Mystery

The Cloisters

The Cloisters

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-01-06 00:51:30
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Katy Hays
  • ISBN：1787636399
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Summary

The Secret History meets Ninth House in this sinister， atmospheric novel 。 。 。 the discovery of a mysterious deck of tarot cards lays bare shocking secrets within a close-knit circle of researchers at New York's famed Met Cloisters museum。

'Beguiling and atmospheric， an entrancing and gripping tale。' KATE MOSSE

'Glamour， power， seduction， ambition - The Cloisters has it all。 I adored this deliciously gothic， beautifully written novel。' LOUISE O'NEILL， author of Idol

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Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City， hoping to spend her summer working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art。 Instead， she is assigned to The Cloisters， a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval and Renaissance collections。

There she is drawn into a small circle of charismatic but enigmatic researchers， each with their own secrets and desires， including the museum's curator， Patrick Roland， who is convinced that the history of Tarot holds the key to unlocking contemporary fortune telling。

Relieved to have left her troubled past behind and eager for the approval of her new colleagues， Ann is only too happy to indulge some of Patrick's more outlandish theories。 But when Ann discovers a mysterious， once-thought lost deck of 15th-century Italian tarot cards she suddenly finds herself at the centre of a dangerous game of power， toxic friendship and ambition。

And as the game being played within the Cloisters spirals out of control， Ann must decide whether she is truly able to defy the cards and shape her own future 。 。 。

Bringing together the modern and the arcane， The Cloisters is a rich， thrillingly-told tale of obsession and the ruthless pursuit of power。

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'Dark and enigmatic 。 。 。 The Cloisters captured me from the off。 。 。 a story of academic obsession， Renaissance magic and the ruthless pursuit of power。 Captivating in every sense。' SARAH PEARSE， author of The Sanatorium

'Elegant and atmospheric and suffused with brooding menace。' LUCY CLARKE， author of The Castaways

'Sultry and sinister 。 。 。 teems with sexual tension， the secrets of divination， and scholarly obsessiveness 。 。 。 jaw-dropping。' SARAH PENNER， author of The Lost Apothecary

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Early readers are obsessed with The Cloisters

'The Cloisters does for tarot what The Secret History did for Greek class'

'I loved this tale of tarot and obsession'

'If you like museums， art， mystery， and dark academia The Cloisters will be a satisfying read for you'

'A dash of history， a pinch of gothic， and enough surprises to keep me guessing。'

'This is academia gone to the dark side and then some！'

'Beautifully written， with fabulous descriptions and a gorgeous gothic setting， it's a gripping read。 I loved it！'

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Reviews

tracey earl ，

Was just ok， it was a bit too slow。 I was surprised by the twist at the end。

Gail Rogers ，

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️。25 Very interesting material to read about。 Great ending。

Sarah ，

DNF at 65%。 I found this book incredibly boring。 I did not like any of the characters。 Nothing happened until about 50% through and even then it was not enough to keep me interested。 If this was a movie or tv show I would have stopped well before this。 I googled the ending to at least see if I was missing anything good。 I'm good with this decision。 DNF at 65%。 I found this book incredibly boring。 I did not like any of the characters。 Nothing happened until about 50% through and even then it was not enough to keep me interested。 If this was a movie or tv show I would have stopped well before this。 I googled the ending to at least see if I was missing anything good。 I'm good with this decision。 。。。more

Yarslov ，

I had different expectations when reading this。 I expected more into the occult， more of the mystery of the tarot， and more history about them than what took place。Now what I read was good， but not what I had pictured in my mind。In The Cloisters， we have the backdrop of well， the cloisters in New York。 Ann is trying to escape the small town from where she is from and the memories of her father's death that envelops her there。 She finds that refuge here。Here she is doing the work she enjoys: rese I had different expectations when reading this。 I expected more into the occult， more of the mystery of the tarot， and more history about them than what took place。Now what I read was good， but not what I had pictured in my mind。In The Cloisters， we have the backdrop of well， the cloisters in New York。 Ann is trying to escape the small town from where she is from and the memories of her father's death that envelops her there。 She finds that refuge here。Here she is doing the work she enjoys: research into the history of the middle ages and fortune。 When she stumbles upon a secret in the tarot cards her supervisor bought at an antique store。 This secret soon turns deadly and ambition rises。It raises the question of what is in our control and what is fate？Honestly， saying that nothing is your fault and it is all in fate feels like a cop out。 。。。more

