The Cloisters by Katie Hays
 | Author:
Rachael Elliott-Brug
Rachael Brug: MT43 News Vice President and Copy Editor |
The Cloisters" by Katie Hays Rachael Elliott-Brug Set in New York City The Cloisters is a twisty story of intrigue and mysteries.
Ann Stilwell arrives in the city having been accepted as a summer curatorial associate at the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has chosen an internship as far away from Oregon and the memories of her deceased father and grieving mother as she can. When she shows up for orientation, she is pulled aside and told they no longer require her services and to go home, something Ann absolutely does not want to do.
As she's being let go, a passing academic stops in and convinces the director he can use Ann in his department, the gothic and lush Cloisters, a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe.
The Cloisters sit beside a park in Manhattan and are surrounded by gardens teeming with flowers and plants used in medieval ages as food, medicines, and poisons. Ann is quickly taken with the museum, her co-workers, and their research about the origins of Tarot. As the research consumes her, she sinks further and further into the tumultuous past her new friends all share. Ann must quickly try to figure out how to keep herself from drowning in their dangerous secrets.
Katie Hays deftly weaves a sinister tale full of history, secrets, and murder. Her characters have backstories and depth that suck you in and make you want to know everything about them. Her descriptions have you sitting in the library at the Cloisters looking through ancient letters and books trying to find all of the connections, or walking through the gardens wondering how poisonous hemlock really is.
You may think you know who the killer is, but do you really?
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PhotoCredit: Rachael Elliott-Brug
Image 1 Caption: The Cloisters Book Cover
