This is an enjoyable reboot of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, this time set in the USA. The contemporary setting is interesting and there are a few little twists but the story is very much like the original, maybe a little too much. Readers who are new to the story may enjoy it more than diehard fans of the classic original. Still a good read though.

This book is inspired by the classic Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, a book I read many, many years ago but it is so much more than just an uptodate rehash of it. It's a story that drew me in and squeezed the life out of me as I devoured every word I read. It's a story jam packed with secrets and lies and more than its fair share of duplicity, played out by larger than life colourful characters that I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my time with.
We first meet the enigmatic Max Winter when he hires a boat from our unnamed main character in the Cayman islands where she works. Recently widowed from first wife Rebekah and with a wayward child Dani, Max craves attention for himself and, being a bit wealthy and a politician, he certainly knows how to get what he wants. And it is our heroine that he desires. Luckily she feels the same and it isn't too long until the both of them return to his Long Island mansion, making plans for their wedding. But, as with the original Rebecca, our heroine here is haunted by Max's first wife and she becomes quite unsettled by this, especially when faced with Dani and her increasingly worryingly behaviour. But she can't leave, Max persuades her to stay and get married, but her wedding day isn't the day she dreamed about and soon the family's dark secrets start to come out but who is lying and what is the real truth?
What struck me the most about this book was the characterisation. To hold up a story so interconnected and convoluted such as the one here, you need strong characters and you definitely get them here. Each one had their part to play and each one gave their all. Tidbits of information as to the real truth are included every so often along the way, like breadcrumbs, coaxing the reader and encouraging them to make certain assumptions and then truths are exposed which blow the assumptions out of the water and it is not until the very end that all is finally revealed and the ghosts of the past are laid to rest. I'm not saying anything more about all that here as you really need to discover things at the right time.
As with the original, there is quite a claustrophobic, gothic feel about this retelling. I say retelling, I guess it is but only up to a point, the author has definitely made her mark on the end and has done so very well indeed. She has also brought the rest of the story up to date, including social media in places as appropriate. Yes there are a few things that were expected if you are familiar with Rebecca, but there is enough of a different spin on things to make this book stand aside from its inspiration.
All in all, a good solid read that I thoroughly enjoyed. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Winters by Lisa Gabriele - what a fabulous, nail biting, edge of your seat contemporary psychological thriller. I just could not put it down. I read with heart racing as the book sped to its conclusion.
Anyone familiar with Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca has just got to read this modern version, set in America. Anyone who hasn't read the original Rebecca is in for a real treat too, not to mention a roller coaster ride.
The story follows similar lines to Rebecca, even opening in a parallel way. The house, Asherley, like Mandelay, plays a starring role. It almost takes on a personality as its rooms and hallways echo with those who have gone before.
There is a startling contrast of innocence and experience, with Rebekah being everything the narrator is not. Envy? Jealousy? Or just lack of experience? You decide.
The reader must wade through truth and lies. What is real? What is fabrication? Can you trust all that is laid out before you?
Some women have the power to manipulate. The world is at their fingertips, or is it? Down trodden characters may be stronger than you think.
Mrs Danvers becomes Dani, as original characters undergo subtle name changes.
I thought The Winters was a fabulous book. Being a huge fan of the original Rebecca, especially the old black and white film with Laurence Olivier, I was completely enthralled with the novel. I loved the original being bought up to date and being able to see the parallels - and I loved the jaw dropping moment - Where and when? I hear you ask. Not telling, you must read the book and find out!
Utterly brilliant.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

My thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the copy of this ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Daphne du Maurier must be turning in her grave. When I requested this book from Netgalley it was done in ignorance of the fact that it is meant to be a pastiche on Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' .
Now to my mind a pastiche is a work emulating the prose style of another author - not the ripping off of the whole story then twisting it here and there.
I will say the Lisa Gabriele has copied the style and also some of Du Maurier's innovative tricks but that is where it ends.
Not for me this one - a pity. Had she taken the trouble to find her own story it could have been amusing to compare the works.

