Rebecca / Daphne du Maurier.

This book, published in 1938, is one of my favorite novels
of all time. I love its ominous tone,
the colorful characters, its mystery, and the twists and turns and unexpected
developments. The female narrator takes
us back to the beginning of the tale when she is penniless and without family,
working as a personal companion to an older woman. She meets Maxim de Winter, the
wealthy owner of the large, famous house Manderley. De Winter’s wife Rebecca has died and the
narrator becomes the new Mrs. de Winter.
The narrator’s name is never given in the book, which hints at how
unimportant she really is. It is Rebecca
who is important, and the new Mrs. de Winter is told over and over again by
everyone she meets how beautiful, vivacious and capable Rebecca was. At the same time, she is reminded of her own
plain appearance and that she will never measure up to the deceased woman.

Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, is especially creepy in her
devotion to Rebecca and her attempts to damage the new bride. She keeps Rebecca’s room in pristine
condition, as though she will walk in at any moment. Mrs.
Danvers says to Mrs. de Winter: “I feel her everywhere. You do too, don’t you?”
“Do you think the dead come back and watch the living? Sometimes I wonder if
she comes back here to Manderley and watches you and Mr. de Winter together.”

But things are not what they seem. Secrets are revealed and the suspense goes on
until the last sentence in the book. A
great novel.

A review from Goodreads:
“This is it. THE delicious, curl up next to the
fire under a blanket with tea book. THE windowsill on a rainy day with your pet
book. THE stay up all night book. A chill goes down your spine (but in a good
way!) while reading it. It is a masterpiece of gothic literature, the inheritor
of the tradition of novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I'd call it
the 20th Century Jane Eyre, actually, with a modernist twist. It is written so
that the characters and events come to seem quite believable in the context
even while they slowly make the hairs on the back of your necks stand on end.
Whether you're generally a fan of mystery, romance or thrillers, this book is
quite simply a delicious read.”