We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

 This book was recommended to me by a friend from school. We have both read other of Shirley Jackson's books. The titles I have read are both non fiction; accounts of her life: Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons. I find myself wondering if perhaps we were assigned this book in middle school as it seemed as if I'd read it before...  

The essence of this book is that it gives a picture of small towns and small minds. The telling of the story holds a mystery and the pieces of it are put together as the story is read. Everything is tied up pretty satisfyingly; at least the dots of the mystery are all connected by the end of the story. The main characters in this novel tend a family garden plot but also nurse more than a garden variety of mental and emotional issues. If gothic mystery is your "thing", you should read this book.