The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

Wow.  I could leave the review there and I think it will convey how good I think this book is but I'll expand slightly for those of you who want to hear more.

This book has easily jumped straight away into my Top 10 books of all time and I could barely put it down for 4 days.  I ate, slept and breathed these characters lives and if I had a spare moment, a quick five minutes while waiting for my turn in the shower or three minutes while I drank my coffee, then I grabbed this book and read more.

We first meet Margaret Lea who is a recluse working in her father's antique book shop and not dealing so well with her everyday life.  She more often than not chooses to escape into books, especially the lives of dead people from whom she makes a bit on the side, writing up essays on their lives.

Our other main character is Vida Winter, an elderly author who is considered Britain's most beloved author of modern times and also the most enigmatic and mysterious.  She has made a habit of never telling the truth about her past, preferring instead to invent a new outrageous tale anytime she is asked.  Added to this is her unusual book originally entitled Thirteen Tales while only containing twelve, and she has turned herself into a kind of an urban myth.

So when Maragaret Lea gets an letter from Vida Winter inviting her to visit and undertake the job of writing her biography, she is naturally sceptical.  Still, curiousity is a strong emotion to overcome and she journeys to Miss Winter, and so we all begin the story of stories within a story as Miss Winter's past is told through many tales and through Ms Lea's own investigations.

I think it is the style of telling many stories within a story that is so appealing here and so successful.  This book is a page-turner and I'm still a bit sad that I finished it so quickly.  Miss Winter's stories are fascinating and through her you meet other great characters in a time and place that has an ethereal quality about it, it very often just doesn't seem real.

The real story is eventually revealed but it's not one that you could guess and so the suspense maintains right until the end of the book.  I must admit, it took me about 40 pages to get thoroughly hooked into the novel.  The first couple of chapters are following Ms Lea at her home and work and her lonely sad existence doesn't immediately translate into what becomes an engaging, sensational and incredibly excellent first novel.

You will not be disappointed if you pick this one up and even better, this is not a chick book.  I think guys would really enjoy the writing style of this tale and the fact that the book keeps up the intrigue and only releases a bit more of the puzzle, a little bit at a time, you can't help but get hooked.

Treat yourself to some good storytelling.