The Two Mrs. Carlyles

The Two Mrs. Carlyles by Suzanne Rindell is a twisty historical thriller, with a deeply unreliable narrator.

From childhood, Violet experiences odd spells and memory gaps, often finding herself in a strange place or holding something incriminating and confusing, with no idea what’s happened. Fortunately, her best friends, Cora and Flossie, are usually on hand to help her out. The massive San Francisco earthquake leaves many devastated, but for Violet and her friends, the upheaval provides cover and escape from their lives at the dancing hall. Unsure of the details, though, Violet doesn’t want to think too carefully about what may have happened that day.

After her years in the orphanage and then in the dancing hall, working at a counter in a hat shop is everything Violet could have imagined. When handsome, rich, eligible bachelor Harry Carlyle pursues Violet, it seems like all her problems are over. Especially if Violet just  never mentions her strange, forgetful spells or certain parts of her earlier life…

But after the wedding, instead of an escape to a life of privilege, she is the nominal mistress of a creepy house that’s still a shrine to the first Mrs Carlyle. There are connections to Rebecca (a theme and style I just loved in The Winters), in the Carlyle house with the terrifyingly devoted housekeeper. There’s a really gothic creepiness here, with the gorgeous but chilling portrait of the first wife, ghostly night piano music,  a husband who won’t answer any questions, and the strange gaps in Violet’s own memories.

As Violet tries to figure out who she can trust, I was unable to put this book down. I was just stunned by the twists, and the way there were little hints and misdirections throughout the story. At the end of the book, I was so sure of my theory about the first Mrs. Carlyle (Link contains spoilers), that I went back and reread parts of the book to confirm.