In a world where NOT well-written, fluffy serial books are being acclaimed, I am not sure everyone will find this story's dark tale as easy of a read. I am usually good at picking out the end of a book, but this one keep me on the edge of my seat, listening for hours and hours at a time so I could find out how the mysteries unfolded. It does start out slow-but the wait is worth it. I got way more than my money's worth in this wonderfully complex tale. I tend to get overwhelmed picking new authors and books, so many times I get a book based on the customer reviews. Unique, highest quality writing, excellent read. I heartily concur! This particular delicacy is meant to be savored.

Setterfield created.(and besides I wasn't quite ready to let these characters go.) Barnes and Noble has created the word, 'unputdownable' for this new book club they have created. When I finished it, I knew I had to hear it again, because now that I knew the story, I wanted to listen to the words and visualize the beautiful imagery that Ms. Margaret herself grabbed hold of me, for I, too, understood her love of stories.

Like Margaret, for me the story took over, and I found my self unable to stop listening. If I had actually been reading this,(instead of listening) at this point it would have been tossed! What a tragedy that would have been! For I would have missed the chance to be transported into Vida Winter's world. I have never been a fan of gothic novels.and after listening to this for about 15 minutes, I wondered why I had gone against my intial instincts, and purchased this book. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter, and in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life. The Thirteenth Tale is a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and we loved as children. Struck by a curious parallel between their stories, Margaret demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them. Hers is a tale of gothic strangeness, featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, and a devastating fire. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.ĭisinterring the life she meant to bury for good, Vida mesmerizes Margaret with the power of her storytelling. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale.

The thirteenth tale review