Sabrina ，

A really engaging book， with prose just at that right level of sparsity that it is not stripped bare， down to plot， but not overly florid。Also a really interesting look at history of the occult and how it intertwines with the history of religion and the royal court。Having said that， this was still just another dark academia book。 It's no Secret History and while it was enjoyable， it's just not beguiling enough to be hugely memorable。 A really engaging book， with prose just at that right level of sparsity that it is not stripped bare， down to plot， but not overly florid。Also a really interesting look at history of the occult and how it intertwines with the history of religion and the royal court。Having said that， this was still just another dark academia book。 It's no Secret History and while it was enjoyable， it's just not beguiling enough to be hugely memorable。 。。。more

Shannon Carney ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Waffling between a 3。5 and a 4 on this one。 Pros: I’m interested in tarot， so it was fun to see things I’m learning about be so central to the plot; I love a murder mystery， had good twist ending。 Cons: I might be reaching my limit on “dark academia” novels; I didn’t love the shift in Leo’s character。 Yeah， I knew there was something between him and Rachel， but I wasn’t into or buying “yeah， I’m pawning small artifacts as a metaphor for how easily regular people are forgotten。”Perfectly fine nov Waffling between a 3。5 and a 4 on this one。 Pros: I’m interested in tarot， so it was fun to see things I’m learning about be so central to the plot; I love a murder mystery， had good twist ending。 Cons: I might be reaching my limit on “dark academia” novels; I didn’t love the shift in Leo’s character。 Yeah， I knew there was something between him and Rachel， but I wasn’t into or buying “yeah， I’m pawning small artifacts as a metaphor for how easily regular people are forgotten。”Perfectly fine novel to start off my 2023 challenge！ Definitely will think of it more fondly than I do “The Secret History。” 。。。more

Ilene Leventhal ，

Really wish I could give this one 3。5。 My hopes were high- The Cloisters and surrounding park was my favorite place in NYC during my many years living there， and I love anything mystical/magical。 Great job describing various the places and feelings of NY。， especially throwing ancient and recent history- even going as far as to recognize bars that closed down， etc。 Throw in academia and a thriller… yes please。 But in the end the characters were meh， the story was meh， and the finish was meh。 Real Really wish I could give this one 3。5。 My hopes were high- The Cloisters and surrounding park was my favorite place in NYC during my many years living there， and I love anything mystical/magical。 Great job describing various the places and feelings of NY。， especially throwing ancient and recent history- even going as far as to recognize bars that closed down， etc。 Throw in academia and a thriller… yes please。 But in the end the characters were meh， the story was meh， and the finish was meh。 Really a 3。5…。。 。。。more

Meghan Mulcahy ，

This one was unique。 I haven’t read anything quite like it。 It explores what fate means or could mean。 Decent twist at the end。 It kept my interest。

Barcie ，

I found this dark academia mystery to be rather dry。 Not having a degree in art history， the significance of the historical research into tarot that the museum scholars are immersed in was lost on me。 It IS well written and atmospheric; you definitely get the sense that SOMETHING not quite right is lurking under the surface。 It just never quite manifests except in the most subtle of ways。 I also thought this book was going to be much different than what it turned out to be。 I was expecting the m I found this dark academia mystery to be rather dry。 Not having a degree in art history， the significance of the historical research into tarot that the museum scholars are immersed in was lost on me。 It IS well written and atmospheric; you definitely get the sense that SOMETHING not quite right is lurking under the surface。 It just never quite manifests except in the most subtle of ways。 I also thought this book was going to be much different than what it turned out to be。 I was expecting the main character， Ann， to stumble into some scary， mysterious goings-on at the museum， something to do with the occult。 No， not at all。 Was all about ruthless ambition in the art world。 However， The Cloisters is showing up on tons of "Best Mysteries of the Year" lists， so the slow pace is not a deterrent to most。 。。。more

