Summertime brings many joys — lazy days at the beach, boozy barbecues, half-day Fridays, and family visits.

Hold on there. Family visits a joy? Hardly.

Which is why God created that other great pleasure: the summer read. It’s the perfect escape hatch from the relatives-are-hell reality of your life. Casa Rossa, Francesca Marciano’s lyrical new novel hits stores today — and just in the nick of time. It has all the ingredients for run-of-the-mill multi-generational dysfunction: betrayal, abandonment, stolen lovers, and secrets. And it’s spiced with those special Italian flavors: beauty, melodrama, and — of course — murder.

Family drama? Please. It’s a summer rite of passage. But so is a great read. Thank heaven for life’s little pleasures.

Casa Rossa is available online from amazon.com.