Wow. 
 The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton was incredible. When I first started reading it, I knew it was good, but as I kept going, I just couldn't put it down. I started it this morning and finished it this evening. 
 The Prologue of the book is a funeral. 
 "The funeral is supposed to be a quiet affair, for the deceased had no friends. But words are water in Amsterdam, they flood your ears and set the rot, and the church's east corner is crowded. She watches the scene unfold from the safety of the choir stall, as guildsmen and their wives approach the gaping grave like ants toward honey." 
 How could you not love a book that opens like that? It also has some great imagery. For example, after a fight between Johannes (Nella's husband) and Marin (Johannes's sister), the author gives us the following sentence: 
 "The air is hot, the atmosphere a bruise." 
 Set in 17th century Amsterdam, The Miniaturist tells the story of eighteen year old Petronella (Nella), who has just been married to a wealthy man she barely knows. Nella's wedding gift from her new husband is a beautiful doll house that is exactly like her new home, except that it isn't furnished. Searching for someone to furnish it, she finds an ad for "The Miniaturist," who begins to send her things that Nella did not order. Each of the "gifts" are slightly prophetic, or so Nella believes. 
 "In showing me my own story...the miniaturist has become the author of it herself. How I wish that I could have it back." 
 But the miniaturist isn't the only storyline in the book. In fact, it's not even the main one. There's also the story of Nella's marriage, with her kind husband who is not at all what Nella expected, her husband's strong-willed sister, and the two household servants, Otto and Cornelia. 
 I thought I knew how it was going to end as I was reading it, but it surprised me, which is a good thing. There are several little twists throughout the book, and the author does a wonderful job of tying them together at the end so that everything falls into place. 
 While it does move slowly sometimes, it always picks back up. I could not put The Miniaturist down. I highly recommend it. 
 **NOTE** This is a copy of a review originally posted on my blog, bookreviews77.com