Alena by Razchel Pastan

 Alena: A Novel by Rachel Pastan. Riverhead Books (Penguin), 2014.
                           Adult fiction.


The main character, an unnamed young woman, goes to Italy with Louise, a selfish Midwestern art curator. The young woman soon finds herself hired by Bernard, the owner of the Nauk, a small Cape Cod art museum. Their former curator, Alena, has disappeared. Increasingly, the mystery deepens; what happened to Alena?  The new curator struggles to mount an exhibit of  local artist, Celia Cowry. McManus, another artist and disabled vet, becomes more and more disturbed that his own promised exhibit is not to happen. Handsome policeman Chris becomes more than just a good friend.  All the while, the atmosphere of the near ocean and the characters, quirky people all, make a fine backdrop for mysterious happenings.


With definite echoes of Daphne du Maurier's haunting masterpiece. Rebecca, Pastan makes the story her own. Bernard is not the love interest. His sister is part of the novel as is Ben, who also paints.The Nauk is the carefully constructed building, not a house such as Manderley. The Mrs. Danvers character is echoed in Agnes, a museum assistant not nearly as creepy as Mrs. D.  Readers familiar with the original will enjoy making comparisons, but ultimately will long to reread Rebecca.