It's a Family Affair

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Young Philip has been raised by his uncle Ambrose. Ambrose goes to Florence because of his health issues, in the hope that the warm weather will do him good. While there, he meets a long lost cousin, Rachel, and marries her. Sometime after that, he dies. Days after his death, Philip shows up in Florence looking for Ambrose because he feels something is wrong with him. He finds out from Rachel's friend, Rainaldi, how Ambrose died and that Rachel had left town, headed he knew not where.

Philip comes back to Cornwall, and finds out that he is the sole heir to Ambrose's estate, but then Rachel shows up. Philip wanted very much to hate her, but she is just so charming. He ends up falling in love with her, and he thinks she does for him too. Until his birthday, that is. Philip comes into his inheritance on his 25th birthday, and he decides that he wants to abide by a will that Ambrose never signed off on. Prior to giving Rachel notice that he has done this, he asks her to marry him, and he believes she says yes (I thought she did too, so either I misread or got caught up in this). Then, over drinks the night of his birthday, Philip announces that he and Rachel are engaged, but she tells everyone that this isn't true.

Not long after, Philip falls deathly ill. When he awakens, he remembers a lost letter from Ambrose that indicates that he thinks that Rachel poisoned him. Philip begins to wonder if Rachel is poisoning him as well.

I won't tell you how it ends, but just know that Philip was still hung up on Rachel even when she hurt him.

This took 200 pages to get interesting, but the last third of the book is what made this book worth reading. I'd like to see the movie adaptation now that I have finished this.