Review – My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Gothic/Historical Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN-13 : 978-1402217098
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars
“Philip Ashley’s older cousin Ambrose, who raised the orphaned Philip as his own son, has died in Rome. Philip, the heir to Ambrose’s beautiful English estate, is crushed that the man he loved died far from home. He is also suspicious. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear.
Now Rachel has arrived at Philip’s newly inherited estate. Could this exquisite woman, who seems to genuinely share Philip’s grief at Ambrose’s death, really be as cruel as Philip imagined? Or is she the kind, passionate woman with whom Ambrose fell in love? Philip struggles to understand Rachel’s intentions, knowing Ambrose’s estate, his future, and his sanity, hang in the balance.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I borrowed from the library.
Story (3/5): This was okay, I liked the gothic atmosphere of the book. However, I am not a fan of books that build up a big mystery and then leave it completely open ended; I feel like it’s kind of lazy. I do realize a lot of people enjoy all the discussion that comes with a book like this and enjoy speculating about what the open ending might mean…I am not one of them.
Characters (3/5): The characters are complex and intriguing, however none of them are very likable or enjoyable to read about. They don’t really grow throughout the story but are all fairly selfish and predictable. I prefer to be engaged with my characters and enjoy reading about them, so this wasn’t a great match for me.
Setting (3/5): This is set in the English countryside during Victorian times (I think?). The setting was fine and matched the story well. I loved the description of Ambrose’s estate but the setting wasn’t a huge influence on the story.
Writing Style (3/5): This was decently written and the first half of the book was fairly engaging. However, the writing is very flowery and elaborate (reflecting the time it was written in) and it’s a bit of a slog to read. As mentioned above I don’t love open ended stories and I felt like this book was a lot of effort to read and I didn’t get much from it.
My Summary (3/5): Overall I finished this book but it really wasn’t for me. It has aged well and parts of the story are still entertaining. It was just a lot of work to read and I found the resolution completely unsatisfying…not to mention somewhat predictable. I won’t be reading any more books by du Maurier. I can see why Jane Austen fans would love her as an author but she is not for me.
