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Ann Stilwell is still reeling from her father’s death a year before when she arrives in New York City. Her parents were lowly staffers at their local college in Washington state, but she was able to get a good education because it was free. Now she aims to get into a respected graduate program, and she hopes this summer’s internship will help.
But when Ann shows up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for her first day of work as a curatorial associate, she finds out the position is no longer available. Fortunately, the curator from the Met’s Cloisters museum is there, and he persuades the HR director to let Ann work for him.
The Cloisters is a gothic museum known for medieval art, its architecture and gardens. There, Ann is drawn into the work curator Patrick is doing. He’s being aided by another student, Rachel, in researching the history of divination. They’re primarily focused on tarot: they want to prove the cards were used much earlier for fortune telling than is generally understood. Rachel and Patrick are both wealthy and worldly, everything Ann is not. But they take Ann under their wings.
Their research dominates their time and lives and becomes personal. Ann slowly comes under the spell of the tarot cards, feeling their pull. She starts to wonder if the events of her life, past and future, are fated. The influence of Patrick and Rachel is equally strong; their self-assuredness and their ease in navigating a wealthy world she would otherwise never have had access to are enthralling. Rachel particularly becomes a friend and shows Ann all that is possible with ambition and the right connections.
But a death tilts the balance of power and the stakes are raised.
Throughout The Cloisters, there’s a sense that danger is lurking; secrets and behind-the-scenes machinations are occurring that keep Ann from seeing the full picture. If she wants to secure a successful future for herself, she has to step carefully. This is a solid gothic suspense book, with an atmospheric setting.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 1 use of strong language, around 5 instances of moderate profanity, and 7 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes a number of references to people having sex but generally there is little detail; much is “off-screen.” Violence includes several deaths, at least one officially ruled a murder.
