Thursday, June 11, 2020

The Caretakers by Eliza Maxwell


Paperback318 pages
Published April 14th 2020 by Lake Union Publishing

What They Say.....Filmmaker Tessa Shepherd helped free a man she believed was wrongly imprisoned for murder. When he kills again, Tessa’s life is upended.

She’s reeling with guilt, her reputation destroyed. Worse, Tessa’s mother has unexpectedly passed away, and her sister, Margot, turns on her after tensions from their past escalate. Hounded by a bullying press, Tessa needs an escape. That’s when she learns of a strange inheritance bequeathed by her mother: a derelict and isolated estate known as Fallbrook. It seems like the perfect refuge.

A crumbling monument to a gruesome history, the mansion has been abandoned by all but two elderly sisters retained as caretakers. They are also guardians of all its mysteries. As the house starts revealing its dark secrets, Tessa must face her fears and right the wrongs of her past to save herself and her relationship with Margot. But nothing and no one at Fallbrook are what they seem.




What I Say....This was a book that felt pretty timely in our current world.  True crime is one of my favorite genres and there are so many great documentaries, podcasts, and news stories out there.  It was interesting to read a book where the main character is the creator of this type of entertainment.


There were a lot of interesting twists and turns in this book.  Tessa has an uneasy relationship with her sister for unshared reasons, but they now have a home left to them by their estranged mother.


Tess helps to free a man she believes was wrongfully accused of murder.  But once he's out, Tess moves onto her next project and loses touch with him.  It's interesting to see the impact of a man who was wrongfully accused trying to reacclimate to the world that has moved on from him, trying to catch up to all of his missing years - unsuccessfully.  This pressure leads him to kill again and Tessa is devastated.  She wants nothing more than to escape.


But Tessa doesn't have anywhere to go.  She's not speaking to her sister - or rather, her sister isn't speaking to her, and her mother has died.  But when they find out their mother was adopted and has now left them a crumbling creepy house, it seems like the perfect place to escape to.  


Of course what crumbling house with a murderous past would be complete without two creepy sisters who are the caretakers?  Deidre and Kitty live in a cabin on the property, and are just spooky enough to both scare and comfort Tess.


I always love the past-present style of writing, but in this book, I liked the story of the past much more than the story of the present.  That was much more interesting than the bickering between Margot and Tessa.  Overall, I give this book four stars - the gothic past was just much more interesting than the present.  



Current Goodreads Rating 4.27



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