The Evils of Peyton Place - the fifth Peyton Place novel by Roger Fuller

As I've been watching more and more episodes from the Peyton Place television show (the first couple of years, in the mid-60s), it reminded me that I still had more Peyton Place novels by Roger Fuller to read.  The books definitely follow the story as originally penned by Grace Metalious, and are not at all related to the television show, which deviated so far from the books - changing so many elements of Metalious' original, scandalous tale.  Fuller, on the other hand, not only builds on the original scandals in Metalious two-book story, but he goes well beyond what was considered morally and ethically acceptable back in those days!  This particular book, published in January 1969, contains probably some of the most "shocking" content of any of the prior four books in this series!

 

The Evils of Peyton Place introduces readers to yet more newcomers to the small New England community.   Willie Higginbotham is a filthy rich man who has never really had to work a day in his life.  He married Anne Higginbotham, known as "Higgie," who is anything but a usual housewife.  In fact, when it comes to being filthy rich, Higgie enjoys the filthy part more than the rich part.  Rarely sober, dependent on drugs prescribed by her questionable doctor, and in total reliance on her husband's support - physical, emotional, and psychological - Higgie is always looking for something new to satiate her depraved desires.  Never in a million years did Willie think all those kinks would find kindred spirits in a small community like Peyton Place ... but little did he know!

 

Fuller doesn't hold back any punches with this story, as he delves into the sexual escapades of Higgie and her way-too-permissive husband, Willie.  Thankfully, he does not involve any of the mainstay characters in Peyton Place (such as Mike Rossi, Michael Swain, Constance MacKenzie-Rossi, or even the gruff Sheriff Buck McCracken), and while Leslie Harrington is mentioned (as is his deceased son, Rodney), he is never actually seen in the story.  Rather, Fuller introduces other members of the small town who participate in Higgie's "Charades and Anagram Circle" (which is the cover-name for the orgies held at the Higginbotham home).  In fact, the book actually goes into a bit of detail about each of the town's families that secretly participate in these clandestine gatherings, expanding the known residents in Peyton Place.

 

What I think pushes the boundaries a bit too far with the story is when Fuller not only has Higgie engaging in sexual acts with their housekeeper's daughter (who is barely old enough to be out of high school!), but she also makes overtures towards the daughter of her husband's business partner - a girl that IS still in high school!  Thankfully, nothing every actually happens - it is merely threats made by Higgie; but Willie does finally put an end to the shenanigans and the marriage when he catches her in bed with his business partner's wife - a decision that has devastating consequences for not only Higgie, but for Willie as well.  This book has an extremely sad ending, moreso than any book that has come before in this series.  Of course, that does ground it somewhat in reality, as actions do have consequences, and the moral of this story definitely plays out - engaging in reckless, careless behavior, living a life of lies and secrets, will eventually catch up to you!

 

One thing I did like about this book - when characters or situations from previous books are mentioned, there is a footnote on that particular page that provides the reader with the title of the book wherein that particular character appeared or story took place (p. 21 references The Pleasure of Peyton Place and p. 125 references Again Peyton Place).  That's a nice way to refresh the memories of those who have read all the books, and a great reference for those who pick up and read this book before any of the others.

 

Of all the books, I would say this is probably the one I liked the least.  It is a bit difficult to get through because of the subject matter and because of the constant switch in point of view to the various characters introduced.  I still have several more books in the series to read, so we will see how they play out...

 

RATING:  6 scantily-clad fire-dancers out of 10 for pulling back the curtains on the sordid lives of the rich and bored behind closed doors in a small-town USA. 

Ghost of Dark Harbor - the first Dark Harbor Gothic Novel

"Visions of a terrifying phantom sent her to an institution.  Cured, she returns ... only to be tormented again!"  (cover blurb)

 

Having finished the Lucifer Cove series by Virginia Coffman, I decided to try a Gothic series by one of my favorite authors, W.E.D. Ross - this time, writing under his pseudonym Clarissa Ross.  The Dark Harbor series consists of six books, published between 1974 and 1975.  The books are set on "Pirate Island," a fictional island said to be set 30 miles south of Cape Cod (p. 12).  Ross goes on to describe the dimensions of said island as "fourteen miles long and three miles wide at its widest point" (p. 12).  The specific distance from Cape Cod, and the specific dimensions for the size of the island clearly indicate Ross was using Nantucket for his "Pirate Island," as Nantucket is literally 30 miles south of Cape Cod, and it is 14 miles long and approximately 3.5 miles wide.  An online search reveals that Ross's other series, Fog Island, also appears to be based on the island of Nantucket, leaving one to wonder if Ross regularly visited the often fog-shrouded island and found it the perfect setting for his stories.

 

Ghost of Dark Harbor is the first book in the series, and introduces readers to the island community, which was said to have been named Dark Harbor because its original settlers had left the mainland under the suspicion of being in league with the devil (p. 13).  The reader is brought to the island along with the main character for this story, Joyce Mills.  Poor Joyce has just been released from a mental hospital, where she was being treated after a complete breakdown following the death of her young daughter, Lucie.  The doctor has proclaimed she is sufficiently of sound mind to return home, but Joyce is not so sure.  Even her husband, Derek Mills, seems to be unsure, with his attitude towards her somewhat distant.  Without a doubt, her mother-in-law (Regina Mills) and sister-in-law (David's adopted sister, Mona) believe she is still mad, and they make it clear they do not want her back on the island, with their constant quips and smart remarks regarding her mental state.  The only understanding she receives is from the young David Chase, a painter who is staying at Mills Castle while he uses his talent to paint some ships for the Dark Harbor Museum (where Derek works).  While the household staff are nice enough, Joyce can see it in their eyes and in the quiver of their voice that they are wondering about her mental state.

 

Of course, it doesn't help that when she first arrives home, the black cat, Timmy, appears out of nowhere, startling her so that she screams in terror - after all, Lucie had been chasing after Timmy when she fell to her death from atop the high cliff behind the great house.  Then the ghostly apparitions start to appear.  Joyce is sure that she sees the ghost of Captain Peter Mills, that sea-faring man who build the castle for his new wife, then killed her and her lover when he returns home to find him in bed together, after which he took his own life by hanging himself in the basement.  No one believes her, but Joyce knows what she saw.  Only David Chase listens to her without judgment, as he admits that he was once in a mental hospital following a horrific car accident in which a friend of his was killed.   Ross slowly builds the suspense in the story, as Joyce's visions become more frequent, and it is not until she speaks with Zachary Miller, an elderly man who used to be a ship captain many years ago, that she begins to wonder if the apparitions are not ghosts at all, but a real person who is purposefully trying to scare her away.

 

Is it her own husband doing this?  After all, she did find an old captain's uniform hidden in the chapel near Mills Castle, and he was upset that she had discovered it.  Could he be trying to get rid of her so he would be with Faith Patterson, the woman with whom everyone says he is having an affair?  Or is it Regina and Mona, working together to remove a woman they do not see mentally fit to be a member of their prestigious family?  With her gone, Mona would have a chance with her adopted brother (since they are not blood related).  Or, as much she hates to think it, could it be Uncle Henry Mills, her husband's uncle who lives with them at the castle, and who spends most days drinking more alcohol than he should while living off of his relatives' money.  He seems to be in the right place at the right time whenever Joyce has a scare.  Could he have some secret reason for wanting her gone?  And what about David Chase?  She really knows nothing about him, and although he has declared his love for her and wants nothing more than to rescue here from the taunts and terrors of the Mills family, could he be trying to scare her so that he can have her all to himself?

