User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
EXCERPT: The screams have long since died away. The bloodstains, like the memories, have faded with time, obscured beneath a fine layer of dust. Mildew creeps along the peeling floral wallpaper. The window frames are soft with rot.
A skylight of colored glass softly illuminates the slow and steady decay. Once, laughter filled the spaces between the tired walls. Running feet and mother's hugs and whispers under cover at night. Hearts beat, as hearts do, then broke, then beat again. Until they didn't.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Filmmaker Tessa Shepherd helped free a man she believed was wrongly imprisoned for murder. When he kills again, Tessa’s life is upended.
She’s reeling with guilt, her reputation destroyed. Worse, Tessa’s mother has unexpectedly passed away, and her sister, Margot, turns on her after tensions from their past escalate. Hounded by a bullying press, Tessa needs an escape. That’s when she learns of a strange inheritance bequeathed by her mother: a derelict and isolated estate known as Fallbrook. It seems like the perfect refuge.
A crumbling monument to a gruesome history, the mansion has been abandoned by all but two elderly sisters retained as caretakers. They are also guardians of all its mysteries. As the house starts revealing its dark secrets, Tessa must face her fears and right the wrongs of her past to save herself and her relationship with Margot. But nothing and no one at Fallbrook are what they seem.
MY THOUGHTS: I loved this atmospheric read. It has all the ingredients . . . feuding sisters, family retainers, a crumbling old house, tragedy, secrets, lies and betrayals. Beautiful! And exquisitely written.
The characterisation is superb. Tessa is a successful documentary filmmaker, a righter of wrongs. That's her public persona. Behind that facade, she suffers from an overwhelming guilt and anxiety, enough to have had her hospitalised and on medication. She and twin sister Margot haven't spoken in almost twenty years. Margot's husband, Ben, used to be Tessa's boyfriend, and there was a time when the three of them were inseparable. So it is to Ben Tessa turns when Margot doesn't respond to Tessa's cry for help.
At Fallbrook, monstrously large, once proud and haughty, we have more sisters, Kitty, falling prey to the grasping tentacles of dementia, and Deirdre, the practical no nonsense one, caretakers not only of Fallbrook, but of all the secrets contained within those crumbling walls. And strangely, they are there not to preserve Fallbrook, but to make sure that it is not taken care of, that it is left to rot away.
These two worlds collide following the death of Tessa and Margot's mother, and their inheritance of a legacy that comes with its own tragic history, and a mystery that demands to be unravelled.
Add in a kidnapping, dementia, an evil stepmother, familial abuse and a manhunt . . . and it all sounds rather overwhelming, and it is, slightly. Which is why there are 4.5 stars rather than the full five. But it is only slightly overwhelming, rather than hugely. All these diverse threads do all tie in together beautifully in the end. There is nothing predictable in this book. It is an absorbing and rewarding read.
I do caution you you to take particular notice of the various family relationships, who is who and which family they belong to. It does become important later in the book. I didn't, and found myself flicking furiously back to the earlier chapters.
On another track entirely, it is strange what we retain from other reads. I recently read a book in which one of the characters was a wallpaper restorer. At one point when Tessa is at Fallbrook she uses a marker pen to scribble notes all over the ancient wallpaper in one of the rooms. As I was reading I am mentally screaming at her, 'Don't do that! You are desecrating something old and beautiful!' Of course, she took no notice of me whatsoever.
I will be reading more from this author. In her acknowledgments, the author likened writing a book to making a pot of soup and sharing it. 'If you're very lucky, a few who will finish the bowl (will) ask for seconds.' I am one of those. 'More please, Ms. Maxwell.'
🏚👭💫💔 .5
#TheCaretakers #NetGalley
'The dead are at peace....it's the living who struggle.'
The Caretakers by Eliza Maxwell is due for publication April 14, 2020.
