The Winters

August 13, 2018
When Max Winter, a New York state senator, comes into the life of the insecure 26-year-old unnamed narrator of this creepy, atmospheric homage to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca from Gabriele (The Almost Archer Sisters), she’s working at a boat charter in the Caymans. After only a month, they’re engaged and heading off to Asherley, Max’s secluded Long Island estate, where his 15-year-old daughter, Dani, awaits. Dani has always been difficult, but the death of her mother, Rebekah, in a fiery car crash a year and a half earlier, has brought her to the edge, and she has no interest in her father’s new fiancée, who adores Max and is eager to forge a relationship with Dani. The diabolical Dani has other ideas. Faced with Max’s frequent absences, the narrator feels alienated at Asherley, which seems to be infused with the very essence of its former mistress, yet she seems to be making progress with Dani. However, on their explosive wedding day, the new Mrs. Winter realizes she never truly knew her husband at all. Gabriele keeps the tension high up to the surprising and satisfying final twist. Du Maurier fans will be pleased. Agent: Christy Fletcher, Fletcher & Co.

Emily Rankin narrates this contemporary reimagining of REBECCA, set in the Cayman Islands and New York's Hamptons. Daphne du Maurier's original 1938 novel is among the most popular suspense novels of all time. In the new version, the unnamed main character is working at a charter boat company in the Caymans when she meets and falls in love with Max Winter, a recently widowed New York politician. She accompanies him to his estate to find herself constantly thwarted by his troubled teenage daughter and by the ever-present memory of his late wife, named Rebekah in this retelling. Rankin's narration adds to the emotion of both the love story and of the thrilling climax, which leads to a surprise ending. S.E.S. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine