Today marks the end of Carl V’s RIP Challenge, and I finished my fifth book, The Thirteenth Tale, just in time. This was a perfect book for pure, old-fashioned storytelling. I’ve been wanting to read the book for the past couple months, ever since I first heard about it (and saw the amazingly stunning cover art) on Heather’s blog, and then a few weeks later received an ARC edition from a fellow BookCrosser. I’ve held off, hoping to save the best for last for this challenge, and I think I chose wisely. It seemed everywhere I turned in the past few weeks, at least in the book blogging world, I was reading about this book, usually in the way of rave reviews. But I held back from reading too much, not wanting to build up the book too much in my own mind, or just not to find out too much about the story.

And what a story! If this is what first-time author Diane Setterfield produces, I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next. Take a dash of Jane Eyre, a dollop of The Woman in White, a helping of Wuthering Heights, a pinch of Rebecca, and a whole mishmash of other gothic tales, and you get The Thirteenth Tale, a novel that will proudly join these others on my bookshelf (I went and bought myself the hardcover version, and will likely gift someone else with the BookCrossing copy). Like a good story should, it built up momentum throughout the book, tantalizing me with hints and innuendos, presenting a colorful cast of characters set in a moody, almost tactile atmospheric setting, and immersing me completely and absolutely in the tale being told. This is one of those few books definitely deserving of all the hype it’s been getting.

Thanks, Carl, for hosting such a chilling challenge, which got me to finally read some of the spooky selections that have been languishing on my bookshelf, waiting to be read. Great fun!

Now, in the ’spirit’ of the season, I’m off to watch some Most Haunted! Live.