THE AUTHOR: Eliza Maxwell lives in Texas with a patient man, two impatient children and a bird named Sarah. When she's not working on her next novel, she stays busy trying to keep her children from some future therapist's chair.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Caretakers by Eliza Maxwell for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Rating: really liked it
Tessa Shepherd is a documentary film maker that gains notoriety when she helps free a man that she believes has been wrongly convicted of murder only to find out that a year after his release he has killed again. Now her world has come crashing down around her.
Meanwhile her mother has passed away. This brings her back together with her estranged sister, Margo. Upon the reading of the will it is discovered that their mother had been adopted and that the Fallbrook estate that her birth family once owned has been left to the girls. The girls are shocked because their mother had never said a word to them. While the news is shocking it does provide Tessa with the hideout she's looking for as reporters and police are chomping at the bit for her to answer some questions.
Fallbrook has not been left empty however. Elderly sisters Dierdre & Kitty, the caretakers, still live in the cottage on the property. They are there to make sure that the horrifying secrets of Fallbrook stay hidden away. That is until Tessa comes along.
This had a strong start but started to lose momentum around the halfway mark and the reason for that is because there were too many plot threads to follow. With so much going on it was hard to become engaged with all of the story lines. I really enjoyed the "past" sections. I found the history and mystery surrounding Fallbrook incredibly compelling and these were most definitely my favorite moments.
I grew very tired of the bickering between Tessa and Margo and the constant reminder that something happened between them but what oh what could it be. Tessa hems and haws constantly and is on the verge of a panic attack on nearly every page.
This book, I think, would have benefited by excluding the entire Margo story line. It was just more minutiae to wade through to get to the juicy bits. And the reason for their 20 year estrangement to begin with? One simple conversation between them could have solved this entirely and I also find it hard to believe that their parents didn't do more to reunite the girls.
On a positive note this author has an easy writing style that is engaging and also quite lovely. I would not hesitate to pick up another book by her. 3 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC in echange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
“what happened here, kitty?” her voice is soft now. a voice for a church service. but no one would worship at this house.
“a family came to an end.”
in this modern thriller with some gothic vibes, a documentary filmmaker is faced with the effects of her latest release. while a family secret is occupying her mind, the guy she got out of jail with one of her docus seems to have taken up killing... and the press are having a field day with it.
this was an entertaining read! modern thrillers and i aren’t necessarily the best of friends, but the solid prose, atmospheric setting, and family dynamics ensured a lot of enjoyment on my part.
we follow
tessa shepard, the aforementioned documentary filmmaker. she’s somewhere in her 30s, living the workaholic life, trying to cope with her generalized anxiety disorder. an accident in her past caused an immense rift between her and her twin sister,
margot, but the two are pushed together again due to a death in the family.
we also read chapters from the point of view of
kitty and deirdre, two elderly sisters taking care of a decrepit mansion in the woods. their chapters reveal their history and that of the house, both through sisterly heart-to-hearts and flashbacks. eventually, their chapters converge with tessa’s.
one of the immediate downsides of this book is just
how much it tries to tackle. and i’ll be honest, i wasn’t always sure if all its plot threads had maximum impact due to the constantly shifting focus.
first up, there’s
tessa’s family drama. obviously there’s the accident in her past that needs to be uncovered in order to understand her antagonistic relationship with her twin. that relationship is very well written, by the way. i enjoyed their dynamic a lot; like my friend shannon mentioned while we were buddy reading this, it’s constantly ping-ponging back and forth.
they know each other like the back of their hands, and work together seamlessly -- until they realize that they’re still mad at each other and need to uphold their side of the rift between them.
then there is
kitty and deirdre’s family secret, which takes on a bit more of the classic ghost story trope. it’s all about uncovering the past, half-remembered events, and tragedy. which, of course, ties in with tessa’s life as well.
lastly, we’ve got
oliver barlow. oliver was wrongfully convicted of the murder and rape of a young woman fourteen years ago, which tessa uncovered and made a documentary about. that film got the investigation going that eventually got oliver acquitted. after he’s finally free, his life unravels completely, and so does his mental state.
