Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32007 - The Fourth Letter

"She thought the past was laid to rest - only to discover that it threatened to destroy her future" (cover blurb).

 

I can't believe I am already seven books into the Harlequin Gothic Romance series.  Even more shocking, I can't believe how much I am thoroughly enjoying each and every one of the books in this series!  But here I am, and I have no intention of slowing down - although, I will admit, I'm beginning to already feel a bit of sadness at the idea that the series only had eighteen books in it.  That means I only have eleven left to go.  Oh, well, there are plenty of other gothic books from the '60s, '70s, and '80s out there waiting for me to read them, so I suppose I should not be too disheartened.  But, honestly, I don't know that any of them have as beautiful art and as creative titles as this series does, and the uniformity of the covers is a huge plus to someone who loves uniformity and consistency, particularly in series books.  And this one has its series books moments, believe me!

 

The Fourth Letter is written by Alison Quinn and is her second (and final) book in the series.  As previously indicated in my review of her first book (The Satyr Ring), which also happens to be the first book in the series, Quinn is likely the real name of the author and not a pseudonym, since the copyright page on both books indicate the copyright is owned by "Alison Quinn."  Other than that, and the fact that she wrote the first and seventh book in this series, I am not able to find anything else about the author.  I can saw, however, that she is a very talented writer and definitely knows how to write a great gothic mystery.  In this instance, the mystery involves a young woman named Nicole Lord, whose father has died and she has left her home in Paris, France to fulfill her father's dying wish - see her grandmother and resolve the issues that caused him to leave home so many years ago.  The only thing is, Nicole is not prepared for the various secrets and machinations that exist within the walls of the Lord mansion in the hills of Vermont!

 

While Quinn integrates a number of standard gothic tropes - the isolated mansion, the secrets held by pretty much every member of the household, the dangerous cliffs, and the mysterious sounds in the dead of night - she also manages to sneak in some twists into the story and challenge what the reader thinks they know or have figured out.  Quinn throws a couple of very unexpected curve balls that have great impact on the story and the relationships among the characters. Nicole arrives to find a grandmother that is at first resistant and distrusting; a housekeeper and confidant that makes it clear Nicole is not wanted there; a housekeeper's son who is hot and cold - distant at times, friendly at others; and a doctor who is a renowned ladies' man and has set his eyes on Nicole.  The poor girl does not know who to trust, and all she wants is to pass along her father's message and move on to New York.  And therein lies the problem...

 

Nicole's father had previously written his mother three times before, but never received a response.  Nicole has in her possession a fourth and final letter her father wrote just before he died, telling Nicole to give it to her grandmother when she feels the time is right.  But Nicole cannot determine when, or even if, there will be a right time.  And why does her grandmother have this irrational hatred of art of any kind?  Why is the house filled with mirrors on the walls rather than works of art?  And what is that constant tapping she hears at night, coming from the small patroon house at the edge of the woods?  The answer to that final question ultimately leads to a deadly encounter which results in Nicole being locked in the burning building, left to die!  And I suppose there is one more question that must be answered - why in the world does everyone get so distraught when Nicole and Mark announce their engagement?  What secret could their families possibly be hiding that would prevent them from consummating their love?  Well, let's just say that Flowers in the Attic could take a queue from this story!

 

I love the fact that Quinn does not even try to hide who the villain of this story is; nor does she give readers a clear line of good and bad when it comes to Nicole's two suitors - instead, we get plenty of gray areas with both of them.  And the contents of that mysterious, sealed fourth letter, the burning of the patroon house, the threats to Nicole's life, and the secrets that everyone in the house is hiding - well, they all add up to a great gothic mystery that, in some ways, reminds me of a good Nancy Drew mystery.  In fact, the cover art (by yet another unidentified artist) is similar to the original cover art of the Nancy Drew mystery, The Clue in the Diary, by Russell H. Tandy.  Both covers feature the burning buildings in the background, both covers feature a young woman in the foreground - one reaching down for a book, the other clutching a sealed envelope. 

 

Then again, the cover also resembles a much later Nancy Drew mystery, Race Against Time, which cover art was provided by the very talented Ruth Sanderson.  In this particular cover, we see the burning building in the background (as with this book), and the young woman is now facing the fire, her hand raised up to her mouth, similar to how the young woman on the cover of this book has her hand raised up to her chest as she looks back at the burning building.  Perhaps it is mere coincidence that all of these covers feature similar aspects; I mean, after all, the Nancy Drew mysteries have always incorporated a lot of gothic elements into the stories, so why should it be any surprise the covers should not also mirror certain gothic themes?  

One thing I did find odd about the book has nothing to do with the story or cover art; rather, it is the two-page spread in the back of the book advertising the various Harlequin series.  The advertisement urges readers to "Indulge in the pleasure of superb romance reading by choosing the most popular love stories in the world."  Below this tag are six different Harlequin series:  Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Temptation, Harlequin Superromance, Harlequin American Romance, and Harlequin Intrigue.  Surprisingly, the very series in which the ad is placed is not mentioned at all. One would think they would want to advertise the Harlequin Gothic Romance series as well, but apparently it did not make the cut for this particular advertising campaign.  Perhaps that might be part of the reason the series did not last beyond 18 books - without advertising, one cannot expect a series to succeed!

 

This was yet another fantastic addition to the world of gothic romance/mystery novels, leaving me excited and anxious to read the next one in this series!

 

RATING:  10 seven-eights leopardskin fur coats out of 10 for a superbly-written gothic tale of secrets, suspense, and soap-opera style surprises!

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 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!