My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
After reading and loving Rebecca, expectations were high for Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel. The premise is incredibly interesting. Philip, a 24-year-old orphan, discovers that his long-time caregiver, Ambrose, has fallen in love with his cousin Rachel. However, Ambrose succumbs to a sudden illness, leaving Rachel a widow. When Philip lays eyes on Rachel, he falls under her spell as well. But is Rachel as great as she seems or is she a black widow?
According to Book Sirens, I enjoy slow-paced books, but My Cousin Rachel takes slow to an entirely new level. Philip doesn’t even meet Rachel until page 77!
The characters, particularly Philip, are so poorly developed. What I loved about Rebecca is that it is so relatable. Almost every person wants to have a unique relationship, wondering if they are truly special to their significant other, and how can one compete with a ghost. However, Philip is not relatable. He seems to instantly take a shine to Rachel. Why? I still don’t understand what is so great about her.
Philip is one of the most gullible characters ever written. Maybe because I am extremely introverted, and I have been told that it takes me months to warm up to people, but Philip immediately trusts Rachel in 5 seconds despite repeated warnings from multiple people. It is so unbelievable.
Also, Philip doesn’t seem to do anything other than ride his horses around and pay his servants. What exactly does he do to deserve a fortune? Oh right. Nothing. Easy come. Easy go. I did not root for Philip. I was actually hoping that Rachel would take advantage of him, to teach him a lesson and perhaps motivate him to get a J-O-B. No wonder he falls for Rachel. He has nothing else to occupy his time.
The ending was such a let-down. Honestly, I finished this book an hour ago, and I already forgot the ending and really had to sit and try to recall how it ended. That is how lame the ending is. It is really bad.
On the positives, you can learn how to turn up the speed on the audiobook version.
In conclusion, the premise of My Cousin Rachel is amazing; however, the execution is so bad that it borders on laughable. Oh, Philip! Would you be interested in purchasing some land-locked oceanfront property?
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