Title: The Winters

Author: Lisa Gabriele

Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Random House U.K. Vintage Publishing

Cover:

Summary: from Amazon

After a whirlwind romance, a young woman returns to the opulent, secluded mansion of her new fiancé Max Winter – a wealthy senator and recent widower – and a life of luxury she’s never known. But all is not as it appears at the Asherley estate. The house is steeped in the memory of Max’s beautiful first wife Rebekah, who haunts the young woman’s imagination and feeds her uncertainties, while his very alive teenage daughter Dani makes her life a living hell. 

As the soon-to-be second Mrs. Winter grows more in love with Max, and more afraid of Dani, she is drawn deeper into the family’s dark secrets – the kind of secrets that could kill her, too. 

Inspired by the classic novel Rebecca, The Winters is a riveting story about what happens when a family’s ghosts resurface and threaten to upend everything.

Review:

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is one of my all time favourite books so I was really excited to read this modern retelling of the classic. The Winters starts off in a similar vein to the original but with the added intriguing twist of a daughter existing between Max and his first wife, Rebekah. I thought this was a really smart move and a great addition because it created a whole other layer to the story which I loved. Also like the original the reader never learns the name of our main character. I actually liked her more than the main character of the original, she seemed to have slightly more grit and strength than the original although they are set in totally different time periods so this could be part of the reason that she comes across as more of a feminist and ever so slightly less self deprecating.

I tore through the pages of this book extremely quickly. It was totally addictive and so readable and the story moved at a great pace. Whilst it is obviously taking it’s inspiration from Rebecca, it never feels predictable at all because the author has thrown in some really interesting twists that keep the reader on their toes! I was completely drawn into this tale, it’s actually more of a reinterpretation of the original book than a straight out retelling and is brilliant in a very different way. There was an eerie atmosphere all the way through and also a strong theme of disillusionment which lends the story a kind of sadness which I thought was beautifully done.

Without giving away anything about the plot, I also must say that I thought the ending was fantastic. The direction it took was a surprise for me and was totally different to how I thought things would end up which I always enjoy. The ending wraps things up in a satisfying way but also leaves the reader with an almost ominous sense of mystery which suits this story perfectly. Overall, I think The Winters is a great read, whether you have read the original Rebecca or not. It is skilfully written with a fabulous sense of foreboding hanging over it and I highly recommend it!

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I received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley. My review is my own honest opinion.