“A stylish, highly original and completely addictive take on du Maurier’s Rebecca. Read it!” —Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door“Dark and richly atmospheric. . . A bewitching novel about love, lies, and the ghosts that never quite leave us alone.” –Bustle Some secrets never stay buried After a whirlwind romance, a young woman returns to the opulent, secluded … whirlwind romance, a young woman returns to the opulent, secluded Long Island mansion of her new fiancé Max Winter—a wealthy politician and recent widower—and a life of luxury she’s never known. But all is not as it appears at the Asherley estate. The house is steeped in the memory of Max’s beautiful first wife Rebekah, who haunts the young woman’s imagination and feeds her uncertainties, while his very alive teenage daughter Dani makes her life a living hell. She soon realizes there is no clear place for her in this twisted little family: Max and Dani circle each other like cats, a dynamic that both repels and fascinates her, and he harbors political ambitions with which he will allow no woman—alive or dead—to interfere.
As the soon-to-be second Mrs. Winter grows more in love with Max, and more afraid of Dani, she is drawn deeper into the family’s dark secrets—the kind of secrets that could kill her, too. The Winters is a riveting story about what happens when a family’s ghosts resurface and threaten to upend everything.
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There’s nothing I love more than a classic retelling done well, and THE WINTERS is perfection — a modern REBECCA with exactly the right twists to make it feel fresh and new. Highly recommended.
As a REBECCA fan, I wasn’t sure what I’d think of this re-imagining of Du Maurier’s classic suspense tale. But I thoroughly enjoyed THE WINTERS and its interesting American adaptation with a feminist sensibility. Some of the touches were quite clever and enjoyable, and the changes wrought helped to believe some of the Gothic dilemmas could still be believable in the modern world.
A slow tease that builds to a surprising and satisfying climax.
A stylish, highly original and completely addictive take on du Maurier’s Rebecca. Read it!
Thank you, FirsttoRead, for my complimentary review copy.
Although touted as a modern re-telling of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel, Rebecca, this was entirely new for me. I have neither read the original nor have I seen any of the film adaptations.
Told from the perspective of the main protagonist, who remains nameless throughout the novel. She is a rags-to-riches young woman swept off her feet by the older, affluent and charismatic Max Winter. Whisked away from her life in the Grand Cayman Islands, she literally becomes a fish out of water when she finds herself at the luxurious Asherley estate in The Hamptons. Although her previous life, working as a boat tour operator and living in shared accommodations, was hardly ideal, it was home.
Beyond the expected changed dynamics of a new relationship, the soon-to-be Mrs. Winter has other challenges to contend with. The presence of the inimitable Rebekah, the first Mrs. Winter, is everywhere. The change in routine, loss of autonomy, and staff at her beck and call…only add to her alienation. Last, but not least, Dani, Max’s teen daughter, is less than welcoming.
As she slowly finds her footing in her new home and tries to win over the temperamental Dani, our protagonist finds that all that glitters is not gold. There are secrets and layers that, when revealed and peeled away, will shake her to the core.
I enjoyed this book enough that I’m tempted now to read the inspiration, Rebecca. The fact that the protagonist/narrator is never named is curious, but fits the storyline. The descriptions are vivid and characters well-developed. I loved that the plot twists and turns so much I couldn’t predict what would happen next.
This psychological suspense novel is a retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca” with enough changes and its own twist to make it entertaining.
While it’s very well done, it doesn’t feel new. That being said, it’s engaging but not riveting.
The unnamed narrator is a barely-getting-by fishing and boating guide in the Cayman Islands when she meets recent widower Max Winter.
After a whirlwind romance, the wealthy state senator takes her back to Asherley, his island estate in the Hamptons on Long Island.
Once there, the soon-to-be second Mrs. Winter becomes overwhelmed with the feeling of the first Mrs. Winter’s, Rebekah, presence everywhere.
Never more so than when she’s with Max’s 15 -year-old daughter, Dani.
Dani’s an an oscillating character. Running hot and cold. Kind one minute, malicious the next.
Having our narrator’s back, then throwing Rebekah’s “awesomeness” in her face.
Dani’s the antagonist of this story…or is she?
As the wedding draws near our chronicler has misgivings about being at Asherley. At one point she almost runs away. But her love for Max makes her stick it out.
After the wedding more dark secrets are slowly revealed and the past is not what you thought it was. With a clever twist, I liked it.
Could not put it down. This author needs to write more!!!
Very reminiscent of “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maure, with a surprise twist at the end
We open with our heroine, a woman without a name. She has one, or course, but doesn’t share it with us. She works in the Cayman Islands at a boat charting business, which is where she first meets the older, richer, handsome, widowed Max Winters.
She knows it’s not allowed, and she knows she shouldn’t, but she falls in love with Max. When it comes time for him to return home to Long Island, he offers her a plane ticket and a ring. She’s warned against it, but for once in her life, someone cares about her, so she packs a bag and leaves her life behind to live at the opulent, secluded, Asherly house.
Max’s teenage daughter, the spoiled, rebellious Dani is seemingly the biggest obstacle. Winning her over is an uphill battle and the teen is hell bent on seeing “the second Mrs. Winters” gone. Then there is the figurative ghost of the first Mrs. Winters, the lovely Rebekah. She’s everywhere in the mansion and she’s left a pair of impossibly expensive designer shoes to fill. But as our narrator settles into life at Asherly, she realizes the Winters women are not the only thing out to get her.