 

Ross certainly provides the readers with plenty of suspects, plenty of motives, and plenty of questions as to whether Joyce is really seeing anything at all, or if it is all in her imagination.  Regina and Mona are downright nasty, and I kept waiting for Joyce to stand up for herself against them (the few times she does, I nearly cheered!).  Even Derek, her own husband, comes across as cold and pretty much heartless, constantly berating her for expressing what she sees, threatening to send her back to the mental hospital if she does not stop.  I found Joyce to be an extremely weak-willed character, and maybe Ross intended her to be that way; but all the while I was reading, I kept waiting for Joyce to grow a backbone and finally stand up to all these people.  She had the support of David Chase, Uncle Henry, and even Captain Miller, who listened to all of her problems every time she visited him and offered her sound advice.  Sadly, although she has a few moments of strength, Joyce remains the helpless victim through most of the story, even reaching the point where she begins to question her own sanity and believe maybe she does need to go back to the hospital. 

 

In true W.E.D. Ross style, the big reveal and climactic revelations and battle all occur within just the last few pages of the story, with no huge fanfare at all.  After spending nearly 175 pages building up the suspense to the point where you think you are going to burst if the story doesn't break, Ross gives readers a quick reveal of the culprit behind everything, with a paragraph, maybe two, that explains why the person did what they did.  Then, it's all over, Joyce is safe, and it turns out she is not crazy after all.  Sadly, Ross does not give the reader any satisfaction when it comes to seeing the people who treated Joyce so poorly eat crow for thinking she was making up everything she saw.  I would have liked to have seen some sort of recompense, but instead, we simply get a closing scene of Joyce realizing that the horrors are all behind her, and everything "is going to be different!" (p. 190).  But, Ross is pretty much consistent in his writing, as every story I've read of his ends in this same manner.

 

One thing Ross does do in the story is give readers a quick look at some of the members of the community in Dark Harbor, which makes me wonder how many of these inhabitants will become the focus of future books in the series.  We get brief glimpses and information about Matthew Kimble, who came home after being in prison to run the local inn and tavern (p. 19).  There is also the unnamed New York playboy who purchased the old monastery up on the hill, which used to be a place where monks cared for lepers and is now rumored to be a secret house of debauchery and partying (p. 20).  Captain Zachary Miller, on the other hands, names off a list of the island's more colorful characters:  Crevecoeur, the French nobleman; Ruben Chase and Long Tom Coffin, who cared for nothing but the sea; Ratliff, the British bluejacket; Billy Clark, he town crier; Mary Starbuck, the queen among women; her ruthless maid, Keziah Coffin; and the rather rotund Deborah Chase, who literally threw suitors up on rooftops!  There was also Maria Mitchell, the astronomer, and Lucretia Mott, the crusader (p. 124).  It leads me to wonder how many of these "legends" will appear and play a role in the remaining five books.

 

The cover art is provided by the Italian artist extraordinaire, Lou Marchetti, who was quite well known for his cover art for paperback novels and more than a few Gothic novels.  The cover scene, however, is quite deceptive.  At first glance, once would think this was a period piece, as the clothing and hairstyle, and quite frankly, the whole scene, appears to be something of the 18th or19th century.  Yet, the story takes place in modern times (well, modern at the time it was written).  The woman in red is meant to be Joyce Mills, and the dress is one that she is given by her sister-in-law to wear from a grand ball; but the dress is ripped to shreds before she ever has a chance to wear it.  Thus (as with so many Gothic paperback covers), the scene never actually appears anywhere in the story.

 

Overall, I'd say this was a fairly decent start to this series, and I look forward to seeing what's up next in Dark Harbor!

 

RATING:  8 slashed up crimson gowns out of 10 for a ghostly story of mental madness, sinister spirits, and terrifying torments that create a true Gothic tale of suspense and mystery!

Short(est) Lived Comic Series #38 - Emergency Doctor (Charlton Comics)

Here's another one-issue series that should have had more issues.  It's a shame when you find a comic, you enjoy it, and you discover that it only had the one issue - and it seems that a number of the golden, silver, and bronze age independent companies (such as Gold Key, Dell, Charlton, and others) were infamous for this.  While I ignored the whole genre of medical comics (as well as romance comics) back when I was a kid, I have developed a new appreciation for these books as an adult.  I have discovered that they have some truly great art by some well-known comic artists who were just getting their start back in the day ... plus, the stories are actually pretty good, quite often episodic in nature like a daytime soap opera (in fact, Charlton published two short-lived titles that reprinted earlier work under soap opera names:  the five issue Soap Opera Romances and the three issue Soap Opera Love).  Alas, so few of those medical / romance titles lasted, and this one is certainly no exception.

 

Emergency Doctor was published in the summer of 1963, with the indicia indicating it was to be published on a quarterly basis.  While the title seems fairly generic, it actually refers to a specific doctor - one Dr. Jerry Starr, a resident doctor at the County General Hospital.  And, yes, if you look at the cover, you will see that his name is misspelled as "Terry" rather than "Jerry" in that caption under the title.  The cover art is allegedly by Dick Giordano, who was working at Charlton when this comic was published, so it the credit is potentially correct.  The cover depicts a rather dramatic scene of surgery being performed on a patient of indeterminable gender, which scene was taken from the second story in this issue to feature Dr. Starr and his faithful nurse, Anne Adair.  I find it amusing that the lower portion of the cover is taken up by an add for a contest being run by Bonomo Turkish Taffy, in which readers could potentially win "sensational prizes," with pictures of board games, a television, and a bicycle as what I am guessing to be potential prizes.  The details about this contest are in the middle of the comic, right across from a prose story entitled "Recluse Pattern" (whose author is unidentified and remains a mystery today).

 

This comic features two main stories starring Dr. Jerry Starr and Nurse Anne Adair.  The first 10-page story is titled "Fatal Holiday," and it opens with a scene of excitement and danger as the doctor is seen climbing a ladder to get into a burning building.  Readers are quickly taken back to the previous morning, when Jerry and Anne are preparing for the day ahead of them - the day before the Fourth of July!  From a drowning boy (who does not survive, which is surprising to see in a comic like this!) to a horrible car accident involving a pregnant woman about to give birth; from a child who burned her eyes to a gunshot victim who is bleeding out; from a man who swallowed his car keys to that final emergency of men trapped in a burning building - in which Dr. Starr must make a daring rescue that ultimately requires him to jump three stories before the building collapses - readers are given the reality of the lives of emergency room doctors and nurses, who are forever rushing to save one life after another!  Of course, there is time to sneak in a bit of romance, as Jerry more than hints that he would like to make Anne his wife!  Joe Gill is credited with the script for this story, and Norman Nodel is given credit for the art chores.  Gill is best known for co-creating Charlton heroes such as Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judo Master; Nodel is recognized for the large amount of work he did for Classics Illustrated comics.

