A gothic, slightly otherworldly psychological thriller.

Ann Stilwell feels a bit lost. After four years as an outsider in her undergraduate class, the only student of a professor who has never before taken on a advisee, she's struggled to find a place as a doctoral student to study medieval history. And, when her only acceptance, a low-paid summer associate position at the Metropolitan Museum of Art falls through at the last minute, she has no idea how she'll avoid returning home to the house haunted by the sudden death of her father three years before.

Out of the blue another opportunity comes along, a space has opened up at The Cloisters, an adjunct of the Met. It seems like a dream come true, but was it luck, fate or something darker that has bound Ann's future up with the small team The Cloisters.

Reading this in the strange in-between time after Christmas and before New Year may have added to the slightly ethereal quality of the story telling. Even before the secrets in the book begin to emerge it all feels a bit unreal, but in a really compelling way.

Ann has always been a bit of an outcast, and how she settles in to life in the Cloisters is very believable. When someone who has never felt that they belong is welcomed with open arms it makes that place and those people very special in their mind.

A bit of a mystery with elements of a whodunnit, actually the resolution never felt urgent, although the pace of the story pulled me along to the extent that I read this through in a day. A really interesting tale and while I'm not sure the particular blend of plotting, pacing and characters could ever be replicated, I'm intrigued to read what the author does next.

Yes, it was The Secret History reference that drew me in. The Cloisters does indeed share the brooding menace and world of niche privilege of that book but had its own unique feel too.

Ann is our fish-out-of-water lead character, who takes a summer internship in New York. Through circumstance she end up at The Cloisters, a high-brow art institution that deals in more obscure pieces. It is historical tarot cards that take centre stage in the story, alongside the shady ways people get them.

At The Cloisters, Ann is taken under the wing of Rachel and Patrick but they have other motives and Ann needs to navigate her way in this cut-throat world. Does she have what it takes?

The pace could have been a bit spikier in places but I enjoyed the overall story - the descriptions and settings were excellent.

Really enjoyed this one - an excellent book for me to finish the year on.

A short overview….Ann (our leading lady), unexpectedly starts an internship at The Cloisters, and gets involved in studying tarot cards - for both her, and her colleagues, this turns from study into an obsession..

This is an exciting and very dark story about obsession, friendship, with a tiny bit of romance added in. I never expected this to go where it did, it surprised me a number of times. It is deliciously dark, and a truly excellent read!

My thanks to Netgalley. My review is based on an advance copy that I received from the publisher.

There is less about the tarot cards and more of a chick flick creeping to a murder solving cases. I feel the writing for this book is a bit rushed. There were loads of gaps in the story that needed to be filled in more detail. Honestly, this book had the potential to be more gothic and dark, with the tarot cards. I hope in the future the author will carry on with the story as this has left to be continued.

The Cloisters is a great balance of modern thriller and obscure art historical pursuit in an academic setting – right up my street. It has a strong opening: the prologue provides a glimpse of the events to come but doesn’t spoil anything. We know there’s going to be a death and police involvement but Ann’s musings on luck and fate nod to the depth of her learning too.
It’s easy to see why she might want a fresh start, away from her mother’s grief and from small-town small-campus life. I warmed to her even more when faced with the arrogance of the privileged: knowing someone is coming across the country for an internship it’s really not acceptable to wait until they’re there to let them know it’s no longer happening. Talking of privilege, clever, rich and beautiful Rachel has it in spades, and the confidence to go with it. But she can also be kind and she takes Ann under her wing.
I’ve long wanted to go to the Metropolitan Museum (and the Frick and the Guggenheim) in New York but now I know it exists, I really want to go a bit further north and visit The Cloisters. Perhaps one day Fate will take me there too.

https://lynns-books.com/2022/12/22/the-cloisters-by-katy-hays/
4 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Dark Academia meets Secret History

I will say before I start this review that I really enjoyed this. It’s my kind of story tbh. Beautifully written, gothic and mysterious. A very impressive debut that took me down a book wormhole that I was often reluctant to crawl out of.

