Secrets Unbound: The Cloisters Review

The review

The Cloisters is centered on Ann Stilwell, a recent art history graduate from Whitman college, moving to New York for the summer under the guise of an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that relinquishes into work at The Cloisters – which displays European medieval art and architecture. Ann is an Early Renaissance student, with a particular focus in Renaissance astrology, one of few, due to the lack of “new work” the area is argued to be able to bring forward in terms of research. Recruited in a midst of confusion by the lack of an advisor at The Met, Patrick Roland provides an opportunity for Ann to remain in New York and escape the reality of her father’s recent death back home in Walla Walla, Washington, to work at The Cloisters with himself and an art history graduate student, Rachel Mondray. While outside of the Museum Mile, and thus away from the traditional ideals of art to the public, The Cloisters delivers intricate gothic architecture and courtyards teeming with various plants, non-poisonous and poisonous alike, in what are main character describes as the museum being a work of art in and of itself.

While the museum’s focus is outside of her usual realm of interest, Patrick and Rachel find Ann potentially useful due to her focus on celestial vaults and Renaissance astrology, as it has the potential to inform their studies on tarot cards. Perceived to be used almost entirely during the 17th and 18th centuries, Patrick and Rachel present the possibility for tarot cards to have been used for divination as early as the 15th century – an effort in which Ann is ready to prove herself capable of contributing, particularly in discovering evidence of full tarot card decks which could be attributed to that earlier period. Pulled into the mystical and convoluted relationship between Patrick and Rachel, Ann finds herself discovering her confidence through her affinity with the practice of tarot, her budding romantic relationship with Leo, the Cloister’s gardener, and her friendship with Rachel.

After discovering something ground-breaking while engaging in her tarot research, Ann begins a tumultuous adventure in making a name for herself in her field. This sparks a reliant and dangerously close friendship between Ann and Rachel, which results in multiple deaths at The Cloisters and complications with Ann’s other close relationships. While Ann delves deeper into her work and reliance on the tarot card, she makes a number of discoveries which brings to light who she and Rachel really are, while simultaneously guaranteeing her success in the field.

Personal thoughts

The Cloisters impressed me with the character development of Ann and her relationships; Ann begins as a seemingly undesired outcast of a student and transforms into a confident scholar by the end of the novel. Hay’s writing allows for a number of dark twists, without being devastated by the outcome, that you are unable to guess and leaves you ready to binge the whole story (which I totally did).

There were a few assumptions the story gives us, however, I was left a little confused and underwhelmed by. The first is the over-emphasis on Ann’s willingness and ability to contribute to the more mystical studies of Renaissance art history, which the story seems to counteract in the first few pages when we are getting to know Ann and her background. Her early character development does not seem amenable to ideas of “fate” or magic more generally, and there is little build-up for her acceptance of research related to Medieval and Renaissance era tarot cards to consume her life. I am also left confused by Ann’s relationship with her mom - we can see that Ann feels as if her mom holds her back in life and made more anxious by potentially having to return back to Washington. But once we are assured the Ann has a future in graduate school and at The Cloisters, we no longer hear about her mom or her relationship with Leo, for that matter. Ann suggests her relationship with Leo is left to the fates, which leaves the reader assuming we may hear more in the last few pages which describe Ann’s achievements, but we are left hanging. While I appreciate that Ann’s career is not built on the pretense and over-attachment to her romantic relationship, the story seems to constantly emphasize Ann’s attraction to and need to re-assure her relationship with Leo, which leaves no mention of Leo in her future like a gap in the storyline.

Overall, I highly recommend The Cloisters for those of you interested in mysteries with a dark academia vibe and would not be upset if there ended up being a sequel to give us more context to Ann’s future or a re-focus on other side characters we are introduced to.

Book details

Author: Katy Hays

Genre: Mystery, Fiction

Length: 312 pages

Series: Stand-alone

Tropes: Dark academia

Rating: 💡💡💡💡

Spice rating: 🔥

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