Where to start? Well, I always enjoyed the original Rebecca and I also love a good retelling. I liked the choice to keep the narrators name hidden. It added another layer of mystery as I read and I was hoping to learn what it was with every flip of the page. It was interesting how the author managed to keep her nameless, yet a real person.
This book is a slow build, but Gabriele’s prose is lovely. I wish the ending was more drawn out, but only because it was so good. A lot of things were revealed in the final act, yet I still have one big, glaring question that I’ll never have answers to. Still, I recommend this book to those wanting a mysterious, romantic suspense that makes you think.
Lots of twists and turns. As soon as you think you’ve figured it out, nope. Good read.
“There are things you do when you’re desperate, things that would shock you. ”
I am not going to retell a well known story here, except to say that it’s almost as creepy and well worn as current society might adapt to
As I was growing up, I’d always hear someone quite the first line of Daphne du Maurier “Last night I dreamed of Mandarly again”. It took many years and the first retelling of “Rebecca”, Susan Hill’s “Mrs. DeWinter” before I even picked up the first story.
And here we are; the retelling that almost isn’t. I reserved it at the library after I’d read about it, and read it in two days. It is, and yet it’s not a reworking of the original, but Lisa Gabriele had a great foundation to build a contemporary reworking, setting it in New York State, adding contemporary issues and social media. It is well written, but I just can’t give it 5 stars…and I would give those to. “Mrs.DeWinter” over the original book. 4/5
This is a retelling of the classic novel “Rebecca” set in modern times and in the US instead of in England. The author has done a good job, with a twisty ending you won’t see coming ! I quite enjoyed this book.
Great twist on the classic “Rebecca”, a definite page-turner
I loved the modernization of Rebecca one of my favorite books.
Fabulous story! So much like Rebecca, with a twisty, totally unique middle and ending. Very gothicky and haunting. The best book I have read in ages!!
This was such a great idea for a book…a modern take on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. I loved the idea…although I have never read Rebecca…but I had read the synopsis of the book and thought a modern take was genius! Right away the book grabbed my attention and I immediately fell in love with the main protagonist…a young woman. Naive, semi-desperate, lost, grieving. She meets Max Winter who sweeps her off her feet…or so she thinks. He really doesn’t. But that desperation and grief she has lends itself to her jumping into a relationship with someone she knows barely anything about. Off they go to his secluded island home off of Long Island. Where she is kept, with is seemingly crazy ass daughter, but she doesn’t have to work for a madwoman, she doesn’t have to live with roommates who ignore her. What would we put up with to live in the lap of luxury? The step-daughter who hates you and makes life hell….whom I couldn’t stand from the get go. You are always hoping she will open her eyes to what is going on around her, does she? Is the daughter, Dani, really so nasty and evil and crazy? How is Max not seeing any of this? What’s up with his sister, Louisa? And what’s up with his late-wife Rebekah? Was she a good mother or was she vein of awful? Trust me, so many questions that will keep the reader turning those pages!!
I recommend this book!
I was so eager to read The Winters by Lisa Gabriele as soon as I heard about it. This modern story, inspired by du Maurier’s gothic Rebecca, had me flipping pages long into the night. I’ve always been a big Lisa Gabriele fan, having first come to her work through the S.E.C.R.E.T. series (written under her L. Marie Adeline pseudonym.) The Winters was just as exciting. It pulls you in immediately and doesn’t let you go, keeping you guessing until the climactic end. A great read.
From the very first sentence, I was gripped and held in the dark and foreboding atmosphere. A naive and trusting Cayman Islands charter boat employee accepts a proposal from a widowed politician on the premise of a whirlwind romance. She is not feeling overly welcomed at the Long Island mansion when she meets the rebellious daughter. The cleverly crafted twists and turns kept me guessing as possible scenarios danced through my thoughts. I changed my mind more than once before the end.
I find it interesting that we never learn our main character’s (MC) name, just a woman who fell in love with Max, a very rich man, who takes their relationship to the next level by proposing. They head off back to his home, the Asherley Estate in NY where he lives with his 15-year-old daughter, Dani.
Our MC has a lot to compete with in the ghost of Max’s deceased wife, Rebekah. For Rebekah is the one who has entirely redone the house, her ghost is everywhere our MC looks. She’s Dani’s beloved mother, there is an entire room with pictures of her everywhere. It seems that Dani still isn’t ready to let her go to make room for our heroine.
Max has occasional outbursts, moments of rage and most often, they are directed at Dani. For Dani is sullen, she has mood swings, she seems to really get along with our MC at certain times, and then completely switches her attitude during others. She’s not a reliable character in our story because of this.
But what if Dani has moments where truth slips into the conversation? Perhaps there is more to the story that Max is leaving out? But this guy has been amazing, aside from the outbursts, so what exactly is going on at the Asherley Estate?
This was a super fun read for me. Something always felt just a tad off, and when I thought I had things figured out, I never quite did, so it made for great suspense. I’ve not read Gabriele before this book but if her other books are similar in writing fashion, she definitely has a new fan
Atmospheric. Spellbinding. This book left me breathless—and made me want to search out everything else the author has written.
There was a particular moment in the book where I knew what was going to happen, could feel it in my bones, and I had to put down my kindle and scream a little. (It was just so twisty and wonderful.) I turned the final page…and then went immediately back to the first chapter.