As the story begins we meet Ann, desperate to get away from her hometown since the death of her father she’s on her way to New York to start an internship at the Met. Of course, things go almost immediately wrong. The post has become redundant almost overnight but before Ann can be delivered her marching orders serendipity steps in and an alternative position is offered at the Cloisters. Ann jumps at the opportunity, not eager to return home quite so quickly, and so begins her sojourn within a mediaeval museum that practically oozes antiquity and is the perfect setting for a group of researchers passionate about their quest to uncover knowledge from the past.

I will address the elephant in the room. Yes, this undoubtedly has Secret History vibes. We have a young woman, quite out of her comfort zone, awkward and a bit gauche, taken under the wing of an ambitious professor and his trusty researcher. Ann is keen to fit in and anxious to please and the circles she now moves in pull her along into situations that are unfamiliar and heady. She is in awe of everyone and everything and soon finds herself being dragged into a race against the clock to uncover information until death comes calling. So, yes, similarities without doubt – but – I don’t see this as a problem as the story very much follows its own path and it’s so atmospheric and beautifully written that I was simply entranced.

The characters. We have Ann. Socially awkward and taken under the wing of the beautiful, enigmatic and exquisitely rich Rachel. The two are both remarkably intelligent and driven and although Rachel has taken Ann under her wing there’s an underlying tension of rivalry that always seems to be first and foremost. You’re never quite sure if Rachel is simply keeping Ann close in order to observe her more easily. Rachel is something of an ‘it’ girl. She has a rather dark history. Her parents died in a boating accident leaving her a fortune. She’s very driven with an almost casual confidence that drips with entitlement. The way she is written puts me in mind of something I’d expect from DuMaurier and in fact the story gave off that strange gothic mystery vibe that she was so good at nailing.

The setting is wonderfully drawn and easy to imagine. Hays, almost casually pulls you into her different settings with remarkable ease. The hush hush of the wood panelled Cloisters, the stacks and the mediaeval garden packed with dangerous specimens. We take a trip to one of Rachel’s countryside abodes and then on the alternative side we mix and mingle with Ann’s love interest. The broody gardener from the cloisters.

The plot revolves around the search for an old pack of tarot cards and basically boils down to ambition and rivalry, the desire to be the first to uncover something new and exciting but mixed in with that are a few additional red herrings that help to muddy the waters, particularly after one of the characters is found dead under suspicious circumstances. I don’t want to give anything further away because there are a couple of twists involved as the story unfolds.

In terms of criticisms. I don’t really have any as such although I felt that some of the reveals were rushed over a little bit, I felt like I wanted a little more time to really reflect, that moment when you cast your mind back and realise that those odd feelings of uncertainty or curiosity that you were sometimes niggled by were in fact leading to something after all. As it is it felt like the ending was delivered a little like a bombshell, although it did have the effect of bowling me over – so there is that.

All told, I loved reading this and I would be very keen to pick up more books by this author.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

The blurb is interesting - a mystery set at The Cloisters, a gothic museum in New York. The book starts well as Ann Stilwell leaves her hometown to intern at MOMA but discovers there's no place for her and she ends up at The Cloisters. I enjoyed the intrigue of the world of academia, the setting, and mystery of the tarot cards being researched. But the characters felt formulaic making it hard to connect with them and they are not able to lift the book to make it a special or memorable read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I was very quickly drawn into this novel and it’s an enjoyable read but I did find it began to taper off for me before the end. It’s a little bit too concerned with foreshadowing and superstition and the plotting gets a little lazy as a result of that - by the end it had become somewhat melodramatic. It doesn’t reach the heights of The Secret History, which is surely where comparisons will be made, but on the whole it’s worth a read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I found The Cloisters a bit of a mixed bag. The story centres on Ann, girl from small town who comes to NY to work at the Metropolitan Myseum of Art. She ends up working in a small out of the way place, the cloisters, with a bunch of oddballs who are researching the origin of Tarot cards and their influence in Medieval times. There’s a lot to like about the book; it’s beautifully written and there’s a haunting and atmospheric feel to it. Katy Hays captures a sense of mysticism and there’s underlying menace. Ann seems just a little too naive and I found it diff to engage with her as a character. The weird bunch she’s working with have their own secrets and again, they’re intriguing, but not totally compelling.