his story follows the classic serial killer journey: he makes cryptic videos which he sends to the police and the press, threatening the police inspector who put him away fourteen years ago on shoddy evidence. he also often references tessa, which makes the press hound her constantly.
thematically, oliver’s plotline seems one of the most interesting ones.
it’s also the one that made me pick this up when i read the blurb. because what
would you do if you worked side-by-side with a convict for months, making a documentary on him and his story, trying to get him out of jail because you believe in his innocence -- only for him to start committing heinous crimes?
was he guilty after all? did you trust someone who couldn’t be trusted? what’s your responsibility here in trying to get the whole situation right?
but when reading this book, oliver’s presence
almost feels like an afterthought. he seemed to be there mostly to cause reasons for why tessa had to run and hide, and create tension and conflict within her while she was trying to solve the mystery of her own family history.
as i said before, i really liked tessa’s
difficult interactions with her twin sister (and her brother-in-law), so i wasn’t bothered by it too much. but if you’re going to pick this book up solely for oliver’s plot point, you’re probably going to be disappointed until you reach the climax of the story.
because kitty and deirdre’s story is the one that seems
to take center stage, and i probably found it the least fun and interesting out of all of them. don’t get me wrong; it’s still engaging, with a couple of clever twists and turns. family drama meets murder mystery -- the pinnacle of uncovering hidden stories.
but i would rather have a woman trying to repair her relationship with her sister while dealing with the aftermath of abandoning a vulnerable, broken man right after she finished documenting his story on film.
(view spoiler)
[the final scenes with oliver were amazing, though. i’m not sure if i was a fan of the “he was innocent all along!” reveal, but when tessa realizes it doesn’t matter whether he’s innocent or not because he keeps trying to protect and save her sister, so she tries to save him in turn -- that was exactly what i wanted out of the story. (hide spoiler)]the focus
made the ending less enjoyable as well for me -- more attention is given to the aftermath of kitty and deirdre’s story than there is to tessa’s or oliver’s. some books end rather quickly after having all pieces of the puzzle put together, and that can be very fitting. but if there’s so much
emotional core to several plot threads, i personally prefer a longer wrap-up that shows the effects or repercussions of the climax in a bit more detail.
still, i consider this book to be a bit above the average modern thriller. it’s not trying to frighten you without cause, there’s not too much obfuscation via drink or pills (why they always make the protags heavy drinkers as per the unreliable narrator trope, i have no idea), there’s an interesting premise, and the writing itself is quite good.
funny at times, too.
“in the stories, a house like this invariably has a witch living in it. but tessa has always had a soft spot for the witch. obviously, tossing children into an oven is bad, but hansel and gretel's parents should have taught them not to eat other people's houses, even when they're made of cake. it's rude.”
it’s always hard to do a book justice that requires a lot of spoiler territory to talk more in-depth about its themes, but if you like reading books about
sisters trying to reconcile while trying to set right their mistakes, this might definitely be a good fit for you.
just keep in mind that trying to cram so many ideas into 300+ pages won’t always put the focus where you want it to be, or wrap everything up as satisfyingly as you might like.
✎
3.5 stars.
Rating: really liked it
Though I've been a gothic fiction junkie for years,
The Caretakers is the first Eliza Maxwell novel I've read. This suspenseful, intricately plotted novel weaves together multiple interrelated storylines more seamlessly than I would have expected, considering the number of characters and events involved.
The present-day chapters focus primarily on documentary filmmaker Tessa Shepherd's attempt to escape the media circus surrounding the meltdown of her most famous subject: the wrongly convicted Oliver Barlow. As the victim of police misconduct, Barlow spent years in prison for a crime he may well not have committed (think "Making of a Murderer"). When his conviction is overturned and he walks free, however, things don't proceed the way Oliver – or Tessa – envisioned ....and that leads to some fairly dark developments. Not only is Tessa shocked, but she is also implicated as a suspect in a new murder Barlow may have committed. Instead of facing up to the consequences of her actions, Tessa flees to a dilapidated mansion she's just inherited. But how long can she hide from the police and the man who blames her for everything that's gone wrong since his release?