 

The second story featuring Dr. Starr and Nurse Adair is another 10-pager that focuses more on romance than medical drama.  In "The Perfect Doctor's Wife," Jerry saves the life of a rather beautiful woman who turns out to be Sandra Rees, daughter of the industrialist Alvin Rees.  Mr. Rees is so grateful to Jerry that he offers to fund whatever dream Jerry has - which happens to be the establishment of small neighborhood clinics for the poor.  Before you know it, Jerry is swept into the world of the rich and powerful, and he finds himself drawn to Sandra (much to Anne's chagrin!).  Before the two can marry, however, Jerry learns exactly what it will cost him to marry into such a wealthy family, and he's unwilling to leave his desire to help other behind.  The story has a very strong lesson for its readers, and a happy ending for Jerry and Anne.  The last two panels feature an intercom page for Dr. Starr to report to surgery - and a final caption that reads, "He heard and he answered the call ... just as he does every time an ambulance rolls!  This is Dr. Starr, the Emergency Doctor ... and he's doing a hard, dangerous job ... and he loves it!"  Gill and Nodel are credited with the writing and art for this story as well.

 

In-between the two stories, there is a 3-page story that is a reprint from Sweetheart Diary (another Charlton title), issue 34 from July 1956.  The story is "Last Chance for Love," and it shows readers what could happen when a woman cannot make up her mind between two men that she would love to have for different reasons.  When she finally agrees to make a decision, it turns out both men walk away before she can decide!  There is uncertainty as to whether Joe Gill authored this tale, but the art chores are credited to Charles Nicholas (pencils) and Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio (inks), with lettering by Joe D'Agostino.  It's funny to think that an entire story can be told in three pages, when today's creators cannot seem to fit a complete story into just one full issue!

 

As indicated above, there is a two-page prose tale about a doctor at Mercy General Hospital who must take drastic action in order to convince a wealthy woman that she must eat in order to survive.  There is also a one-page comic strip at the end of the book titled "The Wilderness Scout," which provides some details about the life of Christopher "Kit" Carson.  The writer and artist are not identified, but online sources indicate Gill could have been the writer, and Maurice Whitman might have been the artist.

 

Overall, I would say this was a winning issue for me.  The two main stories kept my attention, with art that, while not exactly eye-catching by today's standards, definitely appeals to me as perfect for the content of the story.  The writing was a bit fast-paced, but Gill superbly integrates just enough of Jerry and Anne's personalities into the story that by the end of those first 10 pages, you feel like you know the characters, and by the end of the second 10-page tale, you are truly rooting for them.  I would have liked to have seen more stories with these two, but alas, that was not meant to be.

 

RATING:   9 cocktail parties in a hospital suite out of 10 for well-written and nicely drawn medical stories with just the right mix of drama and romance!

Fire of the Witches - a Queen-Size Gothic

This is only the third "Queen-Size Gothic" novel that I've read, but it is definitely the longest of the three, weighing in at 319 pages.  The author, Lyda Belknap Long, is a pseudonym used by horror and sci-fi author Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994), who also wrote comic books back in the day.  This is now the second Gothic novel of his that I have read, the first being To The Dark Tower nearly a year ago.  And there is no doubt the same author wrote both books - the style of writing and plotting is exactly the same - even though the plots may differ slightly (although both stories deal with cults), Belknap Long has a very bad habit of spending way too much time focused on the inner fears of his characters without actually moving the story along.  While I can see that he is attempting to build some level of suspense, in order to keep the reader on edge, it does not work very well when it is basically the same repetitive fear discussed ad nauseam, without actually advancing the plot.

 

Fire of the Witches, which is rather unique title, I must admit, has very little to do with witches; rather, the reader finally learns nearly half-way through that there is a Satanic cult operating in the vicinity of the house that features in the story, and the cult is involved in some very grotesque rituals.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  The book tells the story of Janice, who gives up her life in New York City to join her brother-in-law, Kenneth, in moving her sister, Marna, out to an old, abandoned mansion outside the small town of Lynnbrook.  You see, Marna has been ill (of course, that illness is never actually defined anywhere in the story; rather, readers are simply to accept that Marna is paranoid to the point of near-delusion, and her recovery depends solely on moving to a dark, isolated house surrounded by woods on all sides), and at her doctor's direction, Janice and Kenneth are moving to a quiet area to give her peace.  Janice and Kenneth arrive ahead of poor Marna, with plans to get the house cleaned up and ready for Marna's arrival.  But, as one might expect in a Gothic novel like this, nothing goes according to plan.

 

While Belknap-Long's previous book that I read dealt with a witch cult, this one (despite the name) deals with a Satanic cult.  Just as soon as Janice and Kenneth arrive at the mansion, they are confronted by a hideous man on the property ... then Janice is nearly attacked by another grotesque man who overpowers and outwits Kenneth before escaping ... then Kenneth is attacked by robed men wearing animal masks ... then Janice "sees" more of those masked men nearly setting fire to the house (of course, that last one turns out to be a vision, for readers learn that Janice may very well be clairvoyant, as she sees furnished rooms that are actually empty, and she sees people that are not actually there ... yet).  When Marna does finally arrive, along with her nurse and chauffeur, before they can even get into the house, they are attacked by the animal-headed cultists, with the nurse and chauffeur being dragged off into the woods, while a conveniently placed squatter by the name of McGowan manages to be there at that exact time to save Marna and bring her in the house to safety.

 

It may sound like there is a lot of action going on in this story, let me make it clear - the author spends an inordinate amount of time inside Janice's head, reminding readers over and over again of all her fears, her suspicions about the house and its surroundings, and her concerns about whether the supernatural is real or not.  In fact, nearly 300 of the 319 pages of story relate only about eight hours worth of "real" time - from the evening that Janice and Kenneth arrive until the wee hours of the next morning when the true villains are revealed and Janice is saved from certain doom.  And the revelation as to the true culprits of this story is somewhat of a cheat - there are literally no clues whatsoever to lead you to the identity of these individuals, and, in fact, much of the story is actually one huge red herring that misleads you to believe one thing is going on, when in reality, that has nothing to do with what is happening to poor Marna!

 

Something else that left me puzzled is the description on the back of the book.  The back proclaims:  "STRANGE, SINISTER LOVE ... Janice came to the old estate to save her sister's sanity.  Instead she found strange witchcraft, sinister love, and her sister dead.  And yet Janice stayed?  What kept her there? Was it the secret allure of the old mansion? The eerie mystery of her sister's death?  Or was it the darkly attractive charm of the young stranger, the gold young man she'd grown to love so much ... yet did not understand ...?"   Wait, what?  Did the person who wrote this synopsis even read the book, or did they get bored of Janice's constant rambling thoughts and gave up half-way through?  Janice's sister never dies!  And there is no young stranger, unless they are referring to the police lieutenant (MacGrath) who comes on the scene - but he does not become a love interest (despite my expecting to see that happen).  So where in the world did the publisher come up with this description for this book?  The only "love" in this book is the love Kenneth feels for Marna and his desire to see her sanity restored.  Talk about misleading the reader with false advertising!

