I recently gifted my mom The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and she's loving it. She asked me to get her more books like this and so I'm hoping y'all could give me some recommendations. Here's what she's looking for:
- Mysteries, preferably surrounding family ties
- Mansions, estates, servants (+ a lot of descriptions of the interior!)
- Unconventional characters
- Beautiful prose
Similar books she's enjoyed in the past include Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (though she thought The Angel's Game was too convoluted and difficult to follow along).
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
by Complex-Ad-4121
2 Comments
*The Moonstone* by Wilkie Collins. It meets every single criteria! It’s about a missing diamond, mystery, marriage, betrayal, revenge, family, servants – it is SO, so good!
Goodreads description (although – this is a little weird because murder is definitely not a main part of the book – as far as I can recall, there’s only one murder – though there is some unlawful killing at the beginning, described as being done by soldiers. So, I wouldn’t say it’s “about” murder, but the rest is accurate).
“Wilkie Collins’s spellbinding tale of romance, theft, and murder inspired a hugely popular genre–the detective mystery. Hinging on the theft of an enormous diamond originally stolen from an Indian shrine, this riveting novel features the innovative Sergeant Cuff, the hilarious house steward Gabriel Betteridge, a lovesick housemaid, and a band of traveling jugglers.”
HOWARDS END by EM Forster