My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

I read du Maurier's Rebecca for a literature class, and thought it was stunning. It took years, but I finally decided to read another of her books. 24 year old Philip is raised in near isolation by his older cousin, Ambrose. He lives on the estate, and other than a stint at college, his life experience revolves around the grounds and the few people who live there. He has a very sheltered existence. So when Ambrose marries a mysterious "cousin Rachel" in Florence, Philip's life is thrown for a loop. Rachel enters Philip's life as Ambrose's grieving widow, and he becomes obsessed. OBSESSED!

Like Rebecca, there's lots of creepy Gothic ambiance and mysterious motives. Can Rachel be trusted, or does she have a more sinister motive for spending time with Philip? More importantly, did she kill Ambrose?

I liked this one a lot. It's bold for an older book, and almost all the characters are cleverly morally ambiguous as Philip's life slowly spirals out of control.