“He rose as I came into the room, and stared at me. The final letter which Philip receives, makes his mind up and he heads to Florence to find out the truth of the matter only to discover that Ambrose has been dead for several weeks, his widow has disappeared and he is introduced to Rainaldi – Confidant to Rachel, who Philip immediately does not trust and takes an instant dislike too.
When Ambrose doesn’t come home one summer and writes to tell Philip that he has been married to “our cousin Rachel”, Philip is dismayed and this is ever increasing as Ambrose doesn’t come home for the subsequent summers, he then becomes ill and his letter writing becomes increasingly erratic. Ambrose spends winters in the warmer climates due to his health, which Philip didn’t mind when he was in school, however since he has grown up he doesn’t like spending this time alone and would prefer Ambrose to be at home with him. The story’s central character is Philip, orphaned as a young boy he is sent to live with his cousin Ambrose on his Cornish estate, they are very close and Ambrose is teaching Philip to manage the estate for when he has gone. That is, if the law convicts him, before him own conscience kills him.” Now, when a murderer pays the penalty for his crime, he does so up at Bodmin, after fair trial at the Assizes. “They used to hang men at the Four Turnings in the old days. I have to say this is the first book that I have read in the last few months which I have really enjoyed and been unable to put down – I genuinely thought it was excellent, Daphne Du Maurier really is the queen of mystery, her twists and turns leave you not knowing what on earth to believe.
This is the second Daphne Du Maurier novel that we have read, back in 2013 for Halloween we chose ‘Don’t look now’ as our book – several short stories, which was very good. This was one of my book club books, I was late in finishing this which meant that when book club went ahead on Thursday I hadn’t finished, the ladies were very gracious and steered away any spoilers.
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