 

The cover art is provided by the ever-talented Hector Garrido, who always manages to paint some of the most beautiful women on these covers (I just wish his art was as well presented on the covers he painted for the Nancy Drew books back in the late '80s).  What is funny about the cover is the house in the background - not at all how the house is described in the book.  In fact, any fan of Alfred Hitchcock will readily be able to identify that house from one of his greatest films - Psycho!  There can be no mistaking Garrido took his inspiration from the house in the 1960 film - from the porch, the stairs leading up to the house, even the planters on the stair corners.  I'm guessing there is no way to copyright or trademark an image of a house like that, but since this was published just 11 years after the film, I can't imagine too many people would miss recognizing the house on the cover.

 

It took me a bit to get through this book - since it was nearly twice the length of Belknap Long's other book I read, the stream of consciousness writing got tiresome very quickly.  Both books dealt with cults - the first a witch cult, this one a Satanic cult - and both books feature some gruesome deaths and some misdirection as to the cult members and the true culprits.  This leaves me to wonder if the author simply cashed in on a single story idea and merely retread it throughout a number of books by changing setting and character names.  I suppose we will find out the next time I read one of his Gothic novels.

 

RATING:  6  waxen witch dolls out of 10 for stepping outside some of the normal tropes to avoid romantic entanglements and direct the danger to someone other than the protagonist.

House of Dark Laughter - an Avon Gothic Original

Any fan of the Gothic novels from the 1960s and '70s knows that the plots to these books all follow a similar formula - a young woman goes to a mansion/house/castle for whatever reason, and she faces multiple dangers from unknown sources, all while fending off two men, one of whom is good and one of whom is bad - but which is which?  Sure, the settings change, the characters change, and some plot elements same, but they all basically boil down to the same story when you get down to it.  This particular book, published by Avon Books in July 1972 under their "Avon Gothic Original" line, not only follows that pattern, but it shares a lot of story elements with other Gothic novels that I have read in recent years.  Two are The Dornstein Icon and The Ravens of Rockhurst (in which the main character goes to a house to evaluate antiques, like our young heroine in this book does); and the other is ... well, if I said which book it was, it would definitely spoil the big surprise in this one!

 

House of Dark Laughter was written by Melissa Napier.   I was unable to find any information about the author online, so it is uncertain whether "Melissa Napier" is the author's real name or simply another pseudonym.  The copyright page for this book does not offer any aid, as the copyright is to Script Associates, and not the author.  (And as a side note, the copyright page indicates this book was "Published by arrangement with Script Associates," which was a book packaging agency back in the day.)  This might tend one to believe the author's name is merely a house pseudonym for this agency.  In any event, the story itself is not half-bad, although the main character is certainly put through the wringer!  Betsy Vaughn is a young woman who is about to start a new job.  Hired by Carter Willard, Betsy heads off to a remote town in Pennsylvania where she will be cataloguing antiques in the stately Dalton Mansion.  Old Man Dalton has been ill for some time, and he wants all of his possessions catalogued and valued before he dies.  Carter, as the man's secretary, has brought Betsy to the great house, as she is an expert in her field.  The only problem is, the members of Dalton's family do not want her there (big shock)!

 

Dalton's wife, Alice, is a nasty piece of work who makes it clear from the moment Betsy arrives that she runs the household and Betsy had better not be snooping and better stay out of her way!  Dalton's nephew, Derek, and his niece, Lorna, are spoiled and want nothing more than to see their uncle die so they can get their hands on his money.  Even Edith Austin, the Daltons' housekeeper, runs hot and cold - one minute she is friendly, and the next she is spewing nothing but hatred.  Betsy quickly learns no one can be trusted in the house - not even Carter, for whom she is beginning to develop feelings.  Everyone seems to simply be biding their time until Mr. Dalton dies.  But the mystery lies in the question - why is everyone so dead set on getting rid of Betsy?  She is simply there to catalogue, evaluate, and value all of the contents of the house.  Wouldn't they want to know the value, so that when they do get their grubby little hands on the countless antiques, they will be able to sell them for what they are really worth?  What possible reason could they have for trying to get Betsy to leave?  And who is so dead-set against her being there that they would be willing to kill her?

 

Yes, poor Betsy suffers more in this book than even Nancy Drew did in any of her mysteries.  Betsy gets conked on the head not once, not twice, not even three times - but on four separate occasions over the span of just a week or so, the woman is knocked unconscious by the cruel culprit determined to rid the house of her presence!  She is also attacked in the basement, nearly electrocuted, and near the end, she is almost buried alive!  All of this because of a secret of which she has absolutely no knowledge.  Oh, the reader surely will begin to suspect about half-way through the story when there is a passing mention of a certain incident from the Dalton family's past; but Betsy does not make the connection, as it is so far-fetched and not within her realm of knowledge that she would never even suspect the key that she holds.  Overall, the mystery and suspense are built at a pretty rapid pace, which makes the story much more engaging than it might otherwise be.

 

The title is somewhat misleading, as there is only one very brief moment in the book where there is any "dark laughter."  With that title, I was expecting Betsy to hear laughter reverberating through the house and the hallways late at night or when no one else was around, but that is not the case.  Rather, the only time the laughter is heard is for a brief second before Betsy falls unconscious after being struck on the head (twice, to make sure she goes out!) when she is about to enter a dark room where she was lured by the villain.  The woman's laughter, combined with the smell of perfume that Betsy remembers lingering in the air just before she was knocked out, is what helps our young heroine figure out who is trying so desperately to get her out of there. 

 

As with so many of these books, there is no credit given for the cover art, and the art itself shows no signature.  However, a quick online research reveals the artist is Robert McGinnis (1926 - 2025), who only recently passed away last year.  McGinnis was quite the busy artist, painting covers for countless paperback novels - including men's adventure series, romance books, historicals, westerns, and Gothic novels - as well as a large number of movie posters and art for magazines.  You can check out his work at the official Robert McGinnis Artwork website.  The one thing I should note about the cover for this book is that the woman running away from the house is definitely NOT our heroine, Betsy Vaughn.  The cover depicts a young blonde beauty running fearfully from that mansion in the background; yet, in the story, Betsy is described as having hair that is "thick and as luxuriantly black as a raven's wing" (p. 6).  Thus, either the artist was not given any description of the characters from the book when commissioned to do the cover, or the publisher simply chose an already completed painting and slapped it on as the cover for the book without any regard as to whether it matched the story or not (which, as we all know, happened quite often during this period).  Despite this discrepancy, the cover art is beautiful in its own right and can be appreciated for the gorgeous work that it is.

 

While not necessarily one of the best written Gothics of the period, it is a fairly enjoyable read.

 

RATING:  7 original manuscripts of Samuel Clemens out of 10 for crafting a wickedly fun tale filled with absolutely vile people, a determined young heroine, and a house filled with more danger than you can shake a stick at! 

Image of Evil - a Dell Gothic

This is a book I specifically hunted down because of the haunting cover.  The lone woman, standing in the swamp in her flowing white dress, with a dark mansion in the background - no light in an upper story window as so many Gothics are wont to do.  The greens and blacks setting the somber mood, the moss hanging from the trees, the moon barely visible in the sky.  To me, this cover screams creepy, and so I had to know if the story could match the horror of the cover art!  Took me a while to track down a copy at a reasonable price, but I finally managed to do so.  The book is written by Rosemary A. Crawford, and from all I can find, this appears to be the author's real name and this book appears to be the only Gothic I can find that she wrote!  If she did write any others, I would sure like to find them, especially if they are as good as this one turned out to be.