This is a first for me by this author.

After a whirlwind romance, a young woman returns to the opulent, secluded mansion of her new fiancé Max Winter - a wealthy senator and recent widower - and a life of luxury she’s never known. But all is not as it appears at the Asherley estate. The house is steeped in the memory of Max’s beautiful first wife Rebekah, who haunts the young woman’s imagination and feeds her uncertainties, while his very alive teenage daughter Dani makes her life a living hell.
As the soon-to-be second Mrs. Winter grows more in love with Max, and more afraid of Dani, she is drawn deeper into the family’s dark secrets - the kind of secrets that could kill her, too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the eerie plot... the characters were well written and relatable with the setting coming to life.
A real page-turner that you just won't want to put down.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

I really enjoyed The Winters and read it in a couple of days. It’s a great plot line that draws you in and before you know it you e read half the book.

Well written and highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and the author for the chance to review.

Three and a half stars for me. A modern-day retelling of Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier using that author's character names with a slight twist - Rebekah, Max Winters, the new Mrs Winters (no name for her). Having read the original at the beginning of this year, it was quite fresh in my mind. This book is well-written, well crafted and I wonder why Lisa Gabriele did not write an original story as her abilities to craft a good book are obvious. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this tale and its altered setting and outcome. I look forward to reading something original by this talented author.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Lisa Gabriele/Random House for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is an American re-telling of Daphne Du Maurier's classic novel Rebecca, and is an homage to the writer. It is set in the Hamptons, long Island. A familiar psychological thriller, the story is gripping and intense.

As usual in my reviews, you will not find a potted summary of the book - plenty of those out there already if that's what you're looking for!

Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" is one of my all-time favourite books. For that reason, I approached this book with both curiosity and trepidation.

However, although this book is clearly based on Rebecca - and I still prefer the original - there are enough differences (not least in the setting, modern timeframe etc) to make it an interesting read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

As Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' is one of my favourite books, I was intrigued to read this one, which was inspired by the famous story. The narrator (who is nameless as in Du Maurier's story) meets Senator Max Winter while she is working in her native Cayman Islands. She is swept off her feet and goes to live with him in his magnificent house in the Hamptons. His wife Rebekah died in a car accident, but he has a teenaged daughter called Dani, who is a law unto herself, and not very impressed at the thought of a new, young stepmother. I quite enjoyed this book, although I felt the 'denouement' was very complicated and a bit far fetched. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Fascinating modern retelling of du Maurier's gothic classic.

4.5 stars.

"Last night Rebekah tried to murder me again." From the very first line, the original is at the forefront of your mind as the unnamed narrator tells us the story of her love for a man haunted by the memory of his first wife, as she tries to make a place for herself as his new partner.

I love the book, the Hitchcock film, and was really intrigued to see it in a contemporary context. It worked so well, the modern world. With an extended opening segment as the second Mrs Winter meets and falls for Max, the scene is set for the gauche young woman's struggle to fit in at his ancestral estate, now called Asherley.

The main change to the story is Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper loyal to Rebecca. Here, she becomes the teenage terror, Dani, Rebekah's adoring bereaved daughter, less than keen to have a stepmother. This was brilliant, a fantastic way to bring in modern sensibilities, social media, new ways of Mrs Winter being psychologically tormented.

Not being able to name the narrator makes her slightly less tangible, hard to picture: "a boat, like a person, needed a name, he said or else it was cursed to drift forever." But we are given insights into everything she experiences, everything she thinks, and the new version is just as creepy and tense as the original.

Set-pieces of significance are still present, but in altered form. I really liked the changes, they kept me guessing, even knowing the source material. Rebekah's presence is still strongly felt, through Dani, Max, and even the house, and you can feel the tension and emotion crackling.

