Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32010 - The Blue House

"She had no control over the evil forces that were driving her to the brink of madness..." (cover blurb)

 

Now I'm definitely beyond the half-way point in this Harlequin Gothic Romance series, as this marks the 10th book in the series, published in April 1986.  This is the first, and only, book authored by Dolores Holliday.  I can only assume Ms. Holliday is the author's actual name and not pseudonym since (a) the book is copyrighted in her name and (b) she has a dedication on the copyright page to her husband, Judd, thanking him for making the book possible.  Some online research reveals Ms. Holliday just passed away this year (back in February).   She published her first novel, a gothic tale called Greystone Shadows, after which she had her second novel (The Seventh Gate) published first in 1981 as a part of the Harlequin Mystique line, and later re-published and re-packaged as the first book in the Harlequin Romantic Suspense line that debuted with this Gothic Romance line.  (The Romantic Suspense line only published two books, before that got re-started and re-branded as the Harlequin Intrigue line.)  This book was Ms. Holliday's final gothic romance novel; after this, she went on to write mystery novels (which, oddly enough, were never published, according to her obituary!).

 

The Blue House is the first book in this series to actually touch upon the supernatural and psychic abilities.  It is also the first book in this series to have the house be an integral character to the story, having its own personality, so to speak.  The main character is McKala Aiden, whose first name is derived from her mother's maiden name, McKay.  She and her fiance, Peter Caterson, are in Oregon to oversee his latest real estate development - the construction of a new condominium complex on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  There's only one hold-up - the old blue house that currently stands on the property.  Peter is having to deal with various issues preventing his immediate destruction of the property, and while he fights city hall, McKala (or "Kala" as she allows people to call her) becomes more and more fascinated with the house.  A history buff (more than that, actually, since she just received her Ph.D. in history!), her curiosity builds the more she learns about the house.

 

A local artist, Matthew Donegal, starts her on that journey by telling her about the previous owner.  Sadie Andrews grew up in that house with her mother, who claimed to be clairvoyant and told people's fortunes.  After her mother died, Sadie seemed to follow in her mother's footsteps.  There is even a room in the house painted completely black, where Sadie and her mother would exhibit their "talents."  Matthew tells Kala that Sadie promised him the house so he could establish an art studio for fellow artists to hone their craft - but no will was ever located, and the house was eventually sold to the development company for which Kala's fiance works.  Kala decides to explore the inside of the house - but once inside, she finds more history than she bargained for!  When she goes upstairs and opens the door to the third floor bedroom, she sees a dead body lying on the floor!  She runs out of the house, only to find that when others go up to the room, it is empty, like the rest of the house.  Kala cannot decide if she really saw something, or if she hallucinated the whole thing.  One this is for sure - there is something sinister about the house and what happened there - Matthew, the police, even Peter's housekeeper, Fiona, and others in the village all seem to clam up when she starts talking about what she saw and questions the events surrounding Sadie's death.  A suicide, it was ruled - but Kala now believes that was not the case.

 

There is definitely the romantic side to the story, as Kala finds herself falling in love with Matthew and breaking off her engagement to Peter; but the focus is definitely on the mystery of what really happened to Sadie Andrews, did she have a will and, if so, where is it, and what kind of supernatural power still resides within the house?  A dark presence that attacks her, strange whistling sounds in the night, and visions of Sadie Andrews with dire warnings all press in on Kala, making her question her own sanity.  But like Nancy Drew herself, Kala puts aside her fears and sets about to uncover the truth about the house, Sadie Andrews, and her missing will - but the ultimate truth puts her in way more danger than she ever expected and from a very unlikely source!

 

The story is filled with suspense and mystery that definitely kept my attention, and the cover art certainly captures those same feelings.  At least with this book, we are able to identify the cover artist, since his signature appears on the art, just below the cover blurb.  Len Goldberg (a/k/a Leonard M. Goldberg), who also did the cover art for Castle at Jade Cove, the third book in the Harlequin Gothic Romance series.  He superbly captures the expression of fear on Kala's face on this cover, although, admittedly, the details of the house do not exactly match those in the book.  I can forgive him that, however, because the art is still gorgeous!

 

I do have to mention, before I finish up this post, that I did like the name of the cove, over which the blue house loomed - Seven Devils Cove.  I wonder if the author pulled the name from the Seven Devils Wayside, which is located in Oregon and is the home to three beaches.  According to local history, the road's name came from the deep ravines that run down the hills to the beach.  There is also the Seven Devils Mountains on the Idaho-Oregon border, which boasts some very "dramatic" cliffs, one travel site says.  These mountains overlook the deepest gorge in North America, known as "Hells Canyon." With names like this, they definitely make the perfect setting for a gothic mystery!

 

Another fantastic addition to the Harlequin Gothic Romance line - so far, it's been a successful 10 for 10 with these books!