The other chapters in
The Caretakers focus on another killing, the slaughter of a family in a single day decades earlier. Like Barlow, the man convicted may not have been guilty. Told mostly from the point of view of the elderly Kitty Donnelly, these chapters give glimpses into the past but truth is as clouded as Kitty's mind. Was it her brother who actually killed the Cooke family? Is his ghost real – or just another sign of Kitty's dementia? As is usually the case in gothic novels, the past and present are inextricably linked but the true extent of this only becomes clear at the end of the book.
I've spent a good chunk of this review explaining the plot, but I've hardly touched on the novel's key points. This is also a story about sisters past and sisters present, about love triangles, betrayals, secret adoptions, madness and an evil stepmother to boot. Which brings me to my only caveat: at times there is almost too much going on in this book. I would also have liked a little less of the Barlow story and more details about the historical tale. That said, I enjoyed this story and will definitely be reading more of Maxwell's novels. One thing I especially liked was the relationships between both sets of sisters – Tessa and her twin Margot; and Kitty and her sister Deirdre. I don't know if Maxwell has a sister, but she captures the bonds, the rivalries and the rifts between siblings with great humor and skill. I also love the irony that the two elderly sisters Kitty and Deirdre aren't actually caretakers: they've spent their lives ensuring that the mansion – aka the “murder house” - falls further and further into disrepair.
Much thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
3-4 stars.
The Caretakers has two seemingly unconnected storylines. The first is that of Tessa Shepherd a TV documentary maker and how her life unravels 18 months after making a programme about the false imprisonment of Oliver Barlow. The second concerns the caretakers of Fallwood House, elderly sisters Kitty and Deirdre Donnelly. Fallwood is now very dilapidated and has not been lived in since a terrible event happened there many years ago. What unfolds is a dramatic collision between past and the present.
First of all, the writing is high quality and there are some really good descriptions, some creepiness and moments of suspense. Some of the characters are well crafted especially the elderly sisters. You get a real sense of the atmosphere of Fallwood, it’s occupants and what happens in the past. There is a sort of ghastliness to Kitty’s story which I like very much. However, I feel there is far too much going on in the story and sometimes the switching of storylines is confusing. There are a couple of scenes that I feel are very over the top, stretching credulity though they are certainly dramatic!
Overall, I did enjoy it particularly the storyline from the past, it’s that one that intrigued me the most and the one I will remember. I think Tessa’s story works less well and ultimately I would have liked the book to be more pared down. After much internal debate I’m giving the book the 4 stars rather than 3 because it is so well written and enjoyable.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the ARC
Rating: really liked it
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review. Tessa Shepherd, documentary filmmaker seems to be handling success fairly well even if her family life is a mess. Her recent true crime documentary helped an innocent man finally find justice and it has spurred other fantastic projects. But within six months a new nightmare begins and reports begin to surface that possibly Tessa has actually unleashed a monster back into society.
At the same time, Tessa's mother dies and she must return to her family home where her estranged sister waits. Overwhelmed in every direction, Tessa seeks refuge at a newly discovered estate which is part of the sister's inheritance. While there, Tessa and Margot meet two elderly sisters that have been taking care of the home and may be able to shed information on a long ago series of murders that has a connection to their family.
A spell binding gothic atmosphere that kept me turning the pages with plenty of drama and family strife. This was my first Eliza Maxwell story but it certainly won't be my last.
The Caretakers offered just enough suspense to keep me on my toys and I really liked the characters. Also so glad that an author didn't throw in a romance on top of everything else for Tessa! Yay!
