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The Cloisters by Katy Hays
Gothic fiction

The Cloisters

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Katy Hays, on your first book!

by Katy Hays

Quick take

You may want to dust off that art history degree or check your star chart while reading this story of tarot & museums.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Supernatural

    Supernatural

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Academic

    Academic

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Nyc

    NYC

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Glamorous

    Glamorous

Synopsis

When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination.

Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs.

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Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of The Cloisters.

Why I love it

I have always found tarot cards strangely appealing. I’m not superstitious, and I don’t believe in divination, but I’ll admit it: I’ve played tarot cards a few times with my friends.

Okay, more than a few times.

We pour a glass of wine, someone suggests a quick reading . . . and I think, why not? But what never fails to astound me is that every time—and I mean, every time—the cards are spot-on. Work issues, relationships, the exact-advice-I-needed-that-day . . . it’s baffling. Inexplicable.

So I was utterly delighted to get my hands on an early copy of The Cloisters, a book about several ambitious researchers in New York City who are on the hunt for the elusive truth of ancient tarot. They have much to gain if they can unlock the mysteries ahead of them, and even more to lose if they fail. As a long and stifling summer transpires, their cutthroat pursuit of the truth—and each other—begins to fester. No one and nothing can be trusted—not even the rare deck of tarot cards the researchers eventually track down.

It’s hard to believe this is Katy Hays’s debut. The confident voice, the clever crafting of the narrative, and the realness of the characters’ motives and longings all result in a story that we’d expect from a seasoned author.

The Cloisters is not to be missed but you may be tempted to turn a few cards yourself while reading, so keep a tarot deck close.

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Member ratings (6,822)

  • Esha S.

    Albuquerque, NM

    I am discovering a newfound love of dark academia and this book satisfies that beautifully. I wasn’t a big fan of our protagonist but the other characters felt palpable and intriguing. Definite read!

  • victoria m.

    Louisville, KY

    The attention to detail and the intricate thought the author put into each character, the plot, the twists and turns was beautiful. It was well written and for surely in my top ten favorite books. ????

  • Audrey M.

    Danbury, CT

    I was caught in this books embrace from the first paragraph. Reading the book, I literally could picture, feel and smell the Cloisters. And, the story line was captivating. Overall, a great mystery.

  • Jeanie D.

    Jupiter, FL

    What's not to love? NYC, a gothic museum/ garden, the secrets of medieval & renaissance occult & astrology, & tarot cards combine to create a captivating and dangerously thrilling story!

  • Debra L.

    Apex, NC

    THE CLOISTERS is a well-written and very interesting novel. I couldn't put this book down once I'd started reading it. Do you believe in fate or free will? This story will make you think about that!!