Rebecca Review

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

4 Stars

Synopsis:

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again ... With these words the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room in the immense, foreboding estate were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten — a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. And with an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife — the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

<Review:</>

I really liked this novel.  I loved the haunting mystery that followed the second Mrs. de Winter around every corner and even in her own mind.  She obsesses over her new husband’s first wife and all the ways she doesn’t add up to this ghost of a woman.  At first, Mrs. de Winter, her first name is never revealed, seems whiney and very sulky.  I had a hard time connecting to her at first, although I did enjoy the story she told.  I could feel the same repulsion she felt concerning Favell and Mrs. Danvers.  I got the creeps when she did, upon entering the untouched West wing. Towards the late part of the middle, the second Mrs. de Winter started to find her voice and her strength.  And that’s when the story starts to get really good.

There are so many twists in turns in this book that caught me off guard, and in a good way.  I thought I had the whole story figured out, but I was way wrong.  The end is suspenseful and full of jaw-dropping revelations.  You’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat well after you’ve finished the last sentence.   

--monica