Goodreads review published 07/04/20
Expected publication 14/04/20
Rating: really liked it
Too much going on in this book. And it wasn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting a ghost story involving the old house, but it was more like a hodgepodge of storylines. For me, the most exciting part was the history of the house told by Kitty and Deirdre. I cared very little about Tessa and Margot and their family drama. Also, the Barlow aspects felt foreign, like it was tossed in to add character depth to Tessa.
Overall, it was okay.
Rating: really liked it
Tessa is a filmmaker who went out of her way to get an Innocent man freed. But now it looks like he's killed again. Tessa and her sister Margot inherited Fallwood, a crumbling and creepy house. Derdrie and Kitty are the caretakers of the house. They are two elderly sisters who have kept the secret of the house. Tessa and Margot has an unpleasant past. It takes the death of their mother to get them back together.
Thisnstorynis a mixture of historical fiction, mystery and thriller. It tells how the wrong decision can affect a life. Thenstory moves back and forth in time. Two different storiesthst come together by the end. I loved the authors writing style and there was some unexpected twists. The story is dark I places. I loved the last chapter. I do recommend this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author E,iza Maxwell for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
#TheCaretakers #NetGalley
This book is for the most part about two pairs of sisters: Tessa and Margot Shepard, and Deirdre and Kitty Donnelly. The story pulled me in initially after Tessa, a filmmaker, makes a film about a man, Oliver, who was wrongly convicted of murder, and spent over a decade in prison due to police mishandling of the case. Her film resulted in the man getting released from prison. A police chief, DI Winters, has always believed he put away the right man. Eighteen months later, Oliver tapes a video stating he has kidnapped and killed the DI's daughter Valerie Winters. This leaves Tessa questioning whether Oliver really was wrongly convicted, our did her film result in setting a murderer free?
The reader is also introduced to elderly sisters Deirdre And Kitty, the caretakers of Fallbrook estate. I initially wondered how they fit into the story. Then, Tessa's and Margot's mother dies and during the reading of the will we find out that their mother owns Fallbrook estate. At this point what began slowly starts picking up. How do these pairs of sisters stories relate? You will have to read it for yourself!
I liked this book and found that it flowed nicely, however I questioned whether I was going to like it or not. My patience really payed off nicely in the end. Most of my questions were answered! I thought I had figured things out at several points in the book, but I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't!
I would recommend this book to fiction and mystery readers! I would like to thank the publisher for an ARC of this novel!
Rating: really liked it
*4.5 stars
Tessa Shephard is a documentary filmmaker, who finds herself in the spotlight when she helps release a murderer. She believed he was innocent until something happens to dispute that. So after the unaccepted death of her mother, she finds that her mom was keeping some secrets from her daughters. Trying to find somewhere to hide, she goes to a house that was kept secret from her family. However, she only finds more mystery and secrets. This had two timelines: Tessa's current situation and the mystery that happened in this house years ago. I will say that I would rather have had more of the story focus on the caretakers and the house. That interested me more than Tessa and her story. Sometimes I felt that situation really didn't belong in this book and that the two stories didn't really belong in the same book. The caretakers and the mystery of the house is why I'm giving the extra half star. Otherwise, this was a good book but one story was a lot better than the other.
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
"Once, laughter filled the spaces between the tired walls. Running feet and mother's hugs and whispers under covers at night. Hearts beat, as hearts do, then broke, then beat again." The Caretakers by Eliza Maxwell is a suspense novel about human tragedy and family ties, that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Tessa Shepherd is a dedicated filmmaker and her recent production helped to free a man who she believed to be wrongly convicted. However, when suddenly he kidnaps and kills a young woman, Tessa's life comes crashing down. Trying to get away from the media mayhem and the family tragedy, she decides to seek for shelter in the long forgotten estate she inherited from her mother. But she's yet to learn that this house also hides a long forgotten secret.
