The Thirteenth Tale

I just finished The Thirteenth Tale by  Diane  Setterfield.  Astonishingly, it is her first novel and it became a NY Times Bestseller.  In many ways it is an homage to Jane Eyre - that novel is mentioned a lot in the book.  I wasn't overly fond of Jane Eyre, but this book is modern and a lot edgier, though still tended toward over-romanticizing females who stupidly go for long walks in the freezing rain and have fainting spells.  I also was reminded of One Hundred Years of Solitude at times, but perhaps that's just because of the weird family shut up by itself with tendencies toward incest. Anyhoo!

There are two story lines here: one of a young bookish woman with sad family secrets who is approached by the most famous author of the time to write her biography. The other is the story the author tells her. This author is as famous for her books as for her secretive life and is constantly giving reporters etc. false stories of her past.  She seems to have appeared out of nowhere so for her to hire a biographer is monumental, but the story she tells is disturbing and haunting.  

Overall it was quite a good read, hard to put down, a bit predictable at times and totally unpredictable at others.