For over
eighty years, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca has been
attracting readers with its haunting story of a young woman’s fairy tale romance—and
how it’s upended by the ghosts of her husband’s past. The book has never been
out of print, and has inspired countless remakes and retellings, including an upcoming Netflix movie starring Lily James and Armie
Hammer. With Lisa Gabriele’s THE WINTERS (now available in paperback
from Penguin Books), fans of the classic can indulge in a sharp and suspenseful
tale that’s both inspired by Rebecca and a compelling page-turner all on
its own.
This
stylish and atmospheric novel follows a young woman swept off her feet by a
wealthy politician named Max Winter. But once he whisks her off to his lavish
estate in the Hamptons, our narrator begins to realize all is not as perfect as
it seems. She is haunted by the memory of Max’s first wife, Rebekah, whose
legacy lingers everywhere—and what’s worse, his spiteful teenage daughter is
intent on making sure her new stepmom knows her place. As their dangerous
cat-and-mouse game progresses, it becomes clear that no amount of glitz and
glamour can keep every secret buried.
Bustle calls THE WINTERS, “Dark and richly
atmospheric… A bewitching novel about love, lies, and the ghosts that never
quite leave us alone,” and PopSugar says it’s “[a] suspenseful, dark tale of
love, deception, and grief… from the minute you crack open THE WINTERS until
you reach its riveting conclusion, you’ll be spellbound.” You can also catch
author Lisa Gabriele on NPR’s Weekend Edition here.
*THE WINTERS: A Novel
*By Lisa Gabriele
*Penguin
*ISBN: 9780525559726
*Price: $17.00
*Also available as an e-book and audiobook
On
an island in the Caribbean, an unnamed young woman lives a quiet simple life,
working for a sailing company and trying to pay her debts. Her world is, in her
own words, “unremarkable”—until a dashing older man, a recent widower and
wealthy senator named Max Winter, arrives in town and sweeps her off her feet.
After a whirlwind romance, she finds herself newly engaged and ensconced in a
life of luxury she never could have imagined. But all is not as it seems at
Asherley, Max’s opulent Long Island estate, and no amount of glitz and glamour
can keep every secret buried, or every ghost quiet.
THE WINTERS is now
available in paperback – and is a page-turner about the seductive trappings of
wealth, the dangers of infatuation, and the impossibility of escaping the past.
THE WINTERS takes its
cues from both classic manor house novels and contemporary domestic thrillers
but will keep readers guessing as it builds toward an explosive and
unpredictable conclusion. A decidedly modern (and unexpectedly feminist) take
on a beloved genre, it is a gripping tale about money, power, and status—and
the web of lies it takes to keep them.
When she
first arrives at Asherley, our humble narrator—an outsider who has never known
such fortune—is both impressed and bewildered by her new surroundings. But it
soon becomes clear that this is no place for a fresh start, and she is right to
be on edge. The house is steeped in the memory of Max’s first wife, Rebekah,
whose beauty, breeding, and aura of mystery feed the young woman’s
uncertainties and insecurities. Rebekah’s photos adorn the walls, the rooms
smell of her favorite flowers, and worst of all, her spiteful teenage daughter
Dani is intent on keeping her mother’s memory alive—and torturing her
soon-to-be stepmom with it.
As Max
and Dani circle each other like cats, pressing buttons and pushing boundaries,
their twisted family dynamic, and the hole left by Rebekah’s death, become ever
more apparent. Dani refuses to be cowed, and Max’s political ambitions will not
be stopped by any woman, dead or alive. Haunted by Rebekah, tormented by Dani,
and growing suspicious of her fiancé, the young woman finds herself in a
strange and sinister world where she cannot fit in, and may not be able to get
out.
THE WINTERS is a
sharp and suspenseful read that belongs on every thriller-lover’s bookshelf. Gabriele’s vivid prose brings the
affluent Hamptons alive, and skillfully reveals the darkness lurking just
beneath the surface and the skeletons in every walk-in closet.
 |
| Author Lisa Gabriele, Photo Credit: Vanessa Heins |
Lisa
Gabriele is the author of Tempting Faith DiNapoli and The Almost Archer
Sisters, and The Winters, and is an award-winning TV producer,
writer and director. Her writing has appeared in Vice, Nerve, New York
Magazine, Washington Post, New York Times Magazine, Globe and Mail, National
Post, Elle and Glamour. Her essays have appeared in several anthologies,
including The Best American Non-Required Reading. She’s also the author of the
international best-selling S.E.C.R.E.T. trilogy, under the pseudonym L. Marie
Adeline, a series that’s been published in more than 30 countries.
She lives
in Toronto, where she is an award-winning television producer.
For more
on Lisa and her writing, contact with her at the following sites:
www.lisagabriele.com/ |
@lisagabrieletv | @lisagabrieletv
Thanks
for stopping by today. Are you a fan of Rebecca, the book and/or the movie?
Doesn’t THE WINTERS sound like it will drawn you into the drama
quickly and hold you captive until the end?
