THE ANGELS' SHARE

In Bow’s novel, a woman plans a heist to save her family’s winery from a corrupt Russian businessman.

After giving up a government job in Canada, 39-year-old Dionysia “Dion” Kokanakis moves to Crete to help with her father’s and grandmother’s winery; Kokanakis Wines owes 250,000 euros to their Russian investor, Leonid Salin, and if they can’t pay, they’ll be wiped out and left homeless. When Salin offers them a new contract with terms that will kill the ancestral land of their winery over time, Dion knows they have no other choice: They must raise the money they owe before their current contract ends to keep Salin from gaining control. The question is, how? As Dion frets over this conundrum, the narrative shifts its focus to Dion’s other pressing problem—a 28-year-old artist named Theo who wants to paint her. The story explores their growing romance as Theo teaches Dion how to let her guard down and learn to live life unafraid, all against a rich and vivid backdrop. (“Easter Sunday’s morning sky is crystalline blue. Herb-perfumed warmth, coming up the mountain, dissolves the night cold.”) The dreamlike, lyrical quality of the novel’s first half feels somewhat at odds with the second; Dion and her compatriots’ plan to steal a $2 million bottle of cognac from Salin to repay the winery’s debts turns the narrative into a heist caper, which, while entertaining in its own right, feels slightly jarring compared to the previously established leisurely pacing. Still, the slow-burn romance between Dion and Theo carries the story; the pair share a vibrant chemistry. Every character is unique and well developed—Dion is easy to relate to, and her personal evolution unfolds in a way that feels natural and well earned.

A somewhat uneven but engaging romance with a unique heist structure.