Anna ，

Oh man。 I have so many conflicted feelings about this book lol The premise and setting were so A++ I was ready to dive in headfirst。 I've found that several 'ingredients' of a good dark academia often include themes of obsession， niche areas of study， and criticism of academia itself， all of which are contained within "The Cloisters。" However， as much as I loved the fact that there were some obvious attempts to mimic "The Secret History，" especially with the prologue setting up the murder and th Oh man。 I have so many conflicted feelings about this book lol The premise and setting were so A++ I was ready to dive in headfirst。 I've found that several 'ingredients' of a good dark academia often include themes of obsession， niche areas of study， and criticism of academia itself， all of which are contained within "The Cloisters。" However， as much as I loved the fact that there were some obvious attempts to mimic "The Secret History，" especially with the prologue setting up the murder and the main character sharing similar traits to Richard Papen， that's pretty much where the similarities ended。 The plot unfolded really， really slowly， and the characters' motives aren't ever really clear until the novel is mostly finished。 Ann as a protagonist could have been a very interesting critique of how wealth and whiteness influence success in the art world， but instead， she's led along by Rachel， and her naïveté doesn't ever give way to a deeper conscious or motivation until a brief paragraph near the end about her being "hungry。" Tarot cards， specifically those originating in the early Renaissance， are the subject of fascination in this novel， yet the flipping back and forth between traditional meanings/period meanings and modern meanings， between divination being a real concept and a research subject of study， were a bit dizzying。 Honestly， MILD SPOILERS， but by the time the book （view spoiler）[ revealed the group would do drugs to attempt true divination （hide spoiler）]， I was honestly shocked that hadn't happened yet at 60% of the way through。 The idea that it was more or less common knowledge that a lauded researcher and scholar thought he could predict the future if he had old enough cards was shaky at best。 Additionally， it's clear that Katy Hays has a wealth of knowledge about the art world， being an art history professor herself， however， I found that unlike other books where the author has written about their areas of expertise in a way that guides the readers along， many times the stretches of information are dumped to the reader。 。。。more

Kate ，

The plot took so long to develop。 Sometimes I didn’t know if I could continue reading。 Lots of details about medieval art - a bit too much。 But perhaps those who enjoy that field would find those parts interesting。

Jo Ann ，

I was thoroughly engrossed in this story - the setting， the writing， the characters。 Happy to start 2023 with such an excellent read。 *4。5*

Tracey Mayall ，

I was excited to read this but at page 175 I couldn’t finish this。 It had so much promise but fell flat- it really seemed about nothing。 I’m still not sure really what it was about。 I thought I was distracted and that was causing me to slog through it but it’s really the writing style and lack of punch。

Lauren Peterson ，

The Cloisters is Katy Hays’s debut novel about a young woman’s obsession with a mysterious deck of tarot cards she uncovers while working at a museum in New York called The Cloisters。 The book had so much going for it—the medieval gothic setting， dark academia vibes， a murder to solve and morally ambiguous characters。 Unfortunately， the elements never quite worked themselves out into the cohesive， thrilling read I was expecting。 I wandered through most of it， bored， unengaged and unsure where th The Cloisters is Katy Hays’s debut novel about a young woman’s obsession with a mysterious deck of tarot cards she uncovers while working at a museum in New York called The Cloisters。 The book had so much going for it—the medieval gothic setting， dark academia vibes， a murder to solve and morally ambiguous characters。 Unfortunately， the elements never quite worked themselves out into the cohesive， thrilling read I was expecting。 I wandered through most of it， bored， unengaged and unsure where the story was going。 The climax fell flat， haunting scenes felt forced and I was plopped into the center of these stuffy characters’ lives without enough context。 The idea was solid， the mix of genres promising， but the execution fell flat。 I do want to note that the gothic setting of the medieval museum and gardens of The Cloisters was my favorite part of this book by far。 The cover is also beautiful。 Overall though， this was a solid miss for my personal taste in books。 。。。more

