Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Of all the required reading back in high school, Rebecca was by far my favorite. I love that Hitchcock ended up directing the film version because I always felt there was a very Hitchcockian air to the book. I was always fascinated with the concept of Manderley. It is portrayed as such a regal place that holds so much history and mystery. All the staff know things but don't necessarily let on to them.

Throughout the book, we never know the name of the new Mrs. De Winter. This really helped emphasize that some part of Rebecca was always still present at Manderley - the new wife couldn't even be named. Even though Rebecca is dead, she has not gone. Her presence is felt everywhere at Manderley and the staff continued to act as if Rebecca was still around, still giving them orders. They continued about their routines exactly as Rebecca had taught them, and the new Mrs. De Winter was too timid to object or suggest otherwise.

When she brings flowers in from the garden and attempts to place them on a table, she is stopped by a staff member and told that Rebecca always placed the flowers on a different table. Instead of rallying for some change around Manderley, Mrs. De Winter backed down immediately, apologized, and put the flowers on Rebecca's preferred table.

Rebecca is a classic mystery that uses subtlety to create suspense rather than gore or shock factors. I highly recommend this book.