I loved this modern gothic mystery written by Ruth Ware. The protagonist is young, desperate, likable, and a bit of a con artist with a good heart. The plot is twisty and turny enough that I was guessing at the resolution up til nearly the end, and I only got part of it right. It's got all the spooky, cold, running from a giant house in the middle of the night feels I want from a gothic novel. Creepy without being annoyingly anxiety producing, this is a satisfying read that is perfect for a chilly night with a fire and a cup of something warm.

This book is not as creepy as The Turn of the Key. It dragged on for awhile and ends pretty quick. Some things didn’t really add up. Still entertaining though.

Creepy, secretive, compelling.....but frankly, I don't think the secret warranted all the resulting violence and chaos.

If you want to read this book it's a good thing you're checking it out from the Library because I would NOT pay for this read.

"Tedious and long winded" is being way too polite. There is no positive aspect to this book. The characters are numerous and poorly developed, in spite of hundreds of pages of words. The story line is inconsistent, mostly disconnected, at times bizarre, and never comes together with an ending that does nothing but to make one feel that reading the book has been a total waste of time.

An interesting Gothic story set in present times with a vulnerable, poor young woman discovering that she has well to do relatives and a countryside family estate. When she receives a letter informing her of being a recipient named in the will of the dead Mrs. Westaway, she jumps at the chance of inheriting some money even though she feels there must be a mistake as she knows she has no relatives. The reader along with the author unravel this mystery as we discover the background of all of the family members and the reason why her mother kept her safe from her relatives by isolating her. A good read even though there seemed to be much repetition in describing either a thought, a feeling, a mood, or a situation. The use of tarot cards as a way to telling the past/present/future was a clever addition and adds to the suspense. I would read another book by this author.

Tedious and long winded. Had she spent more time expanding her characters and less feeling sorry for herself, it would have been a much better book. I hope her other books are better!

Excellent

Enjoyable mystery read with a style and story that has the flavor of a 20th century classic Gothic tale by having a struggling outlier young woman who is offered a chance of a lifetime that involves a family with money and land. Who cares that it involves deception? The one sure thing is this story is that everyone has a secret.

Really slow moving plot and almost predictable ending. Repetitive 'life review' of the main character is tedious. I found myself skipping through chapters and could not wait to finish and get on with a better read.