Lindsay Heller ，

I liked this book quite a bit。 It took me forever to read because I accidentally ordered the large print from the library and it was so heavy in my hands that I kept getting distracted by my phone。 But once I got into it， I really got into it。 And it's right up my alley; a little bit of dark academia with Ann Stilwell， who travels to New York for a summer internship at The Met only to discover that the man she was supposed to be working under is on sabbatical。 She is quickly whisked up to The Cl I liked this book quite a bit。 It took me forever to read because I accidentally ordered the large print from the library and it was so heavy in my hands that I kept getting distracted by my phone。 But once I got into it， I really got into it。 And it's right up my alley; a little bit of dark academia with Ann Stilwell， who travels to New York for a summer internship at The Met only to discover that the man she was supposed to be working under is on sabbatical。 She is quickly whisked up to The Cloisters to assist in an exhibit about Tarot in the Middle Ages。 But there are more sinister things at play here and soon Ann is immersed in a world where there's no one she can truly trust。 。。。more

Rhonda ，

3。8。 Solid story line。 Enjoyed the information on tarot cards。

Amy Jo ，

Yes， I saw this recommended in a group of "dark academia" books because I think it is an amusing term that I first heard in the same breathe of "pigeoncore" which I refuse to look up the definition of。 And I knew the book either had to be about nuns or the one NYC museum， so I was willing to give it a go。While the setting and reasonable obsession with gainful employment in the insular academia associated with museum curation and Renaissance graduate programs does achieve what the bookish side of Yes， I saw this recommended in a group of "dark academia" books because I think it is an amusing term that I first heard in the same breathe of "pigeoncore" which I refuse to look up the definition of。 And I knew the book either had to be about nuns or the one NYC museum， so I was willing to give it a go。While the setting and reasonable obsession with gainful employment in the insular academia associated with museum curation and Renaissance graduate programs does achieve what the bookish side of what I consider dark academia， I wish it had leaned more into the fantastical potential of a book about tarot cards and untimely deaths。 I understand that Hays might prefer the grounded approach where it is up to interpretation to how much tarot and occult practices in general have any truth to it when it can be chalked up to an unhealthy and untrustworthy relationships/environment。 I personally like when it is both stress and real magic mucking up one's life。My favorite bits had to be the art history facts and explanations which makes sense the author part of the back flap of my copy of the book mentioned Hays having schooling in those areas。 It was interesting to me and made the setting feel necessary。Least favorite bit other than the lack of real spooky vibes or real magic had to be the attempts of romantic tension。 I can be a romcom fanatic， but I did not feel any real feelings between any combination of characters。 I knew that it made sense for them to have past and present romantic relationships amongst each other， but I felt no passion or unbearable desire for each other。 Once I knew there was a unruly gardener that obviously once had a thing with Rachel， I was so ready to jump on imagining Rachel ignoring Patrick to shack up with a more interesting romantic relationship with Leo and Ann。 Then no one had any chemistry with anyone even though Ann and Rachel had the closest "Intense female friendship" energy that almost made me want it if characters were fleshed out more than what a standard thriller demands。The slow pacing is noticeable， but not aggravating though it did give the reader more time to guess and be expectant of the twists at the end。 The writing made for easy reading though some of the character dialogue feels stiff even for academics， but that might be just me。It was a fun start to the year of reading， and I might check out the author's future work。 If nothing else， it makes me respect those who know astrology and tarot even more。 I would never be able to understand the readings of both readings of the Major Arcana and the many Minor Arcana。 Leave me be with my "Oh， I am that year of the animal and that constellation。 Neat。" Oh， and I almost forgot that this focus on tarot reminded me of that one time I watched a few episodes of an anime that focused on a mob family that had an affinity to some of the big cards and it involved magical cards that came with those affinities which were used to figure out the new family mob boss leader。 Wild lol 。。。more