You'll not be sure how it will end, even being familiar with du Maurier, and I personally loved Gabriele's conclusion to the story, cleverly fit in with the opening and all that comes before it. I thought it a brilliant modern rewriting of the original.

So enjoyable to see a faithful adaptation that successfully modifies and innovates. Book groups will have fun comparing the two.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

As a beguiling update of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca I enjoyed The Winters. Instead of the haunting atmosphere of Cornwall in England we are in the luxurious enclave of the Hamptons in the USA.

When Max Winter sweeps a penniless young woman from her job on the Cayman Islands to become his wife she finds herself dealing with his teenage daughter, Danni (a nod to Mrs Danvers the housekeeper in Rebecca) as well as Max's mercurial temperament. His house, Asherley, has a shrine dedicated to Danni's mother, Rebekah, whose presence is felt everywhere.

There are plenty of family secrets to be unravelled during the course of the novel but I wouldn't recommend it to fans of the original Rebecca. The writing style is different (who can replicate du Maurier anyway and it won't have been the author's plan to do so I'm sure) but the 21st reader who hasn't read du Maurier may well search out the original inspiration. A 4* read as an enjoyable romp of a story.

Oh to be eighteen again and reading Rebecca for the first time. Nothing can replicate that first reading of what is Du Maurier's most successful novel and this is no exception. The Winters is a retelling of Rebecca with several things that are almost identical: the family name, Winter instead of De Winter, Max rather than Maxim, a second wife who narrates and is unnamed, an antagonist for her who is Rebekah's daughter rather than servant but who shares a similar name, an important role for a sailing boat and so on. At first it seems that this is to be a straightforward retelling with only a few minor changes but gradually your suspicions grow and what was at first a rather pedantic read becomes something altogether much more gripping. It's safe to say that there are numerous twists and turns and although I had my suspicions about what was happening, it didn't really become clear until the end.. I felt the end was a little rushed with all being revealed in a great big expositional dump which I didn't really find convincing but other than that I enjoyed this book and it certainly compares very favourably with other sequels or retellings of Rebecca which I've read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This is a modern day reimagining of Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca. Initially I wasn’t sure about it, partly I think because Rebecca doesn’t need to be reimagined - it remains a powerful and haunting book - but also because, in the beginning, I couldn’t really see what the author was doing that was that different. The characters have similar names - Max, Rebekah - and it continues the device of never naming the new wife. For some reason the house being called Asherley grated on me - it seemed a bit too close to Manderley, a little trite.

But... once the story gets going, it’s all rather clever. Because the author does do something different - several things - and having lulled the reader into thinking it’s a blow-by-blow retelling of Rebecca, she has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. The daunting Mrs Danvers is reinvented as troubled teenage daughter Dani, complete with brittle adolescent rage and an alarmingly high Instagram following. This completely changes the dynamic. And, without giving too much away, the author cleverly uses the fact that her readers will know the original book well to lead them down a complex and twisty path. I ended up gripped, and impressed.

Unusually the narrator here is a young woman who is never named and surprisingly I read the entire book without realising that. She moves from The Cayman Islands to the NewYork Hamptons after a whirlwind romance with a rich widower, Max Winter. I felt a bit sorry for her as she had to cope with her fiancé’s teenage daughter and a house that was brimming with reminders of his deceased wife. I kept imagining plot twists which didn’t happen and it kept me guessing to the end.

An almost retelling of the classic Rebecca, The Winters is a fun read. As a mystery/thriller it's very good but it doesn't have the atmosphere of the original Rebecca.

Although starting slowly, with the whirlwind romance between the new Mrs Winters and Max, how they get together to Asherley, it takes a peak after that point.

I really enjoyed the ending. The book doesn't say 'a retelling' of Rebecca, but inspired by it, but for me it stands out as a retelling as the original story have been changed and modernised.

I would recommend this book to people who likes page turning mystery, thrillers with surprise endings.