 

Image of Evil was first published by Dell in November 1971. The story is told in first-person, from the point-of-view of the main character, Susan (whose name is not actually stated in the book until page 15, when another character finally calls her by her name!), a twenty-three year old clothing designer from New York who comes to Louisiana to meet a family she never knew she had.  After her parents pass, she receives a mysterious letter from one Corinna Hamilton, who claims to be her aunt (her mother's sister).  The woman invites her to come stay at Southern Moon, the Hamilton homestead, and meet the rest of her family - which includes Corinna's two children, Paul Hamilton (a lawyer) and Lacy Hamilton (a spoiled debutante), as well as the brother of Corinna's deceased husband, Cedric Raimond.  Before she can even reach the mansion, which is deep in the Louisiana bayou, she has the misfortune of meeting the deputy sheriff, Billy Ben Curtis, to who she takes an instant dislike (due to his complete lack of manners and unpleasant disposition).  Once at the great house, she meets not only the family, but also the housekeeper, Matilda, and the surly cook, Lucille.  Susan is not overly ecstatic about this sudden appearance of a family she never knew existed, and so she is somewhat reserved when she arrives ... if only she had turned around and left the moment she arrived, perhaps she would not have experienced the terrors she did.  Of course, had she left, then she never would have learned the truth about why her mother left the Hamilton family and never looked back ...

 

I will admit, the story gets off to a somewhat slow start.  Crawford goes back and forth in the first two chapters between the present, as Susan is arriving at Southern Moon (the name of the Hamilton home) and Susan's receipt of her aunt's letter, her meeting with the attorney to learn more about the invitation to Louisiana, and her not-so-great experience on her first entrance into the swampland surrounding the great house. Once all of the backstory is told, Crawford then moves forward in a more normal, linear narrative form.  Susan's first observations of the family are somewhat accurate - Lacy is spoiled and clearly has no interest in knowing her; Paul is a playboy of sorts who takes a shine on her; and Corinna is playing a part, but just what part that is, Susan is unsure.  The only one she feels she can trust is the housekeeper, Miranda, who admits to remembering her mother and slowly, as the story progresses, tells her more and more about Meg Hamilton and why she left the way she did.  Of course, the more she learns about that, the more she learns about Corinna, and the more she begins to realize there is a lot more to this story than she realizes!  Things truly start to come to light when she meets Dr. Clay Foster, a young physician who is treating Miranda's daughter Lillian - and when she tells her new family she has a date with the doctor, she finds they are quite vocal on the matter.  By no means will a Hamilton ever go out with "white trash" like Clay Foster!  This is the beginning of the battle lines being drawn, and soon enough, more truths are revealed about Corinna, about Paul, about Clay, and about Lillian - and about Rosalie, the one no one is allowed to talk about!

 

Crawford build the suspense slowly, but as it rolls along, it gets more and more intense, and as it speeds towards the climax, the terror builds, as Susan finds herself first locked in the attic where Rosalie was hidden away for a number of years, and then ultimately as she runs through the swamps at night, daring to face any danger to escape the evil plans the Hamilton family has in store for her if she were to remain at Southern Moon!  What started out rather uninteresting definitely turns into a page-turner that I could not put down.  

 

The original printing by Dell has full cover art, interrupted only by the title and author's name at the top and bottom, respectively.  However, the book was later reprinted in October 1979 under Dell's "Candlelight Intrigue" banner; while the reprint used the same cover art, it reduced it to just a smaller square under the title and author's name, cutting off portions of the top and bottom of the art, so you do not get the full effect of the image.  Personally, I prefer the full cover printing (which is the version I have).

 

While several blogs and reviews I have read online seem to find this book not overly appealing, I found it to be rather engaging, once you get past the opening sequence.  I would certainly recommend it to those who love a good Gothic read from this time period - and the Louisiana bayou setting is definitely a nice twist to the theme!

 

RATING:  8 extra bolt locks out of 10 for taking our poor heroine through the ringer, with some intensely dangerous moments and a couple of unexpected deaths! 

Shadow Acres - a Magnum Gothic novel

This is my first time reading a Gothic novel by Frances Y. McHugh, who wrote a number of Gothic tales back during this period for various publishers.  This book was first published in 1967 by Arcadia House, and the edition I own is a later paperback printing from Prestige Books under their "Magnum" line.  I could not find anything out about this particular author so unsure if McHugh is the author's actual name or simply a pen name for someone else.  In either event, the story turned out to be a fairly good read, albeit a mixture of murder mystery and Gothic.

 

Shadow Acres is told from a first-person point-of-view, narrated by the main character, Reda Randall.  McHugh opens the story in the "present," so to speak, as Reda is thinking about the events that took place at the great house known as Shadow Acres, wondering if everything that transpired was a result of her action or inaction.  Her reverie is broken when her fiance, Bryan Sedgwick shows up, ready to take her out for a night on the town.  Through her conversation with Bryan, the reader learns of Bryan's cousin, Greg, and his father, Gregory, as well as a bit about his and Greg's grandfather, the first Gregory Sedgwick.  Slowly, McHugh reveals a bit more about the drama that has led these characters to this point - the fact that Reda was once engaged to Greg, but when he was found with a scantily clad woman in his college dorm, she broke off the engagement, he left the country, and she eventually fell for Bryan.  It is obvious from the start that Reda and Bryan's relationship has some issues - Reda is a talented pianist who is wanting to perform with her music school orchestra, but Bryan does not want her to follow that path, fearful she will do the same thing to him that his aunt (who was an actress) did to his uncle (left him for her leading man!). 

 

The mystery begins when Reda is preparing for a party she and Bryan are to attend, when she is summoned to Shadow Acres, which is hours away from her NYC apartment.  The elder Gregory Sedgwick will not take no for an answer, and so Reda sends her regrets to the hosts of the party, leaves a message for Bryan who is supposed to pick her up, and takes the train to Shadow Acres.  Upon her arrival, late at night, she finds the house quiet.  No one answers the door, which she discovers to be unlocked.  Her fear mounting, she enters the house - and finds her fiance holding a gun in his hand ... and in the library behind him, Gregory Sedgwick is lying dead on the floor with a gunshot wound to his head!  Second later, Greg, who was believed to still be in South America, walks in the door, claiming he looked through the window and saw Bryan kneeling over their grandfather with the gun.  Reda and the reader are left to wonder - who killed Gregory Sedgwick?

 

McHugh plays it coy, as the identity of the killer is not obvious by any means.  In fact, as the story progresses, we learn that growing up, Greg was a bit of the wild boy, the rebel, while Bryan was always the obedient, good boy.  Bryan seems to be the obvious suspect, but clues begin to spring up that point to Greg as the killer.  It isn't until a large flower pot falls (is dropped?) from the roof above Reda (pp. 85-86) that we start to see some of the Gothic elements creep in.  Not three pages later, our poor heroine is knocked pretty hard in the back of the head (p. 89), which is the result of a stone taken from Greg's rare rock collection.  It is obvious someone is out to hurt, or possibly kill Reda, but the question is - why?  To whom is she a threat?  There is also the growing tension between Greg and Bryan, as Bryan grows jealous of Greg's attention toward his fiance, and Greg believes Reda is not truly in love with Bryan but still in love with him.  If all of this is not enough to drive a poor girl crazy, then what is?