Andrea ，

Great book 4。5 stars。

Jennifer ，

Although this came up on a number of Best of the Year lists， and I thought it was good， it wasn't as good as I expected it to be。 The book seems to meander along for the first two-thirds， then tried to provide twist after twist to justify itself。 Regular readers will have already guessed most of the twists by the time they read them。 Although this came up on a number of Best of the Year lists， and I thought it was good， it wasn't as good as I expected it to be。 The book seems to meander along for the first two-thirds， then tried to provide twist after twist to justify itself。 Regular readers will have already guessed most of the twists by the time they read them。 。。。more

Susan Blexrud ，

I like Jenna Bush's endorsements， and this one didn't disappoint。 Engaging from Page 1， I traveled with Ann to the Cloisters， appreciating the well-developed plot and the cast of interesting characters。 I ended up buying this gift as a book for a friend， so that tells you， it's a GOOD ONE。 I like Jenna Bush's endorsements， and this one didn't disappoint。 Engaging from Page 1， I traveled with Ann to the Cloisters， appreciating the well-developed plot and the cast of interesting characters。 I ended up buying this gift as a book for a friend， so that tells you， it's a GOOD ONE。 。。。more

Daniela ，

I absolutely loved this book， the story， and the mysticism around it。A few things to note- If you're not into books where characters make questionable choices ALL THE TIME， this book might not be for you。 These characters are flawed - and overall kinda awful people - to say the least！- The pace might deter some readers。 Things move a bit slowly at the beginning。I can't wait to see what this author writes next！ I absolutely loved this book， the story， and the mysticism around it。A few things to note- If you're not into books where characters make questionable choices ALL THE TIME， this book might not be for you。 These characters are flawed - and overall kinda awful people - to say the least！- The pace might deter some readers。 Things move a bit slowly at the beginning。I can't wait to see what this author writes next！ 。。。more

Dawn ，

Meh。 I don't get all the fuss。 The characters are all annoying and rather thinly drawn。 There is actually no mystery here at all。 The tarot is vaguely referenced as being something ominous， but nothing actually proves it to be so。 You would think there would be some uncovering of some mystery/crime in the past， but what gets uncovered happens in the blink of an eye， so there's nothing suspenseful or startling。 This is kind of a story of two unlikable young women squaring off。 Meh。 I don't get all the fuss。 The characters are all annoying and rather thinly drawn。 There is actually no mystery here at all。 The tarot is vaguely referenced as being something ominous， but nothing actually proves it to be so。 You would think there would be some uncovering of some mystery/crime in the past， but what gets uncovered happens in the blink of an eye， so there's nothing suspenseful or startling。 This is kind of a story of two unlikable young women squaring off。 。。。more

Katie Hunter ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thoroughly enjoyed it overall especially the twist at the end， but the random sexual tension felt odd and out of place。 I don’t mind a slow build but it didn’t really feel like anything was happening in the story until 3/4 the way through。

Sophie ，

The imagery and descriptive language is gorgeous， however the plot was a bit predictable and slow。 Overall an enjoyable read

Annie Caruthers Wood ，

The Cloisters had a lot of promise， but fell flat for me。 I think it came down to the character/relationship development - it all felt more telling than showing and I never ultimately got that invested in any of the characters。 There were a lot of good twists at the end that should have made this book good， but by then I was just ready to be done and didn’t care enough about the story to be impacted by them。 It’s wild that a book less than 300 pages took me nearly a week to get through！

