The Ingenue- A Novel by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
"Exceptional. This surprising, exhilarating suspense-filled tale of revenge and redemption is hard to put down." –Publishers Weekly (starred review) My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen's Gambit in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge. When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past–and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life–for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her? Set against a post #Me Too landscape, Rachel Kapelke-Dale's The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia's childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Hardcover
- Dimensions- 9.2" W x 6.3" H x 1.1" D
- Genre- Mystery & thriller
- Publisher- St. Martin's Publishing Group, Publication date- 12-06-2022
- Page count- 320
- ISBN- 9781250834560
Web ID: 17674612
Dark, dramatic, and disturbing!
The Ingenue is a gritty, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of Saskia Kreis, a thirty-seven-year-old former piano prodigy who, after returning home after her mother’s death to find she’s been disinherited and that her mother has left her multi-million dollar mansion to an old family friend, decides to open up old wounds and discover just how inappropriate her teenage relationship was with this man and just how many others he may have also targeted. The prose is taut and gritty. The characters are vulnerable, consumed, and tormented. And the plot does a exceptional job of building tension and unease as it subtly intertwines and unravels an intricate tale of lies, secrets, abuse, control, manipulation, expectations, revenge, and redemption. Overall, The Ingenue is an unsettling, compelling psychological thriller by Kapelke-Dale that delves into all the deep, dark secrets people keep even from those closest to them and raises the question of how well do you really know anyone.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Beautifully Written Story of Heartbreak & Life
The main character, Saskie is a former piano prodigy. Unfortunately, she hit a wall when she was younger and her ability fell off. In addition, she has never really found a career that fits her. After a recent firing from her last job, Saskie was forced to take a job writing questions for testing exams for a set fee. It's barely enough for her to live on but she hasn't wanted for her family to know. When her mother dies, she returns to the family home. After her arrival there, she is slammed with multiple shocks. This book was told in multiple time lines. It was a clever way to portion out the history of Saskia. Many of the mysteries in present day are tied to her past and what happened then. It's heartbreaking to read how Saskia viewed herself as a teenager growing up. She felt a good deal of pressure and didn't connect easily with her peers. It made her susceptible to people who wanted to take advantage of her. I really enjoyed the gothic and creepiness of this novel at times. It was especially obvious when there were descriptions about how the house was built and the history of it. In addition, this author writes very descriptively, but not too much so. I felt as if I could really imagine my surroundings and the characters. In addition, the reader could easily feel Saskia's frustration as she's trying to uncover the present day "mystery." AUDIOBOOK: In addition, I listened to the audiobook as well and found it to be quite good. The narration was a nice match for the characters and lent itself to my enjoyment of the story. 4 stars Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC and ALC. I voluntarily chose to read/listen and review them and the opinions contained within are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Thrilling Story
Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is an exciting thriller about a young woman who returns home to find out her inheritance was left to her ex-lover. Story Recap: When Saskia Kreis returns to her childhood home for her mother’s funeral, she doesn’t expect to find out that her inheritance, the Elf House, was left to an ex-boyfriend, Patrick. The historic Elf House has been handed down from generation to generation and Saskia has grown up knowing the house would be hers one day. Saskia and her father can’t believe her mother would not leave the home to Saskia. Even her father can’t understand her mother’s thinking, and even if she didn’t want to leave it to Saskia, they are both perplexed why she would leave the home to Patrick. With so many unanswered questions, Saskia is determined to find some answers. My Thoughts: I loved this fast-paced story and I could not put this book down until I found out why Saskia’s mother left the house to Patrick. I like the way the author organized the chapters. It starts with a quick snippet from her mother’s feminist fairy tales and I thought this gave us a look into Saskia’s mother and how she thought. Next was a few paragraphs that took place in Saskia’s past and highlights how she became a pianist and how her parents supported her talent. I thought this gave us more suspense as Saskia’s past has clues to her mother’s motivation and we learn why Saskia abandoned her promising career. Next came the present-day section that details Saskia’s search to find the truth behind her mother’s bequest. As I read, the suspense got more and more intense, and the ending was one I had to read twice as I couldn’t believe what happened, and it was a very satisfying end. Recommendation: I highly recommend The Ingenue to anyone who loves suspenseful fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Secrets!