I don't read thrillers often but the summary of The Caretakers piqued my interest right away, because I have a weakness for old mansions and family mysteries. I have to say that the book didn't fully meet my expectations, but it was certainly a thrilling read.
The plot is divided into two stories, one told from Tessa's point of view and regarding her life, her relationship with her twin sister and the unexpected upheaval caused by her documentary; and the second told from Kitty's point of view, focused on the old Fallbrook mansion and its dark story. The book has a lot of unexpected twists and turns, that definitely keep things interesting and chilling, at times. And despite it being a thriller, the heart of the story is the strength of the family bonds and how a person is able to keep even the darkest secrets in order to protect people they care about. I really liked that the story had a lot of layers, and even if it may seem a bit confusing at first, it all slowly unravels as you keep on reading.
However, sometimes I wished that the characters and both stories were more developed. It feels like this book is very much plot driven, but not fully knowing the characters didn't allow me to care for them as much as I could. In additon, personally I didn't really see any connection between the two stories, other then that they were linked through the characters of Tessa. I even thought that both plot lines could make for very interesting separate novels, because there was a lot of room for further development.
All in all, I would recommend The Caretakers if you like thriller and suspense or even novels about family secrets, but with a twist. It's a fast-paced, surprising and entertaining read, and the palpable tense atmosphere makes it a real page-turner.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for kindly proving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
I'm thrilled to say that THE CARETAKERS will be released in April 2020, and I cannot wait to share it with you all! In the meantime, happy reading everyone, and cheers to a wonderful rest of 2019. All the best. ~Eliza
Rating: really liked it
**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**
I have read every book that Eliza Maxwell has published, and I am a big fan of her stories. She just has a way with words and knows how to create a mysterious and creepy atmosphere. You can't help but be sucked in and try to figure out what is going on. I love stories that can keep me guessing until the end, and this was definitely the case with The Caretakers. The story is told from Tessa's, and the caretakers Deidre and Kitty's POV. I am going to be pretty vague with my review, because I don't want to spoil anything. I just want to say that nothing is as it seems. Make sure to keep track of all the small things. I loved discovering new things throughout the book, which had me changing my theories about what was going on. I loved the twists and turns, which of some really surprised me.
There is a lot going on in this book but everything fits really well together. There was no dull moment and I was hooked until the end. This book was heartbreaking but also heartwarming in a way. I loved seeing the main character Tessa find peace and mend her relationship with her sister. I also enjoyed seeing Tessa learn the truth about her family. The cover of this book is gorgeous, and it really fits with the vibe of the story. I highly recommend this book if you are intrigued with what you read in the blurb/my review, or if you have read books by this author before. I think Eliza did a great job with this book, and I already look forward to the next one.
Rating: really liked it
Thank you so much to Lake Union Press, LSBBT, and the author for providing me with an advanced ecopy in exchange for an honest review. 
“OUR CHOICES…THEY CAN CHANGE US, CAN’T THEY?” At its heart,
The Caretakers is a novel about choices. Whether it’s the seemingly mundane decisions made throughout our daily lives or the selections that lead to major milestones, our choices matter. And as you’ll see in Maxwell’s twisted tale, each and every choice we make comes with a consequence.
“SOMETHING IS RISING. IF ONLY SHE COULD REMEMBER WHAT IT IS.” Toggling between dual timelines and narrators,
The Caretakers centers on two pairs of sisters and the secrets that haunt their flawed families.
Tessa, a renowned filmmaker, is not only hiding from her past and her estranged sister, Margot, but also from the frenzied media that flock to her after the man her documentary helped free from prison releases a video confession of a new murder.
Kitty, an octogenarian with a sunny disposition, is living out her days in the remains of her childhood home. Her elder sister, Deirdre, shares the burden of maintaining the grounds — and the memories — as caretakers of Fallbrook, a once prominent home lost to the world after the horrific murders that took place within its walls.
