There are two ways to think of Thorn Abbey - as retelling of Rebecca or as a novel in its own right. A successful retelling will excel in both areas, reimagining a well loved classic and bringing it into the modern era. Thorn Abbey does well enough as a retelling, but fails almost abysmally as a standalone novel.
As a retelling of Rebecca, I think I'd give this book about 3.5 stars. If I was to forget that Thorn Abbey is a retelling, I'd probably give it 2 stars.
Thorn Abbey, the boarding school the novel is named for, is...