It’s well plotted, but lacks real surprise and the pace at times is just a little slow. I wanted a little more in terms of tension and suspense that would sit well with the introspective and claustrophobic setting. Somehow it didn’t quite hit that spot and I’m disappointed. I love the cover of the book and found much of the Tarot stuff fascinating. Based on this, I’d look for more from this author. A generous 4 because it’s so well written.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

The Cloisters was a book that I thought sounded fantastic when I read the blurb. Even though I love reading crime and mystery books set in academia, this book just wasn't as wonderful as I expected. The story and the characters really didn't captivate me, but I kept on reading to find out how it would all end and it did provide an interesting twist.

The major problem I had with the story was that it was pretty obvious, there weren't enough twists. And, I just found Ann, the main character to be a pretty boring character. Isn't it so typical? I lost count of how many books I've read when the main character is the bland one with so many colourful characters around him or her. And, as the story progresses she starts to open up. Sometimes it works great, but not when it comes to this book. No, I just didn't like Ann that much to be honest. The Cloister was a so-so book in my opinion.

I loved the premise for this book (gothic museum setting, dark academia, tarot) and the setting itself was beautifully described in detail, it created a great atmosphere for the book and actually made me want to visit the museum! Unfortunately the rest of the book fell a little flat for me, this books suffers a bit with its pacing and lack of depth which made the story drag at times. The slow burn was a little too slow. I loved the tarot aspect, but I was more interested in trying to learn more about Tarot itself rather than being invested in Ann’s story, none of the characters were particularly likable. Her weird co-dependent relationship with Rachel is intriguing at first but once again felt drawn out and unsatisfying. Ann’s final twist along with a few other in the book seemed almost unnecessary and quite predictable.

A most thoughtful and interesting story of Anne a Graduate student of Medieval history from small town America going to NY to join the Met for a summer job only to find it no long open, then by chance to be given a job with the Cloisters, a museum specialising In medieval art and architecture. Joining a small close knit of the curator and his assistant becoming involved with research into the origins of Tarot cards and their influence in Medieval society. Working in a peaceful tranquil in a restored medieval monastery surrounded by medieval artifacts and manuscripts an age away from the hassle of NY.AS she becomes more integrated with the the team she gets more and more drawn into their experiments into reading Torat cards and even partaking of hallucinatory herbs from the garden in doses made by the gardener. Soon lost in a mystic world with dangerous under currents and dangers that she some how survives.

Firstly I have to say this book has such a beautiful cover. There were lots of lovely descriptions of The Cloisters itself and the gardens.
From a young child, Ann has been interested in art and languages, encouraged by her late Father. She is assigned to working on the history of tarot cards, and when her mum sends her some of her dad's papers she discovers a link between his work and hers. But there is tension and obsessive behaviour between the researchers which culminates into tragedy. Ann comes across as rather naive and gullible especially in comparison to the scheming Rachel.
This book was not really what I was expecting but I enjoyed it nonetheless
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy

This novel promised so much And should have been the perfect fit for me. What wasn’t there to like - dark academia ,a wonderful atmospheric museum ,family mystery and the dark forboding horror of the tarot cards. However I thought the book was overall too long and the story slow and very drawn out in places. I had worked out the twist/mystery long before the end. However I did love the description of the cloisters and the slightly menacing atmosphere of the unknown within the book.. I can’t quite put a finger on why the story just didn’t click for me although the writing was good and I wanted to finish the book – maybe all the hype and the wonderful cover led me to expect too much. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review

Oh this is a difficult one to review - so good, yet so tedious, yet then so intriguing...
A novel based on a premise of both murder mystery, dark academia and in some ways a journey of self-discovery. Perhaps too much going on, and it's execution just somewhat missing the mark.

A well-executed narrative trajectory, along with a set of lead characters who do intrigue and cause empathy along the way. The narratology of this novel works on both a level of suspense and intrigue, but also in. a quieter way that lives in the authenticity of Ann's story and experience - particularly with Rachel. Exploring the journey a disillusioned academic takes from the New York museum scene to one with prospects of a much more exciting and fascinating opportunity at the revered Cloisters. From there we follow along as not only her career, but life and perspective are shifted thanks to a developing friendship with Leo and Rachel. Initially this premise works SO well - dark, cool, charming. But the shift that initially draws us in, remains in a one-note status for the remainder of the novel; even with the key pivotal events which occur in the second half.

