Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32001 - The Satyr Ring

"She borrowed a dead girl's name ... and had to play a game whose rules she didn't know" (cover blurb)

If you had ever told me at any time of my life that I would read and enjoy a Harlequin romance novel, I would have told you that you were crazy.  I grew up watching my mom and her best friend devouring Harlequin romances, trading off books and reading them as fast as they were published.  I scoffed at the lurid covers and had absolutely no interest whatsoever in the love stories contained within each one.  Instead, growing up, I developed a love for mysteries, starting with Nancy Drew and other children's series books, then graduating into Dark Shadows on television, and as I entered my teen and adult years, cultivated my continuing love of mysteries.  The one common thread among all of those are the gothic elements - the stormy nights, the dark mansions, the deadly secrets, the hidden rooms, the untold pasts.  I was enthralled by these plots, and so my passion for the gothics of the '60s and '70s, and even into the early '80s was only a natural progression.  What I never knew until a little over a year go was that Harlequin attempted their own line of gothic novels in the early 1980s. It didn't last long, only publishing 18 books in the series; however, I had to have them - I mean, the cover art and titles along make them worth it!  After tracking them all down, I decided I could not begin reading them (and being the anal-retentive person I am, I had to start with the first book in the series...)

The Satyr Ring is written by Alison Quinn, who, as far as I could uncover, has only written one other gothic novel, which is also in this Harlequin Gothic Romance series (book 4).  I could find literally nothing about Alison Quinn online, so I have no idea if this is the author's real name or merely the pseudonym of a male or female author who did not want their own name associated with the work.  The copyright page indicates the story is © 1983 (the same year as the publication) by Alison Quinn, so perhaps it is the author's real name.  In any event, this first foray into the realm of Harlequin gothic tales is a period piece, set in the mid-1940s after the end of the second World War.  The story is told in the first-person narrative (which is not my favorite style) of the protagonist, Sarah Smith (and, yes, all I could think of was Sarah Jane Smith, probably the most famous of all Doctor Who companions - and since the story does open over in England, perhaps the author was just paying a little homage).  Despite this point of view, I did find myself drawn into the story, caring about Sarah and the events that were spiraling around her.

The book opens with a soap-opera style story - a young woman (Sarah) who is an amnesiac, works at a hospital in post-war London where she is caring for another young woman who was in a horrible automobile accident.  Strangely enough, the injured woman bears a striking resemblance to Sarah.  Before the woman dies, she begs Sarah to go to America and be with her grandfather.  When the dead woman's husband finally shows up at the hospital, Sarah sneaks out of the hospital with the woman's passport, airplane ticket, and money, and flies to Maine, where she is prepared to inform the woman's grandfather of her passing.  Upon touchdown, however, Sarah is shocked to find the woman's husband on the same plane as her, and she faints ... only to awaken in Starr Mansion, where Andre Tate informs her that she will have to assume the identity of Roma Tate (his dead wife) in order to keep Roma's dying grandfather alive.  She soon learns that Benjamin Starr has changed his will, leaving everything to Roma upon his death - much to the consternation of Roma's stepmother, who was anticipating inheriting the large estate upon the old man's passing!  Sarah unwillingly agrees to go along with it, only until Grandfather Starr gets better, and then she intends to tell him the truth.  Little does she know the web of lies and secrets she is about to get tangled up in!

A deadly bobcat named Satan that was Roma's pet cat ... a suspicious Aunt Clara who is determined to get that fortune ... a stepbrother that insists he and Roma had planned to get married before the fortune-hunting Andre entered the picture ... and a strange satyr ring that is the only link to Sarah's past - a ring that Andre seems intent on keeping away from her.  A shove down the cellar stairs and a near drowning convince Sarah that someone wants to kill her ... and when she ultimately finds her precious ring hidden in a drawer in Andre's attic studio (where he paints), Sarah reaches her breaking point, and she runs away - only to get drawn back when Grandfather Starr dies, and Sarah finally discovers that the deception she undertook to play Roma Tate was one she was made for - quite literally!  Her past catches up to her, and Sarah finally remembers who she truly is and discovers a shocking connection to Starr Mansion, Andre Tate, and the entire nightmare in which she has been living!

Aside from the first person point-of-view, I did enjoy the story.  As indicated, it definitely had the soap opera elements to it, what with the woman with amnesia, the look-alike woman, the deception of one woman playing the role of the other - all of these tropes have been used in soaps for decades.  The dark mansion overlooking the Maine cliff, with the ocean crashing on the rocks below is very reminiscent of Dark Shadows, as is the young woman who comes to the mansion, never knowing that she has a secret connection to the people who live there.  A combination of soap opera, gothic, and mystery definitely add up to a really good story.

The cover art is gorgeous, and while it hints at the whole look-alike scenario (with Sarah looking into the mirror and seeing Roma instead of herself, and only Sarah is wearing the satyr ring), there is no actual scene like this anywhere in the book.  It is, however, a nice departure from the typical woman in a flowing dress running away from a dark mansion in the background.   It is rather nice to have a different visual on the cover, and the shadows and expression on Sarah's face definitely give it a spooky feel.

A great start to this series, and here's hoping the rest of the books measure up to this one!

RATING:  9 glasses of cold milk out of 10 for a suspenseful tale of deception, secrets, lost memories, mystery, and murder - with a pet bobcat thrown in for good measure!