The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really liked the story, but when the mystery is revealed at the end I still wanted some clarification on certain points. I guess I'm just used to television mysteries where they recap with flashbacks, but I also am generally suspicious whether the "twist" actually makes sense within the framework of the story. The story that the character tells is very detailed and she explains that she picked it up secondhand from the house staff, but even the parts that no one witnessed are detailed. Since she's an author it could be that she filled out the facts with her own details to make it more interesting, but then you don't know what exactly she heard from the staff and what she made up. I want to read it again to see how the story she tells changes with the information you learn at the end. Also, I didn't really buy into the idea that seemed to be a theme that twins are two halves of a whole person. In the case of the main character whose conjoined twin died that makes sense, but not so much the one sister giving birth and the other sister crying out in pain.

View all my reviews >>