The promise of divination and the theme [and threat!] of the tarot, serves it's purpose as the lynchpin of mysteriousness in the plot overall, though it was at a mid-point of the novel that this began to wane and lose it's intrigue - overlong is perhaps the best way I could sum up the time spent in Ann's world. As much as the sexiness of intrigue lasts in the first instance - especially revolving around Rachel, it felt too long drawn the later I got into the novel.
If perhaps a snappier approach had been adopted between Hays' initial installation of the story's nuances, tarot-linked events and the darkness that reliance on centuries old practices offers; this novel overall would have, for me, achieved a better longevity through the whole book.

Murder, a whiff of the diabolic and lots of conspiracies 3.5 raised

I hesitated whether to request this, as The Secret History comparison is often a bad one, given the exceptional quality of Donna Tartt’s book about class and academia, arcane and mystic cults of classical antiquity and murder.

Katy Hays book, set within a group of academic researchers into the history of Tarot, working within The Cloisters, part of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, is full of twisty ambitious academic politics, and more than a whiff of something cabbalistic, weird and deviant.

At times I felt my interest waning, and things being a bit too drawn out and overblown, but in the main this was an enjoyable journey

This book was not entirely what I expected. Not at all in a bad way though. I expected more of the history in it, however, while it is helping to create the atmosphere and has crucial facts to add to the complexity of the story, the main accents lay with power, seduction, manipulation, past and future choices, mistakes and creating your own fate.
It is an easy and quick read thanks to the well-written language, it also has unexpected twists and turns, which makes the book even more interesting to read till the very end. Add a drop of mysticism and voila!

I really enjoyed The Cloisters. This is a different than books I normally read but the premise intrigued me and I thought why not? Ann is a great character and I enjoyed watching her develop. The book lulls you into a false sense of security at first and you think you’re reading a simple book about friendship, a sort of coming-of-age tale. Gradually, the book gets darker as Patrick’s obsession with proving tarot cards were used in the middle ages becomes a little out of control and she learns more about her colleagues. I thought the descriptions were spot on.

The Cloisters Katie Heys
4 stars
I chose this book to read as the subject matter was different to anything I have read before and the description really appealed to me. I was not disappointed.

Ann Stilwell comes from a small town and has never experienced anywhere else. Her father, a scholar, has instilled in her a love of the Renaissance era and ancient languages before his tragic death. Traumatised by her mother’s overwhelming grief, Ann manages to get a job for the summer at the prestigious New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. However on arriving for her first day she discovers there is no longer a job for her but just as she is about to leave, Patrick Roland offers her an alternative job at The Cloisters, a much smaller and less well-known museum but one where Ann’s interests are well catered for.

Ann is soon absorbed into the incredible atmosphere of The Cloisters. Apart from Patrick she meets Rachel, a young student who seems to have everything in life, a comfortable lifestyle and the admiration of other people in the Renaissance world. Ann also starts a romance with Leo, the enigmatic gardener at The Cloisters. However, as the summer months pass, Ann finds herself drawn into the mystery and atmosphere not only of the museum but also in the people she works with.

Patrick is obsessed with proving that tarot cards were used in the middle-ages, especially in Italy, to decide what will happen in the future. Ann and Rachel spend most of their time trying to discover not only proof of this but also to find an ancient pack of tarot cards.

The story builds slowly as discoveries are made not only regarding the tarot cards that are found but also regarding the mysteries surrounding Ann’s workmates. It is obvious that all is not as it seems in their lives and Ann has to learn to make her own decisions and prove herself worthy of becoming an outstanding scholar in her own right.

I loved the description of the museum and its cloisters and the way the atmosphere is generated throughout. The only slight criticism that I could make is that I thought the characters could have been slightly more rounded. I also really enjoyed the various twists at the end of the book which, for me, made the book more enjoyable.


Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net Galley