 

It is the fire in Reda's room, set while she is sleeping, that begins to turn the tide.  Someone places a burning cigarette on her bed, locks her windows, and leave the room, looking the door behind them!  Poor Reda is nearly killed, if it weren't for the fortunate timing of Greg, rescuing her through her second story window.  Is Greg really the killer, and simply covering his tracks by appearing to rescue her?  Does Bryan want her dead, jealous of her returning feelings for his cousin?  Could it be one of the servants - John or his wife, Agnes - who, for unknown reasons, want Reda out of the picture?  Or is there someone else in the house - someone whose shadow Reda saw on the outskirts of the woods one night ... whose footsteps she heard in the rooms above her when John and Agnes were both downstairs ... whose connection to the house and the family could spell ultimate doom for Reda?!

 

No credit given to the cover artist, but it is a beautifully rendered scene, with Reda running away from the house.  Interestingly, the artist breaks from the tradition of having an upper floor window lighted, and instead, chooses to have a lighted window on the first floor (likely to coincide with the murder of the elder Gregory Sedgwick taking place in the library on the first floor).  The depicted scene is extremely dark, with the only real color being the design on her dress, her pale skin, the light in the window, and the dark green grass leading up the hill to the house.  There's no doubt this cover sets the dark mood for the story contained within.  The Arcadia House cover from the original publisher definitely gives the book a more "murder mystery" feel to it, which supports Lori A. Page's observation in her critical study of the Gothic novels of this period that publishers got to the point where they took previously published works, slapped a new cover on it, and called it "Gothic" (The Gothic Romance Wave). 

 

While I would not say this is one of the best Gothics I've ever read, the story was enjoyable enough that I would pick up more of McHugh's books. 

 

RATING:  9 rare bluestone specimens out of 10 for a tale filled with suspense and mystery, with plenty of secrets and misdirects to keep the main character (and the reader!) guessing. 

Larabee Heiress - a Warner Paperback Library Gothic

This is another book that I've had in my collection for quite some time.  I originally picked it up because the cover scene bears a slight resemblance to the 18th book in the Nancy Drew Diaries series - both covers feature a woman running down the stairs, dogs surrounding her, and a mansion in the background.  It has sat on my shelf for some time, but I've somehow never picked it up to read.  The author, Dorothy Daniels, is said to have been America's Most Popular Gothic Novelist (Dorothy Daniels).  She had more than 140 novels published by a number of different publishers.  Her last Gothic novel was published in 1980, and after writing some romance stories, her last published book was in 1985.  There is some dispute as to whether Dorothy Daniels was an actual person (despite some books carrying a biography and photo of the author on the rear cover!), with some sources claiming she was a man named Paul Hugo Little and several paperbacks being copyrighted by "Norman Daniels."  Regardless of whether Dorothy Daniels was an actual person or a pseudonym, there can be no question that her writing was superb!

 

Larabee Heiress was first published by Warner Paperback Library in 1972, and it was later re-issued by Warner with a different cover (the cover to the right is the copy I have, which is the later edition).  The story is actually very engaging, as it deals with a young woman who awakes in a hospital after a car accident with no memory of anything, including her own name.  After months in the hospital recovering (having had extensive surgeries, including brain surgery!), the Larabee family identifies her as the widowed wife of their son, Larry, who died and bequeathed the entirety of his considerable estate to her - Sandra Larabee!  Shocked to discover she is wealthy beyond her wildest imagination, the young woman returns to the grand estate where the Larabee family resides - Janet Larabee and her husband, Richie, who are Larry's parents; Marilyn Larabee, the oldest daughter who is their golden child; and Nancy Larabee, who is stand-offish and not at all interested in the wealth and beauty the others are enamored with.  There is also Gilbert, the family chauffeur, and Ethel, the housekeeper.  On top of that, the family has two maids: Ava, the upstairs maid, and Dicie, the downstairs maid.  To say that Sandra is completely overwhelmed is an understatement!  It's a good thing Marilyn's husband, Sidney, has always handled the finances since Larry's death, as Sandra knows she would have no idea where to even begin!

 

But things are not what they seem ... which is no surprise for a Gothic novel of this nature.  Sandra not only has no memories of the family or the house, but she also has no memories of her own two children - the twins, Carol and Christine. How could she not remember her own children?  And why does the house have no family photos whatsoever?  Slowly, Sandra begins to pull information from various members of the family, in the hopes of piecing together her life before the accident.  Unfortunately, the more she learns, the more she discovers that she was not the nice, caring person she is now.   In fact, she was a vicious, cruel alcoholic that, just before the accident, had demanded the family move out of HER home!  It is her concern for Nancy, the outcast of the family, that starts Sandra on the path to uncovering the truth about the things she is learning.  Why, after her husband died, did she disappear for days a time?  Where did she go?  What did she do?  And why did she always return home wearing different, cheaper clothing?  Something was wrong, and with the help of a friendly doctor who was at the hospital when Sandra was first brought in, Sandra starts investigating.  What she uncovers, however, are some horrific secrets and deadly plans that already resulted in one person dead, made an attempt to kill a second person, and could very well bring about Sandra's demise!

 

"A beautiful young amnesia victim, a luxurious mansion holding a deadly secret, and three keys that don't fit any doors..."  The blurb on the front cover definitely describes the mystery within, and those three keys are the biggest clues to unlocking Sandra's true past.  From the very first chapter, I was enthralled, and I had to keep turning page after page, because I could not put it down.  Even though early on I had my suspicions about what was going on, I could not wait to get to the conclusion to find out if I were right.  While the story lacks standard Gothic tropes, such as hidden passages, ghostly sounds or apparitions, or dark and brooding mansion (the mansion in this book is quite bright and lovely!), it more than makes up for it with the secrets, the lies, the suspense, the tension, and the danger.  This book is a definite example of just how gifted Dorothy Daniels was at writing Gothic fiction.

 

The second cover art (above) was painted by Vic Prezio, as identified on the copyright page inside.  Not very often do we see credit given like this, which is refreshing.  You can see more about the artist and his work (as well as a full-size version of this cover art) at the Paperback Palette blog (Victor Prezio Art). Prezio provided art for quite a number of Gothic titles back in the day, including quite a few of Dorothy Daniels' books.  The original edition of the book featured an entirely different cover that finds Sandra simply standing at the gate, staring out, with the dark mansion behind her, a light shining from the highest turret. Not sure who the artist, as I do not yet own a copy of this version.  However, despite its more Gothic feel, with the dark mansion, the fog, and spooky clouds above, I prefer the copy I have with the dogs attacking Sandra as she tries to escape the house.  For me, Prezio's art on the later edition provides a more tension-filled scene, as Sandra is racing down the steps to not only escape the horrors of the house, but the angry jaws of the attack dogs that guard the estate!  Hopefully, I can pick up a copy of this earlier printing one day and discovery who the artist is.

 

I may have picked this book up based on the cover similarity to the Nancy Drew Diaries book; but I am now holding on to it as one of the better Gothic stories in my collection, because, while I have enjoyed nearly all the Gothics I have read to date, very few have pulled me into the story and kept my interest as intensely as this one did.  I definitely recommend it - well worth the read!

