so very stupid and just didn't react to anything and i was at a total loss the whole time。 1/5。 。。。more
Brandy
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2。5-3 stars。 Unique premise but the characters were not overly interesting。 The plot was a little slow for me。
Joe Piccoli
，
Oh man this one had soon much potential but ultimately I was let down。 The first thing about writing I ever learned was show the action don't tell it。 Sometimes I thought I was reading history texts and ancestory。com chats。 It had the potential to be horrifying， adventurous and even mysterious。 The unreliable narrator in the middle of the story could have been beneficial from the start。 Good concept and writing， bad plot。 Oh man this one had soon much potential but ultimately I was let down。 The first thing about writing I ever learned was show the action don't tell it。 Sometimes I thought I was reading history texts and ancestory。com chats。 It had the potential to be horrifying， adventurous and even mysterious。 The unreliable narrator in the middle of the story could have been beneficial from the start。 Good concept and writing， bad plot。 。。。more
Penny Abdalla
，
2。5 stars overall。 Started out a solid 3-4 for me then it just went downhill- not fast but very very slowly。 I felt that this book was on to something for a while， a definite atmosphere but then it just tried too hard。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Ancestor: A Novel
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Ancestor: A Novel&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Ancestor: A Novel&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0