Jessica Nelson ，

If you find yourself drawn in by the dark， brooding cover and sweet， promising words it shares， just remember what happens when you hook up with someone with the same characteristics。 You end up feeling empty， drained， bored， only wish you had t wasted time and energy on that situation。 If empty regret is what your life calls for， this is the book for you。 If you value your time and enjoy characters with depth and plots that keep you in your toes， let The Cloisters go， you’re not going to find a If you find yourself drawn in by the dark， brooding cover and sweet， promising words it shares， just remember what happens when you hook up with someone with the same characteristics。 You end up feeling empty， drained， bored， only wish you had t wasted time and energy on that situation。 If empty regret is what your life calls for， this is the book for you。 If you value your time and enjoy characters with depth and plots that keep you in your toes， let The Cloisters go， you’re not going to find anything worth investing in here。 。。。more

Truitti ，

Very entertaining mystery of cards， museums， ambition， and murder。 Thought provoking。 I borrowed this audio book from the Sacramento Public Library via the Libby app。

Fleeno ，

The cover states this is "sultry and sinister， teems wuty sexual tension m， the secrets of divination， and scholarly obsession"， and I just want to know which version of the book did Sarah Penner get， cos it wasn't the same as mine。 Ann has grown up in a tiny town， teeny tiny town， which inexplicably has a university with a renaissance art program （maybe that's common in the US） but she throws away the small town to head to the big Apple to work in The Cloisters。 There she meets Rachel who is ba The cover states this is "sultry and sinister， teems wuty sexual tension m， the secrets of divination， and scholarly obsession"， and I just want to know which version of the book did Sarah Penner get， cos it wasn't the same as mine。 Ann has grown up in a tiny town， teeny tiny town， which inexplicably has a university with a renaissance art program （maybe that's common in the US） but she throws away the small town to head to the big Apple to work in The Cloisters。 There she meets Rachel who is basically a sociopath， Leo， a walking red flag， and the curator Patrick - another walking red flag。 What follows is 250 pages of nothing。 They study， they write， they're obsessed with finding tarot cards but I literally don't care。 Honestly the stakes are so low， who cares。 Ann is boring and mean and awful。 She goes weeks， months without calling her mother who is clearly unwell。 The blurb made me think there was going to be a supernatural element but there wasn't。 This had some elements which could have been good but it all fell flat。 A glimmer of a plot appears at the last 50 pages by by then it's too late， I didn't care。 And again， the stakes were so low it didn't matter。 I didn't care about the characters or the plot， or the tarot cards。 There is a lot of telling， internal dialogue， and not a lot of action。 I love reading， I love studying， but reading about other people studying is a bore。 This book was so disappointing and boring， save your time。 。。。more

L。 ，

Ahhhhhh what a great book。 This deserves the hype and never let me down。It's extremely genre savvy; exactly what you want in a dark academia。 Toxic friendships！ Unhealthy attachment to magical ideas！ Literally taking place in museum academia！ Tarot！ Plants！ Mysteries！ Secrets！This was almost unputdownable for me， if not for how busy my work has been。 I kept wanting to go back to read this one。The author had a clear understanding of the academic world and the subjects within， and that was flexed Ahhhhhh what a great book。 This deserves the hype and never let me down。It's extremely genre savvy; exactly what you want in a dark academia。 Toxic friendships！ Unhealthy attachment to magical ideas！ Literally taking place in museum academia！ Tarot！ Plants！ Mysteries！ Secrets！This was almost unputdownable for me， if not for how busy my work has been。 I kept wanting to go back to read this one。The author had a clear understanding of the academic world and the subjects within， and that was flexed with great showmanship in the book。 It was woven in a really cool way with tarot and maybe-real-maybe-not-magic through the book。 The toxic friendships and toxic romances were a chefs kiss; exactly the type of juicy center you love in a dark academia。 Gate keep gas light girl boss energy in a poisonous way。 All in all， really delightful and I cannot wait for the author's next book！ 。。。more

Isabelle Slaughter ，

It was a good book but I predicted what happened early on and the ending just felt like it was lacking

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Cloisters

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Cloisters&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Cloisters&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0