The Cloisters

I had never been to The Cloisters here in Manhattan after many decades of living here, but I read Katy Hays's book, and had to visit it afterward. Hays’ book was a great pre-cursor to the trip to the Museum of Medieval and Early Renaissance Art.

I kept in mind the world of the fictional underdog, Anne Sitwell, who worked her way up to know there were secrets in the vault at the Cloisters. A Tarot Deck, possibly from the d’Este family in Italy, sets the stage for skullduggery while secrets and murders mount, leading to a plot twist at… show more.

Set in upstate New York at the beautiful Cloisters. This book is as beautifully curated as the museum it is set in.

When a young woman lands an internship at the Cloisters, she is quickly pulled into a world of haves and have-nots, a world where the privileged dabble in mysticism and magic. Murder becomes a pivotal point in discovering the secrets. The groundskeeper and the intern are soon embroiled in the messy business of unearthing this “who done it.”

I enjoyed the visuals in this book. Beautifully written. I highly recommend it.

The Cloisters, a branch of the Met Museum, which is a replica of medieval monasteries and abbeys in Fort Tryon Park, is the perfect setting for this Dark Academia novel.

Dark Academia is all about vibes and atmosphere, and this one is exemplary. The evocative Gothic architecture works as an effective backdrop for the complex characters, each with their own secrets, questionable agendas, and complicated relationships with their colleagues in this fishbowl.

I loved the attention to detail, the gorgeous writing, and the way that history, especially the history of Tarot cards, was woven seamlessly into the suspenseful narrative. I… show more.