This book is a re-telling of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, so it automatically sets high expectations on the book. And, I really think it's well written. It's more of a thriller and faster paced than Rebecca. It's set in NY in contemporary times. It was very easy to read, but lacking the charm and atmospheric quality of Du Maurier's book.
It's hard not to compare when it's a direct retelling. Regardless, it was an enjoyable read.

I'd want to read from the author that's not a retelling, as I think her writing was attractive.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' so was intrigued when this book popped up on my radar and interested to see how the original could be updated and brought to life in a new way.

I'm going to start off and say that it isn't a patch on the original. Whilst it was an easy read, there was nothing of the atmosphere or tension of the original. A few incidents where Max raised his voice didn't do anything except make me wonder how naive you would have to be to expect a relationship to be without a few sticky patches? Using Dani as the means to inject the uncertainty and uneasiness into the story wasn't particularly effective in my opinion. She's a spoiled teenager, and, if anything, fit perfectly into the trope of bratty rich teenage daughter.
The dump of information in the final chapters to tie everything together and reveal the family's dark secrets felt rushed and unfulfilling.

Not one for me I'm afraid.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

If I could sum up The Winters in just two words, I would say: “great entertainment!” For me, this was just such a fun thriller to read – as far as “fun” and “thriller” go together in one sentence. To be totally honest, the book started off very slow, and I imagined a run-of-the mill story that has been done a hundred times before. Young woman meets older rich man, gets married, finds that life as a trophy wife is not as glamorous as expected. I have read a few of those in my time, and most barely held my interest. To my surprise though I found that I soon came to like the young “new” Mrs Winters – who, I discovered, is never mentioned by her first name in the entire book! Slowly but steadily, Gabriele managed to draw me into her tale, until I was thoroughly hooked!

True, the general premise is one that has been done many times in the past, and the book has been touted as the modern day “Rebecca”. However, I felt Gabriele did really well to steer away from stereotypes, giving the new Mrs Winter the personality of a free spirit who somehow manages to stay true to herself for the entirety of the book. Even Dani, the rebellious stepchild, is portrayed in a way where I could see the young vulnerable girl grieving for her mother underneath her facade. I loved the way the ghost of the deceased Rebekah and old family secrets overshadowed the story, giving it a sinister feel. And just as the story was gently meandering along, sweeping me with it into the opulence of the Long Island mansion – BAM! – the rug was pulled from under my feet. I love it when a book surprises me. Which is why I will say not more about the story here, as it is best delved into blindly.

If I had to be picky, I would say that I thought the ominous presence of the house could have been used even more for a more sinister undertone – it nearly got there for me, but not quite! Especially some of the outbuildings never lived up to their full spook-potential (I mean, what is more creepier than an old boat shed?).

If you haven’t read Rebecca, don’t despair, as this psychological thriller holds its own. Sometimes I wonder if comparisons to old classics do a book any favours, as one is tempted to compare them and not take each on its own merit. For me, The Winters perhaps lacked the eerie brooding atmosphere of Du Maurier’s classic tale, but made up for it in its many little plot twists I absolutely did not see coming.

In summary, this was a fun, fast-paced read for me, which I devoured on a sunny weekend off. It made for good entertainment and the perfect undemanding beach read!

This book is well written. I enjoyed it and had to finish it, but it is not Du Maurier. Daphne Du Maurier is one of my favourite writers. So I feel I am at a disadvantage in reviewing this book. 'The Winters' is a thriller, while I found 'Rebecca' more of a psychological page-turner. The protagonist, Dani, is no match for Mrs Danvers. I felt sorry for the teenager. A difficult, damaged and neglected 15 year old who had lost her mother, and whose grief had not been properly dealt with. Mrs Danvers was just evil.
I found the concept of updating an old novel to modern times interesting. Moving from Cornwall to The Caymans and The Hamptons. Replacing Manderley with Asherley.
I would recommend that you read this book first and then read 'Rebecca'.