But
WHY has Oliver, a wrongly accused and recently freed man, implicated himself in the death of Valerie Winters? Is he capable of murder? Was Tessa wrong about him? And if so, does that mean Valerie’s blood is on her hands?
And
WHO was responsible for the murders all those years ago at Fallbrook manor? Why would someone take out an entire family save an infant crying alone upstairs? And
HOW does that surviving infant link Tessa and Kitty?
Once their paths are merged, bringing their reluctant siblings along for the ride, we get our answers. Secrets are revealed, lives are lost, and each new twist escalates until that final mind-blowing conclusion.
“IT’S NOT A PRETTY TALE…BUT ONE DRENCHED IN HEARTACHE AND BLOOD.” Like the desolate woods that surrounds the decaying Fallbrook, it’s easy to get lost in this dark mystery. Told in short, highly digestible chapters,
The Caretakers hooked me from the prologue. Exposed to Maxwell’s expressive writing style full of crisp descriptions and lingering details, it didn’t take long before I was compulsively turning the pages in my obsession for answers.
With two primary mysteries to solve, a full-cast of supporting characters, and a duo of timelines,
The Caretakers was an ambitious project for Maxwell. With so many threads and conflicting character motivations this easily could have become a giant, tangled mess. Instead we’re gifted with a story woven into a transportive tapestry that slowly, but surely reveals its intricate and completed image.
That impressive attention to detail is what truly blew me away. Every last detail is clean, polished, and presented with a purpose. Nothing is trivial and nothing is as it seems. And your appreciation for Maxwell’s tricks and deception only grows the longer you’ve been exposed to the truths within the text. In fact, as I was writing this review and going over my notes, I was blown away by the sheer number of passages filled with double meanings; hints that Maxwell sprinkled throughout the story chapters before I sensed a clue. Even the cover art is in on the game! And all you have to do to play along is pick up this addictive read yourself.
Like every great thriller,
The Caretakers was a nonstop, action-packed experience. Even as we get our closure, we’re served some last-minute reveals that leave us stunned with no more pages left to turn. So start writing your next mind-boggling thriller, Maxwell, because I — like others — am hungry for more.
All quotes were taken from an advanced copy of this collection and may not match final release.
Rating: really liked it
I have held off writing this review for days because I just wasn't sure how to rate this. I've settled on 3 stars but I'm still not feeling vetted to it being either higher or lower. Let me explain. Several years ago I read The Grave Tender which, I believe, might be the author's first book. (?) Regardless, that book just blew me away. It was unlike anything I had read in a very, very long time. That book was so beautifully written that I found myself instantly moved to tears by some sentences and sometimes just stopped dead in my tracks by the complete juxtaposition of the darkness of the story and the bright beauty of the writing. I found myself stopping to reread sentences over and over again just to try and capture that original clutch of emotion the author had given me.
So moving on to this book. This book cannot compare to my previous read. Gone are the beautiful prose and the gutting emotions. Does that makes this a bad book? Nope. Not at all. This a great mystery filled with great characters. It has two storylines, past and present, that are woven together in a very interesting way, with enough twists that it really kept me engaged. Is it written well? Yep. It absolutely is. But, did it give me that completely immersive experience I found reading the author's first book through her gorgeous prose? No it did not. Honestly, when I started reading this I had to go back and check who the author was because I thought I was reading someone else.
Hence my trouble with my rating. Once an author gives you one thing, are they then bound to always provide it? I think I believed they were when I started this book. Now I'm not so sure. It's made me think about other authors I read and do they always deliver me the same thing? I want to say yes - when it comes to their writing. Maybe I'm wrong. So how much of my angst with this book was really just my own expectations? Maybe all of it. Maybe none of it. Is it fair of me to judge this book based on a previous book? I just don't know.
But don't let my experience and expectation deter you from reading this. It's a great book and if you just want to dig into a really solid mystery that will keep you turning pages and guessing right up to the end, then definitely pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.
I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. This opinion is my own.