 

RATING:  10 old 1971 Chevrolet Impalas out of 10 for superb storytelling and skillful plotting with so much suspense and mystery, I can't imagine anyone NOT liking this book! 

Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32018 - Secret at Orient Point

"Could they fight the evil pulling them towards the same horrible fate as their parents?" (cover blurb) 

 

Picking up and reading this book was hard to do.  When I picked up the first Harlequin Gothic Romance to read back in November 2024, I had seventeen books ahead of me after I finished that one, so I didn't give much thought to actually completing the series.  Now, here we are a little over one year later, and I have finally reached the eighteenth and final Harlequin Gothic Romance.  After literally most of my life thinking I would NEVER pick up and read a Harlequin book, it's funny to look back and realize just how much I thoroughly enjoyed this series of Gothic romances - mainly because the stories had very little romance and more mystery and suspense, which are definitely more my line of reading.  Thus, with of a bit of reluctance, knowing that after this, I would have no more to read in this series, I opened the book and began to read...

 

Let's start with the title.  Secret at Orient Point.  That title alone is enough to catch me, since it has that same format as the children's mystery series I collect (i.e., "Mystery in the..." or "Clue of the...").  Then let's talk about that cover.  Twenty-four year old Erika Barlow, looking back with fear at the ghostly couple dancing in the dark ballroom.  Hints of terror, hints of supernatural, hints of a mysterious tale waiting in the pages within this book.  With all of this swirling in my head, I was excited to forge ahead.  The story is set in the 1880s and centers around Erika's return to her family's hotel, located on North Fork in Long Island, New York.  It has been twenty years since she was taken away to live with her aunt after her mother's murder at the hands of her lover, and now her father has died in a shipwreck, leaving her the sole owner of the hotel.  But her arrival starts a series of events that brings long buried secrets to the surface, kindles a relationship that can never be, and threatens to reveal a truth that someone will do anything to keep hidden - even if it means killing Erika!

 

Erika is aware of her mother's affair with the man she truly loved - Gerhard Langermann.  What she did not know is that she was a product of that affair.  But that secret does not seem overly important until she meets Langermann's son, David, and suddenly finds herself attracted to the son of her mother's lover. They are half-siblings, and despite knowing how wrong it is, neither one of them can deny the feelings they are experiencing.  Erika does everything in her power to fight the growing love she has for her half-brother and focuses on the refurbishing of the hotel so it can be opened for the summer guests.  However, someone seems to be out to get her.  First, there is the attack on the pier that nearly drowns her.  Then there is the fire in the hotel, from which she barely escapes alive.  Later, she experiences a terrifying climb onto the roof during a rainstorm, following the person she believes is trying to kill her.  Who is trying to end her life?  Could it be David, who may have inherited his father's own insanity?  Is it her secretary, whose jealousy of the attention David gives Erika is written all over her face?  Is it Pepys, the near-mute handyman on the property who was always overly protective of her mother all those years ago?  Is it Johannes, the carpenter who is charge of the renovations for the hotel and who seems to have eyes for her?  Is it her own father, who suddenly appears after having been thought lost at sea and makes it clear he wants her to stay away from David?  Or, could it possibly be, the ghost of Julie Ann Barlow herself, come back to haunt the hotel and ensure that no one else has any happiness over the loss of her own?

 

Author Patricia Werner writes a wonderful tale of secrets, lies, ghosts, and suspense that keeps the reader turning pages faster and faster to find out how it will ultimately all end. Werner appears to be the author's real name, and she has written quite a number of romance and Gothic novels over the years, including more than a few in the line of Zebra Gothics (with wonderful titles like Mistress of Blackstone Castle, The Swirling Mists of Cornwall, Island of Lost Rubies, Hidden Gold o Widow's Mountain, and Shadows Over Cypress Swamp).  And Werner writes a rather lengthy acknowledgement on the copyright page to Andrew Marlay (for consultation on costumes), Marlene Hamerling (for advice on Jewish names), Steve Hadley (director of an historical society), and Andrea Budy (for sharing thoughts about her Inn).  Such acknowledgements only adds to the belief that Werner is not a pseudonym, but a real person.

 

The locations Werner uses in the book are real.  North Fork and South Fork (not to be confused with a certain ranch on an old nighttime soap!) are two peninsulas located on the eastern end of Long Island, New York, and like in the book, the water just north of the Forks is referred to as "Long Island Sound."  And, as in the story, the easternmost tip of North Folk is a town called Orient Point (which is where our story is set).  According to online research, Orient Point does have its seasonal swell of visitors during the summer months, which would make Erika's desire to re-open the hotel and her urgency to get all the repairs and renovations done before the summer begins perfectly in-line with reality.  And to keep matters even more real, the Orient Point Inn referenced in the book was an actual place built originally as a residence in 1672, but eventually changed to a hotel and eventually demolished nearly 300 years later. More information about the hotel can be found in the Northforker archives (Orient Point Inn - North Fork). When authors incorporate details like this from the real world, it provides a sense of realism to the story that tempers the more unbelievable aspects (such as ghosts and supernatural elements).

 

Well, with this, I've completed the run of Harlequin Gothic Romances and must move on to another Gothic series (I already have one in mind....).  Never fear, though - at the same time Harlequin began publishing this line, they also started a line called "Harlequin Romantic Suspense," which were stories with a similar suspenseful style.  Sadly, that line only lasted two books, before it was repurposed and renamed as "Harlequin Intrigue."  I have both of those Romantic Suspense novels (not to be confused with Harlequin's later line of Romantic Suspense books, which series continues today) and will eventually get around to reading them and reviewing them here.

 

RATING:  10 diaries hidden in the back of a roll-top desk out of 10 for ending this series with a story of suspense, seduction, surprises, and sinister secrets that make for a superb Gothic romance!

Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32017 - Shadow Over Bright Star

"The threats were ominous and none too subtle.  Jessica feared most the man she loved ..." (cover blurb)

 

This penultimate book in the Harlequin Gothic Romance line is the second, and final, entry in the series by author Irene M. Pascoe.  Her earlier book in this series, Lord of High Cliff Manor, was a great read, and like that earlier book, this one is a period piece that also features more romance that the other Harlequin Gothic novels.  While the prior book was dedicated to Pascoe's parents, this book has a dedication to her "sister, Nancy Daniels. And for Brett David, welcome to the world, little one."  This dedication, naming her sister as Nancy, confirms my suspicions from my previous blog post about the identity of Irene M. Pascoe and the fact she is one of the few authors who actually used her real name for the books.

 

Shadow Over Bright Star takes place in 1862 in the Nevada Territory, two years before Nevada actually became a state.  Our heroine, Jessica Winsor, has traveled there after receiving a returned letter informing her that her father has "died in an accident."  Upon arriving in Virginia City, she discovers that her father has a majority ownership in a silver mine that is part of the "Comstock Lode."  The problem lies in the fact that her father never told her about any partners in the mine, and she quickly learns that they knew nothing of her!  Two cousins - Derek and Brett Bonner - are now faced with the fact that a Winsor has come to claim their inheritance from the extremely successful and lucrative mine, and that this woman wants to not only claim the inheritance, but she wants to take an active role in the business!  There are plenty of shocks on both sides, but Jessica has the hardest hurdle to overcome - exactly how did her father die?  Everyone keeps telling her it was an accident, but when she finally is told that his body was found with a gun to his head and plenty of empty liquor bottles around, Jessica knows it was no accident.