 

RATING:  10 empty bottles of syrup out of 10 for an intriguing story of a house, a woman, a murder, and a hidden past - all nicely weaved together into a true tale of suspense! 

The Hawkline Monster - a Gothic Western

You just never know what you are going to find at a library book sale.  A few months back, I went to the large book sale held at the Orlando Public Library in downtown Orlando (where else would it be?), and while I did not really expect to find anything that would interest me, I stumbled across this particular book, with its cover showcasing a rambling house with three chimneys pouring out black smoke, while far in the background, a man on a horse watches.  The tagline under the picture describes the book as "The bestselling author's wildly imaginative novel about a mansion, a monster, and a Magic Child."  Looking back up at the title, that is when I noticed the subtitle: "A Gothic Western."  Okay, that was definitely unusual.  One never thinks of Gothic novels being set in the Old West.  So, I pulled out my phone and did a quick search - and discovered that Richard Brautigan is known for his satire and surrealism, writing on themes that include the absurdity in modern life.  Well, I don't think anything could be more absurd than what takes place in this book!

 

The Hawkline Monster, which is Brautigan's fifth novel, published in 1974, centers around two bounty hunters (for lack of a better term) - Greer and Cameron. Interestingly enough, the book opens with them in Hawaii, where they are watching their mark - only to see him teaching his child how to ride a horse, at which point Greer complains that he cannot kill a man who is teaching his kid how to ride a horse (p. 9), so the two return to San Francisco, where they kill a Chinaman to make some money before traveling on to Portland - and that is where the weirdness begins.  As they are whoring up at a whore house (yeah, don't ask), Magic Child shows up.  Yes, Magic Child is her name.  An Indian girl.  Or so she seems.  She has a job for the two men, a job only they can do.  A certain Miss Hawkline, who lives in an old mansion on Dead Hills, needs them to kill a monster that lives under her house.  A monster that her father created.  A monster that killed her father.  A monster that is now trying to escape.

 

That doesn't sound too weird, you say?  Well, did I mention that Magic Child was not an Indian at all.  In fact, Magic Child did not exist at all.  Upon their arrival at the Hawkline house, Magic Child mysteriously changes into a perfect duplicate of Miss Hawkline.  Her twin sister.  And the two Miss Hawklines have no knowledge of Magic Child.  They just want the monster gone.  You know, the one that lives down in the ice caves below the house.  The house that is freezing in the middle of summer - freezing so much, there are drift piles of snow around the house.  Despite the heat outside.  Greer and Cameron want to kill the monster, but somehow, they keep getting sidetracked.  And what is that strange little glimmer of light that seems to be floating around the house, dragging a rather reluctant shadow with it?  Greer and Cameron have their suspicions, but Miss Hawkline and Miss Hawkline are oblivious to it.  Oh, and then there is the Hawkline's butler, a massive giant who is oh-so-gentle.   Sadly, he dies.  Before they can decide what to do with the body, Miss Hawkline and Miss Hawkline decide they want to have their way with Greer and Cameron -so they go upstairs to the bedrooms and pass the time.  When they return to the ground floor, they discover the butler - who is still dead - is now a dwarf, completely shrouded by the giant's clothes.  Just what is going on in this house?

 

Brautigan manages to write a creepy novel while having all of his characters maintain completely unruffled and nonchalant attitudes about all of the weirdness going on around them.  The lack of fear, the lack of surprise, and the lack of disbelief - all of it works together to make this book a thoroughly enjoyable and fun read!  I never expected to read a gothic novel set in the Old West (the book takes place in 1902, just after the turn of the century), but Brautigan makes it work.   There are vulgarities within the story - not just the language, but the sexual scenes, as well - but they actually fit with the characters from the Old West and do not detract from the gothic nature of the house and its monster.  While we do not have the standard damsel in distress, the fact that Miss Hawkline and Miss Hawkline are twins can be construed as Brautigan's way of poking fun at the gothic trope of a young woman being torn between two men - here, instead, we have the same woman duplicated, so that each man has their own version of Miss Hawkline.  In fact, until the monster is destroyed, the two women do not even have first names, so it is impossible to differentiate one from the other.

 

The realization of the monster in the book is also a unique take on the gothic theme.  In most cases, the "monster" turns out to be human, usually one of the men courting the main character.  In this instance, the monster turns out to be a very real creature, created by a mixture of supernatural and scientific experimentation, and it has taken control of the entire house.  It has a mind of its own; however, it is not completely evil, as it has a shadow that seems to have a conscience - a shadow that is being forced to follow the light everywhere it goes, unable to stop it from doing what it is doing to the inhabitants of the house.  Thus, instead of an internal struggle of good and evil seen in your typical gothic characters, we have a very visible struggle between good and evil,, lights and dark.  The book is truly a unique take on the genre. 

 

If you can manage to get your hands on a copy of this book, I would recommend it - it's worth the read!

 

RATING:  10 elephant foot umbrella stands out of 10 for mixing two genres with hilarious success and completely unexpected results!