The Cloisters by Katy Hays

 

About the book:

The Secret History meets Ninth House in this sinister, atmospheric novel following a circle of researchers as they uncover a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York’s famed Met Cloisters.

When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination.

Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs.

A haunting and magical blend of genres, The Cloisters is a gripping debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

MY THOUGHTS 

Well well.. what do we have here?? I admit that I was SOLD at the cover alone..😍 Gothic vibes.. NYC…better yet.. The MET… tarot cards 🎴… a garden 🪴 full of deadly plants… GOTHIC VIBES…need I go on?! 😂

When Ann gets a chance to spend a summer as an intern at The MET she jumps at the chance… bye bye Walla Walla, WA… 💼 🏃‍♀️…she literally couldn’t get out of her hometown fast enough..

Except when she gets to The MET they assign her to a gothic freestanding museum called The Cloisters… that is known for their research in divination. Sooo not what she expected! 😳 Which BTW I goggled it and the photos are stunning. 😍

She became fast friends with Rachel… who basically was an “IT Girl” …👜👱‍♀️👠 💰 … then things got very interesting…I wasn’t sure if these two were really friends or frenemies..🤔

The writing was beautiful and so atmospheric… I could see the old walls of the office… the creepiness of the garden… and the darkness of the night. These girls were crazy to go there at night in my opinion.😳 I wasn’t sure what to expect…😬

As the story unfolds.. I was shocked at how the twists hit .. 🤭… they unfolded slowly as the story came together.. they were shocking to say the least. I did not see that coming…

A slow burn that drew me in and made me appreciate every detail. Beautiful writing.. very unique premise… a wonderful debut. I can’t wait to see what @heykatyhays comes up with next! 😍

Thank you @atriabooks for my gorgeous gifted copy!! Pub date is November 1st! 🥳🥳

Katy Hays is a writer and adjunct art history professor in California, where she teaches
rural students from Truckee to Tecopa. She holds an MA in art history from Williams
College and pursued her PhD at UC Berkeley. Having previously worked at major art
institutions, including The Clark Art Institute and SF MoMA, she now lives with her
husband and their dog, Queso, in Olympic Valley, California.