The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield

Final Rating: 2.8/5

   "Tell me the truth", repeatedly throughout The Thirteenth Tale the reader is confronted with this phrase. The truth builds gradually to reveal an odd tale that may leave the reader applauding for more from this debut novel. With such an intriguing plot and elements that pay homage to the cornerstones of the Gothic Literature era and an out of the ordinary weaving of: drama, mystery, long concealed family secrets and sins- abandon the notion of an obvious predictable read where all mysteries can be solved within the first three chapters. In The Thirteenth Tale, dark secrets and intertwined puzzles stay buried deep within the pages and slowly reveal themselves to the patient reader.

   In the end, I was immediately drawn by the magnetic description and poetic prose of Ms. Setterfield. Sadly at the same time, these descriptions and prose required the reader to sit patiently and wait for rambling discussions, passages and thoughts to end and move further into the story. As the tale untangled itself and created additional obscurity and drama, the abrupt interruptions between tiresome narration and shared stories caused slight annoyance for this reviewer. Although in a way I can understand their purpose to create suspense it just confirms my overall impression- a lot of patience is required from the reader. Still an engaging read and a noteworthy debut that should be praised, The Thirteenth Tale is a well polished novel that left this reviewer with feelings of completion and anticipation for Ms. Setterfield's next novel (Bellman & Black).

-Reviewed in August 2013, review written August 2013/copy of THE THIRTEENTH TALE borrowed from local library