The Cloisters by Katy Hays

November 15, 2022

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Ann Stilwell is a Renaissance art graduate student who is offered a summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but when she arrives, the only position available is at The Cloisters, a branch of MOMA that specializes in medieval art. At The Cloisters, Ann works with the stunning Rachel and Patrick, the equally stunning curator who is obsessed with finding an original tarot deck from the 15th century. When one of her co-workers is murdered, Ann realizes that she is part of a dangerous game.

I love all things medieval and I've always wanted to visit The Cloisters in New York. Medieval literature was one of my concentrations in grad school, so I was looking forward to reading Hays' novel. I loved the setting, and the descriptions of the museum and the gardens were wonderful. But the plot really dragged, and the characters were irritating. Ann was incredibly naive, Rachel vacillated between brilliant, manipulative, and extremely childish, and Patrick's only real interests were tarot and Rachel. There is also a lot about the cutthroat world of academia. I guess publishing houses don't have editors anymore?

Many thanks to Edeweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC. Wish I had liked it more.

The Cloisters museum in New York