Review of THE CLOISTERS

This is one of my favorite psychological suspense books of the last year or so. Of course, it's aimed at my interests: museums, history, art, tricky careers in Manhattan. It's sort of a valentine to certain part of the city. The author is a smooth, talented writers and she succeeds in art of atmosphere. The museum, low-rent apartments in Manhattan, an isolated mansion on an up-state lake -- she gets every detail right. I thought I'd find the tarot card part irritating, but she did a great job of not over-doing it. Competitive female relationships and what we will or will not do for success are both at the heart of the novel. As well as -- how much control do we have over our own fates?