Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32009 - Return to Shadow Creek

"She returned to the place of her birth - only to discover a sinister web lurking in wait for her..." (cover blurb)

 

Helen B. Hicks returns to this series for her third and final entry in the Harlequin Gothic Romance line, and she is the first author in this series to have two books in a row (Hicks having also authored the previous book in this line, Legacy of Raven's Rise).  As with her other books, this book is set in California, although unlike the previous two, this book is set in the present time (well, present for when it was published back in 1986).  Hicks also strays from a number of the standard gothic tropes - there is no dark mansion, there are no hidden rooms, no "bumps in the night" ... but there is plenty of mystery and some great soap opera type moments to keep the story exciting!

 

Return to Shadow Creek is the story of Cindi Moore's return to Fairhaven, California, and more specifically, Shadow Creek - the place where she was born and spent her early childhood, until her father died and her mother moved them to Wyoming.  Now, nearly 20 years later, Cindi has come home.  Her mother, step-father, and fiance died in a tragic car accident, and unable to cope with the loss,Cindi has nowhere else to turn.  Royce Christopher, the man who manages Cindi's trust.  Kim Christopher, Royce's young sister who used to be Cindi's best friend when she lived there as a child. Laura Christopher, Royce and Kim's stepmother who continues to live on the ranch.  And Gabriel Dussault, Royce's cousin who is carefree and living live to its fullest.  They make Cindi feel welcome to their California ranch, but there is something a bit off.  Something Cindi cannot quite per her finger on...

 

Hicks provides readers with one heck of a great mystery.  What was so horrible in Cindi's past, that her mind has repressed it for so many years? And why did the tragic car accident that killed her mother, fiance, and step-father have such an affect on her?  And how could she not know that Royce and Kim's father left Cindi half of his estate when he died, giving only a fourth each to his son and daughter?  And what is going on in the avocado orchards that makes Royce keep everyone out of there?  And just what kind of evil does the old, abandoned stagecoach stop on the Christopher property contain?  Just being near the place sends Cindi screaming in the other direction!

 

I truly love the mystery aspect to this story.  Hicks builds the story nice and slow.  From the beginning, the reader knows that Cindi has no real memory of her childhood at Shadow Creek, and it is fairly obvious that something horrific happened to make her block it away.  The longer she stays, the more she begins to realize that whatever happened all those years ago is something so sinister that someone is desperate to make sure it stays in the past!  She catches someone watching her as she is out horseback riding.  Then she sees a mysterious man watching her as she enjoys an afternoon outing.  But when she is nearly run off the road by a speeding vehicle, Royce and the others realize that something is definitely wrong.  Cindi begins to suspect that someone at the ranch does not want her remembering the past - but which one is it?

 

The climatic moments in this story are so worth the read!  The cover art depicts those final moments, when Cindi is being chased by the madman across an old wooden bridge (pp. 207-11), and Hicks does a superb job of keeping that man's identity a secret until the final chapter - while Cindi recognizes him, Hicks merely refers to the man as "he" for those pages, not revealing his identity until the final chapter!  It makes for some great suspense, particularly when another character shows up to rescue Cindi, resulting in a deadly battle on the rickety bridge.  And, as one can see from the cover, the art is not the typical gothic scene - there is no dark house in the background, with a light in the upper window; rather, we get the open California countryside at night, the moon obscured by the shadowy tree limbs, and poor Cindy running fearfully from the shadowy man in the background.  While not necessarily gothic, it definitely sets the tone for the mystery within!

 

Overall, yet another winning story for this line of gothic romances, and a nice send off for Helen B. Hicks (this being her last book in the series).  One thing I do find odd, however, is that these books do not advertise the gothic line - instead, the final pages in the book tell readers about 'Six exciting series for you every month ... from Harlequin," and list the Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Superromance, Harlequin American Romance, Harlequin Temptation, and Harlequin Intrigue lines.  At this point, the Gothic Romance line was still going, so I find it odd this series was omitted from the list.  Perhaps Harlequin was already aware the series would not be lasting much longer; or perhaps they felt the "Gothic" line would conflict with their new "Intrigue" line.  I would be curious to know if any of those six lines had an advertisement for the gothic books in them.

 

RATING:  10 shiny sky-blue convertibles out of 10 for a dark mystery involving illegal border crossings, get-rich-quick schemes, secret marijuana plants, and suppressed memories of even more illicit and evil crimes!

Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32008 - Legacy of Raven's Rise

"She set out to unravel one mystery, then found herself caught in the grip of another, more deadly..." (cover blurb)

 

This eighth Harlequin Gothic Romance is the second of author Helen B. Hicks' three gothic tales for this series. Hicks seems to have an affinity for stories set in California during the 19th century, as both her first book (Castle at Jade Cove) and this book find the young heroine of the story making her to a small town in California where she must face the secrets of the past.  There are definitely some similarities between the two books, but there are sufficient differences to keep the story fresh and engaging.

 

Legacy of Raven's Rise tells the story of Selina Ames, an orphan who was raised by foster parents, and who has come to Bittercreek, California in response to a mysterious letters she received, indicating the secrets of her past might be unlocked in this small town.  In a way, Selina reminds me of Victoria Winters from the Dark Shadows saga - a young girl who knows nothing of her true parentage who travels to a somewhat remote location where there is a dark mansion overlooking the town, from which she hopes to unlock the secret of her past.  I suppose that trope is a somewhat tried and true scenario for gothic tales, as it is steeped with so many of the proper elements - veiled secrets, dark houses, mysterious pasts, and young women desperate to find their identity.  Hicks does not make Selina's identity the main focus of the story, although the reader does not realize it until about half-way through the book.

 

From the get-go, the only clues Selina has to her past is the strange note beckoning her to Bittercreek and the enormous emerald ring, surrounded by diamonds that her foster father gave her before he died, indicating it was from her mother.  While the note does not lead her to to any answers, the ring definitely does!  As soon as Selina arrives in Bittercreek, she is met with hostility from the townsfolk - the only ones who are nice to her is the gentleman who road with her in the stagecoach, the owner of the local newspaper, and the town's doctor.  The hotel clerk is downright rude to her, and the rest of the townspeople merely stare and whisper behind her back. She soon learns it is all tied into that dark house overlooking the town - the house called Raven's Rise.  It seems the owner has died, and if no heir appears to claim the fortune left behind by Raven Winfield, then the house and all of the other Winfield assets will revert to the town.  Well, you can pretty much guess what "secret" is going to come out about Selina...

 

As indicated, Selina's past is not really the big mystery of this novel; rather, the mystery involves her grandmother's strange hold over the town and the people in it - especially the banker and the mayor.  There is also the rumor that Raven's Rise hides somewhere within its walls a great treasure, and someone is determined to find it.  Then there are the stories about Raven's ghost haunting the halls of the great house.  And when Selina sees a small light in the windows when the house is dark ... when she hears her name being whispered ... and when she is sure there is someone in the house with her, watching her ... it is all she can do to keep it all together.  Marcus Hannaford, the charming man from the stagecoach, urges her to sell the house and leave town.  The town doctor encourages her to abandon her hopes of staying in the great house and move back to San Francisco.  Even Jared Newcomb, the newspaper editor, questions her decision to keep the house, when the townspeople clearly do not want her there. But the more she is told to leave, the more determined she is to stay.  e

 

Interestingly enough, Hiram and Dulcie, the handyman and housekeeper at Raven's Rise who stayed on after Raven died, do not have any animosity towards Selina at all.  In most gothic tales, the household staff are either extremely antagonistic, not wanting the interloper to be in the house, or they are actually the villain(s) of the story.  In this case, Hicks does not play up to the reader's expectations, and instead, Hiram and Dulcie welcome their former employer's granddaughter into the house and do what they can to protect her - not only from the town's feelings about her, but also from whomever it is that is "haunting" the house.  I rather like this twist, as it is nice to read a tale where the heroine has someone who will support her and have her back when there is so much doubt about those around her.

 

The mystery slowly begins to unravel for Selina, as she learns that Raven Winstead was not exactly the woman she believed her to be.  Blackmail, revenge, murder, unrequited love, and a runaway daughter are all tangled into an intricate web of betrayal and deceit, and Selina must ultimately decide whether she will pick up where her grandmother left off, or whether she will put an end to the legacy that has haunted Raven's Rise for decades and walk a different path.  Can she allow the murderer of her grandmother's love get away with it?  Can she forget why her mother ran away and never looked back?  Can she escape the one who is intent on frightening her from the house so he can lay his hands on that elusive treasure?  It all makes for a rather dramatic conclusion (with a couple of surprising twists) that leaves the reader well satisfied with the outcome.

 

Once again, Harlequin offers up another gorgeous painted cover for this title, but fails to identify the artist.  The scene, with Selina running out of the front gates of Raven's Rise in the dead of night, casts the right amount of gloom and shadow to set the right atmosphere for the story.  I truly love the cover design and art for this series, and I would love to one day find some of the original paintings used for the cover art.

 

RATING:  10 overtrimmed silk lamp shades out of 10 for a gothic tale of mystery upon mystery, with some great soap opera-style themes of blackmail and betrayal thrown in for good measure!

Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32003 - Castle at Jade Cove

"She had become the focus of an evil she couldn't see, hear or feel - until it reached out its icy fingers to touch her ... " (cover blurb)

 

Well, with this book, it's three for three so far in this Harlequin Gothic Romance series of books.  All of the first three books in the series have been great reads.  And despite the first person point of view, of which I am not a big fan, the stories have been engaging, suspenseful, and while utilizing many standard gothic tropes, filled with just the right amount of mystery.  I could not find any information on the author, Helen B. Hicks, other than the fact that she (he?) wrote two other books in this Harlequin Gothic series, as well as a gothic romance published by Kensington under their Zebra line (Riversbend, published in 1987, a year after her last Harlequin was published).  Thus, I am not sure if Hicks is the actual name of the author or a pseudonym, as so many gothic authors are.  In either case, this book definitely has me looking forward to the other two books she wrote in this series!

Castle at Jade Cove is set in the 1800s and follows the journey of eighteen-year old Laurie Westfall from Massachusetts to California, where she has been sent by her now-deceased grandfather to live with the Howards.  It seems he had made a deal with Matthew Howard to look after Laurie should anything happen to him.  The only problem is, when Laurie arrives in Coventry and makes her way to the great house known as Jade Castle, she learns that Matthew is dead and his son, Jason Howard, is now managing the house and family business.  To make matters worse, Laurie has no money available to her, as her guardian back in Boston had control over her funds, and she may have accidentally killed him after he made inappropriate overtures toward her!

As with any good gothic, Jason permits her to remain at Jade Castle, as he wishes to honor his father's contract.  But Laurie quickly learns there are sinister secrets hidden within the walls of the great house.  The housekeeper, Mathilde, makes it no secret that she does not like Laurie and does not want her there.  The ranch manager, Ben Hollister, cannot hide his jealousy of Jason's wealth and position.  The woman who runs the boarding house in Coventry, Mrs. Speers, is blunt in her warning to Laurie to stay away from Jade Castle.  The cook, Yang Lee, is overly protective of his kitchen, with more than a hint of a threat behind his eyes at anyone who enters his domain.  The young lady, Annalee, is more than obvious about her intentions to win Jason Howard's heart - at any cost.  And then there is Jason Howard himself - a man who is said to care little about business and more about enjoying the pleasures of this life; yet, he is repeatedly leaving for San Francisco for days at a time for reasons he refuses to disclose.  Then there are the mysterious sobbings that Laurie hears at night - a woman's cries that everyone in the house insists are not real. Are they really a part of Laurie's imagination, or does the house harbor some dark mystery?

The typical gothic trope of the female protagonist's uncertainty between two men is played up well in this story, as Laurie falls head over heels for Jason, yet, at the same time, questions his motives and wonders if perhaps she should allow Ben to win her heart.  We also get the near-empty mansion with hidden rooms, a musty attic filled with relics of the past, and an almost soap opera-style secret that connects Laurie's own past to the history of this house and its family.  I also like the fact that the main character has a co-conspirator of sorts in the young maid, Jennie, with whom she finds not only a confidant, but also a willing helper with all of her plans (particularly the one to turn the tables on Annalee, who is dead-set upon keeping Jason out of Laurie's grasp!).  And I will admit, the mystery of the mysterious barges out in the cove, the secret tunnel leading from the house down to the cave on the shores below, and the plaintive cries in the night did turn out to have a rather unexpected resolution - not something I saw coming.  However, once Laurie learns what is really going on, she takes on an almost Nancy Drew-style "can do" attitude in wanting to put an end to the horrors taking place, even if that means putting an end to the man that she loves!

Hicks writing is strong, with the ability to build suspense and keep the reader wavering back and forth just as Laurie does in the story.  And when Laurie's connection to the Howard family does come out, it throws quite the monkey wrench into everything, leaving the main character in quite a quandary as to what to do next!

For once, we actually know who the artist is who provided the cover for the book, thanks to his signature on the art.  Leonard M. Goldberg gave us this beautiful illustration of Laurie running away from Jade Castle (a scene that is very reminiscent of Ruth Sanderson's cover art for Captive Witness, the 64th Nancy Drew Mystery Story which was published in 1981, three years prior to this book).  Goldberg was known for his covers to the Fu Manchu books, as well as many Harlequin novels and movie posters, and he even painted an iconic Camel cigarettes billboard in Times Square back in the day.  His talent is obvious, based on the magnificent cover to this book!

A good, solid read that was enjoyable from start to finish - looking forward to reading Hicks' other books in this series!

RATING:  10 silver and jade necklaces with matching earrings out of 10 for superb gothic suspense, mystery, and romance all rolled into one great story!