Skip to main content

My Cousin Rachel. 20%

Rachel the mysterious.  Ambrose loves her, then writes saying she is ruining him.  He dies--a brain tumor? fever? or has Rachel killed him. Phillip (MC) goes to Italy only to find that A. is dead and Rachel is gone. He despises her.

But . . . upon his return he learns that, although she has his books and clothes, she is making no claim on his land. She then shows up in England, writes to his guardian, and explains that she has brought all the books and clothes and wants to give them to Phillip. Phillip remains suspicious, but he does invite her to his estate.

She arrives. He expects to hate her, but he is charmed.  She is 35, unpretentious, plain spoken--just the woman for him, though he doesn't quite know it yet. She has also arranged to have flowers and shrubs sent from Italy to England for Phillip's estate.  She knows just where Ambrose wanted them planted, but she of course won't be around to supervise as she is only a visitor.

To be continued

Book looks like it will thrive on the ambiguous nature of Rachel. Devil or angel?
I'm enjoying this very much, but plot does seem a little creaky unless something else comes along.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin . . . finished

 Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world.  Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way.  Plot is involved but sensible.  Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment.  The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview.  He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good.   Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child. 
Post a Comment
Read more

The Secret, Book and Scone Society

Cozy mystery with a "women are superior creatures" underpinning. The four women have all had their struggles, which we will learn about one-by-one, but they all remain/emerge wiser, kinder, smarter, etc. than the men in the novel, most of whom are corrupt, narrow-minded, unfeeling and potentially violent. (Nora's encounter with the paramedic-hunk is the exception, though it occurs to me that he may be the murderer.) Even Estelle, who uses sex to get what she wants, is portrayed positively.  The men are comically manipulated by her curves.  In one scene, she goes skinny-dipping with a married man but is rescued by her buddies before she actually has sex with the guy. Nora, our main character, is told by her female friends that she is beautiful despite her scars. No male says this to Nora because males are just too crass to see beyond surface beauty.  I hope I'm wrong and the book is more nuanced. If not, then this author is a one-and-done writer for me.
Post a Comment
Read more