3.5 stars Having loved The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke and loved it, I was excited to read The Ingenue. I have mixed emotions after finishing. I liked the set up and the beginning. Very clever to have excerpts from her writer mother’s feminist twists to fairy tales that we know at the beginning of each chapter. I also liked the multiple timelines in each chapter. Living in New York after attending Juilliard, Saskia, an accomplished pianist, returns to her home in Milwaukee for the funeral of her mother Evelyn Harper Kreis. The Harper family immigrated to Milwaukee in 1871, became wealthy, and built a mansion It was passed down several generations to the oldest male until Evelyn inherited the house. This book is full of family secrets, characters to hate, and a few characters to like. Saskia, confronts her past when she suffered from a long-term child predator, Patrick. The story became very long for me during the middle third of the book making it take much more time for me to read. I enjoyed the last third of the book and enjoyed Sasha’s father and Josh.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Compelling Mental Mystery
“But my voice…my voice is how I tell people where my boundaries are, my voice is how I set my limits. No, you can take anything you like but I won’t let you take away my voice.” Fairy Tales for Little Feminists - The Little Mermaid I came for the music prodigy story and stayed for the feminist fairy tales. This genre-bending twisty novel follows piano prodigy Saskia Kreis from her childhood in the early 1990s to her return to the family Wisconsin mansion 29 years later. She and her parents are considered exceptional in their professional artistic endeavors, creating family drama and personal betrayals. These complexities create a vortex of deceit which spreads far beyond the architecturally significant generational home. I typically will put aside a novel where sex scenes involving a minor are part of the plot, but this book’s captivating framework kept me reading. The chapter structure, starting with one of Saskia’s mothers’ fairy tales, and followed by the catch-up between past and present was compelling and intelligent. I came to the conclusion that the sometimes uncomfortable scenes were vital to the character development and actually a designed feature of the story. The brilliance of the “hand” metaphor in various aspects of the plot did not go unnoticed by this reader! Narrator Stephanie Willis did an outstanding job with her performance, especially given the challenge of the wide range in Saskia’s age throughout the novel. On her Instagram page, Rachel Kapelke-Dale has showcased some incredible illustrations by various artists which depict many of the fairytale settings from the novel - an ideal compliment to her fascinating prose.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
read? or not?
Billed as a "...novel of suspense about the bonds of family the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge." {Well, sort of.] "When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with...Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?" This novel had me on a rollercoaster ride. Took me a while to get reeled in, climbed uphill [but enjoyed], and then ultimately came crashing down. Still... It had so much, then not enough--very uneven. Me too, child pornography, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family, love, trust/mistrust, obsession, influencers, legalese/lawsuit, and more. DARK. At three-quarters through the book it derailed for me and became somewhat unbelievable. The Ingenue, fyi is a boat. The italicized introductions to chapters -- Fairy Tales for Little Feminists -- were written by Saskia's mother--Evie-- and were her source of income. Some quite clever, others not so much [to me]. Swings from chronological past to chronological present -- though not hard to track/follow. Certainly original and writing was ok so I'm giving it 3 stars. Decide for yourself if you want to read it.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good read!
"The Ingenue" by Rachel Kapelke-Dale was much darker than I had anticipated and the description that it is "My Dark Vanessa meets "The Queen's Gambit" is spot on. The story follows Saskia Kreis who, upon returning home after her mother's death, discovers that her mother unexplainedly left their ornate family home to someone outside of the family. Saskia endeavors to find out the reason her mother did so, and finds that she has to face up to demons from her past along the way. As with the author's previous novel, "The Ballerinas," the writing in "The Ingenue" is top-notch. With lyrical prose, the author skillfully weaves a plot that is entertaining, thought provoking, and realistic. The characters come alive from the pages and I audibly gasped when Saskia's secrets come to light. It is definitely not a light, easy read, and it's a slow burn, but it is a good read and well worth the time. Part literary fiction and part psychological thriller, this book will enthrall readers who like to be submersed in a dark plot with damaged characters.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Disturbing, Thought Provoking and a great story
I wish to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am a fan of Rachel Kapelke-Dale and loved her book the Ballerinas. This novel is set in the current modern day time frame and centers on the life of a young girl pianist. It is slow in the beginning and I think that is a good thing. It allows the reader a chance to build a relationship with Saskia and her mother as she begins her journey into the world of music. The shift comes when she gets involved with a much older man who takes advantage of the young 14 year old girl. Saskia hides the relationship from everyone and later after he ends the relationship she flounders. She even gives up her piano future. The story begins when she return homes when in her 30’s after her mother’s death. She finds herself really examining the relationships she had with her parents and learns that her mother has left the childhood estate to Saskia’s former lover and not to her own family as she expected. The dark side of these relationships bring to mind many of the “me too” stories in the news every day and the impact such things have of the lives of young girls. Rachel is a masterful writer and I highly recommend this story unless relationships of this kind are a trigger for you. The modernized fairy tale stories Saskia’s author mother writes are delightful. Each chapter heading retells one of the old fairy tales with a new feminist twist. When her mother dies with an unfinished manuscript Saskia decides to finish the last story. It is fun to see how her mind weaves into her mother’s thinking. I do recommend this book and look forward to the author’s next story. The author is a master storyteller and wordsmith and once she has your attention she holds in to the very end.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com