I reviewed this book for the Autumn #165 issue of Mystery Scene Magazine and you can see my full review on August 15th

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a huge historical fiction fan, but I do love Suzanne Rindell's books. Her novel The Other Typist is one of my favorite books. The Two Mrs. Carlyle's setting is San Francisco, my favorite U.S. city, right before the 1906 earthquake, which leaves Violet and her two best friends unexpectedly wealthy, assuming they can leave the horrifying secret that binds them together buried beneath the rubble. The story has history, romance and is a twisty who done it that will have you turning the pages.

I ended up giving up about 30% in. The cover is better than the book is. Not enough depth and I never got a real feel for the characters or time period.

1906, San Francisco before the earthquake. Violet grows up in orphanage, where she becomes close friends with Cora and Flossie. When the orphanage catches fire, the girls run away. Violet is not quite fourteen and the other two girls sixteen. They find a boardinghouse, where the two older girls work as dancers and Violet as a maid. They fail to notice the red signs in the district.

After the earthquake. There is a reason why three friends need to split and go their separate ways. Violet, at sixteen, always protected by the two older friends, now needs to forge her own way. When she meets a man of higher station, she is afraid to reveal her past. But as it turns out, he also has a past he’d rather not reveal.

The beginning of the story is very strong (30%). I got pulled into the story from the prologue. Once Violet meets Harry her strong character weakens. She becomes insecure at moments and some dialogue comes across as forced. It doesn’t always have a good flow. In the second half of the book concerning the mystery of their pasts, there are some slower moments. The pace is not always consistent. The story is fairly interesting. It has some twists and turns. With the slower pacing, what kept me interested was the mystery. I wanted to know how the story ends.

The historical background is non-existent. This fictional story is simply set around the famous earthquake, but it doesn’t bring the atmosphere of the effects after the earthquake.

P.S. I honestly think that publishers do themselves a disservice by not creating sub-categories under the genre of historical fiction to better classify books. There are so many readers who are not that much into historical fiction or are looking for something “light” under this genre and that’s the book for them. And there are readers, including me, who are interested in “heavy” HF with rich period depiction or interested in stories that offer a lesser known fact from which something can be learned. I’m interested in stories that resonate with me and in order to find those stories I need a better categorization. Isn’t it what this is about? A story that resonates with a reader?

Haunting and Chilling.

The earthquake of 1906 was one of the worst of all times. It left destruction and havoc in its wake.. but not necessarily for Violet. She fell into a windfall when she met and married Harry Carlysle. However, something is not quite right about the sprawling, beautiful mansion in which she now lives. Not right at all. There is something or someone lurking about. . .

Ooohh. This book is not one to read before you go to bed.. or if you like the thrills and chills then do read it before you turn in! I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I was particularly drawn to the era in which the story was set. I also didn't know much about the earthquake of 1906. I enjoyed learning more about that.

Recommended for historical fiction and fans that enjoy Gothic-like novels.

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.

I read Rindell's "The Other Typist" years ago when I was just beginning to start reading regularly again. I was really excited to read this new work of hers! I don't normally like modern retellings of Rebecca; this one had clear parallels with the classic, but still managed to tell it's own unique story WITHOUT offending me by changing too much. A winner in my book!

Taking place at the turn of century San Francisco tell us the story of Violet a cook for a house of Dancehall girls . After the 1906 earthquake that leaves Violet and her two best friends suddenly wealthy and how they got that way is a secret the three must keep. WE follow her as she becomes a shop girl a job she dreamt of to becoming a wealthy man’s young wife . All the while trusting her dear friends . Twists and turns and a dash of history makes this a fabulous page turner

I do not care for reviews that summarize the story. I rely on the publishers to do that, and then I decide if it interests me. This book is not literature, but it is entertaining. At times, this book is a page turner; at other times, it bogs down so deeply that the only way to get through is to skim. A lot of the story is repeated. The book needs some editing to tighten the story. It relies heavily on "Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca".

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a disaster for almost everyone except for Violet and her friends, who come into a windfall as a result. To escape scrutiny, the three friends spit up after the quake and Violet lets herself become the woman she always wanted to be. As the new and improved version of herself she meets and marries wealthy businessman Harry Carlyle. She is harry’s second wife and she can feel the echoes of his first wife all over her sumptuous new home. This book is a clever twist on the Rebecca theme, but readers will be left wondering which Mrs. Carlyle is worthy of trust