 

Pascoe definitely did her research regarding the time period and the history of Virginia City. In the real world, Virginia City became a booming mining town after the 1859 Comstock Lode transformed the small town into a booming city and tourist destination.  While the book references "McGuire's Opera House" (p. 129), the real city actually boasts "Piper's Opera House."  The city today still boasts some of the original, preserved 19th century architecture and wooden sidewalks, allowing visitors to feel like they have stepped back in time to when Jessica would have walked those streets.  And like Jessica's father did in the backstory from the book, many of those early miners in the real world dug out holes in the side of the mountain, in which they lived while trying to strike it rich.  I love it when an author integrates real world history and locations into the story, as it breathes a bit more life and realism into the tale.

 

Jessica's fight to not only assert her right to her father's inheritance as the 60% owner of the silver mine, but also to take part in running the business, is the main focus of the story, but there is also the mystery of what happened to her father, who would have done such a thing, and is there someone now coming after Jessica?  Upon arrival, the hotel where Jessica is staying catches fire (starting just outside Jessica's room, nearly killing her and burning up all of her belongings, including personal photos of her father and brother!), and she barely escapes with her life.  Then, after moving in with the Bonners (at the invitation of Brett's parents, who own a small stake in the mine), a wheel comes off a carriage Jessica is driving, causing it to tip over the edge of a cliff, once again nearly killing her.  Thankfully for Jessica, third time is NOT a charm when it comes to attempts on her life, as a falling bottle of acid misses her by only inches while in the chemical laboratory at the business offices for the mining company.  It's clear someone is out to get rid of her, just as they did her father.  Is it Derek, for whom she feels a strong attraction, yet cannot make sense of his harsh attitude towards her?  Is it his cousin Brett, who has been so cordial to her, yet seems jealous of her attention to Derek?  Is it Brett's father, Seth, who is trying everything to coerce Jessica to deposit all of her newfound wealth into his bank for investing?  Is it Brett's mother, Amanda, who is super-sweet on the outside, but is clearly after only more money and power?  Or, are all of these things truly only accidents, and Jessica is making more out of them than what they are?

 

Pascoe does a great job of building the suspense, and she manages to step outside the normal Gothic tropes when it comes to the good guy/bad guy scenario.  The ultimate revelation as to who is determined to get Jessica out of the picture is not at all who I was expecting, which made it all the better to read.  Another aspect of the story I enjoyed was Pascoe's insertion of several supporting characters who added to the world created within the book, fleshing it out and making it much more believable.  First, there is the kindly Mrs. Crawford, who takes Jessica in after she is nearly killed in the fire.  Jessica visits her several times throughout the story - her visits and conversations have no ultimate bearing on the mystery, but they do give the reader a stronger sense of Jessica's character and personality.  Then, there is Julia Bulette, a woman of ... questionable ... profession who is actually a highly respected part of the community, even serving on the fire brigade (she helped put out the fire the night Jessica was nearly killed) - one again, a character that has no connection to the mystery, but she builds up the diversity of the community and the attitudes of various characters when talking about her.  There is also Sophie Tyler, the wealthiest woman in the town who provides Jessica with the truth (or, at least, what the town believes to be the truth) about how her father died.  Pascoe manages to write some very strong, powerful women into the story, which is a pleasant surprise, considering that in the 1880s, most men would have viewed women as Derek, Brett, and Seth do within the story - as the weaker sex, with no mind of their own, and no business being involved in ... well, business.

 

Not sure who provided the cover art for this book, as there is no signature and no credit given.  I do, however, absolutely love the scene, as it steps a bit away from the Gothic norm.  There is no dark mansion in the background; instead, we get a cemetery, with Jessica running through it, tightly gripping the papers (which I can only assume are the documents she brought with her to prove her identity and her right to her father's share of the mine).  The dress she is wearing, lavender with the frill, is described as one she wears in the book, having been given the dress by Julia Bulette after all of her things are burned up in the fire. I love the color and the design of the dress, and I think it blends perfectly with the stormy background.  This scene, however, never actually occurs in the story.  When Jessica does eventually visit the cemetery to see her father's grave, there is no dramatic scene that takes place there.

 

Another Harlequin Gothic that is well worth the read.  

 

RATING:  10 framed maps of the silver mines out of 10 for keeping the danger and threat-level high from beginning to end, making the book a true page-turner! 

House of Imposters - a Popular LIbrary Gothic

This is my first taste of author Willo Davis Roberts' writing. While I own a number of Roberts' books, I honestly have never read one before now. Mrs. Roberts (1928 - 2004) was a rather prolific author, writing nearly 100 books over a span of 50 years for both adults and children - her first adult novel was published in 1955, and her first children's book was published twenty years later.  She wrote approximately 100 novels in her lifetime, including the "Black Pearl" series and a large number of Gothic, as well as nurse romance, novels.  (According to the Los Angeles Times obituary for Mrs. Roberts, she was completing revisions on her 100th novel when she passed away - LA Times - Willo Davis Roberts) She actually won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards for best juvenile and best young adult mysteries in 1989, 1995, and again in 1997, in addition to other awards, which should definitely say something about her writing!

 

The House of Imposters was published in 1977, near the end of the '70s Gothic craze, by Popular Library.  Unlike a number of Gothics from this period, the title to this book aptly describes the story within.  It all starts at the funeral of Melanie Bingham's aunt.  Melanie's last living relative has passed, and she is shocked to learn her aunt's fiance is to inherit the house in which she leaves - and he wants her out!  Before she can leave, he shows up drunk and begins making untoward advances.  The more she fights, the more forceful he becomes, until Melanie locates her aunt's gun and uses it.  With Harry Lowell lying on the floor, bleeding out, Melanie grabs all the cash she can find and grabs the next bus out of town.  As the night drags on, the young woman sitting next to Melanie describes her new job as a companion to an elderly woman, living in an old mansion in a small town.  Melanie pays little attention until the bus crashes off the road, and the woman is killed.  Barely able to take in all that has happened to her in less than 24 hours, Melanie (whose initials just happen to the same as the woman who died) finds herself picked up by a man looking for the other woman and whisked away with no choice but to assume the life of a dead woman...

 

And all of that happens within the first two chapters!  Thus, you can imagine what the rest of the book is like.  Roberts introduces only a few characters ... Edie Bracut, the elderly woman that is said to be not quite all there and potentially dangerous to herself.  This is the woman Melanie (who must go by the name Marilee, Edie's granddaughter) is to watch over and make sure the woman never leaves the property and stays locked in her room most of the time.  Chance Bracut, the woman's nephew who has moved in and taken control of the house and everyone in it.  He warns Melanie to keep his aunt under lock and key and stay out of his way.  Jack Glade, the smooth talking man who seems to do whatever Chance tells him to do.  His reason for being at the Bracut mansion is unclear, and he seems completely unfazed by the things going on in the house.  Otis, the gardener and handyman who appears to have no other purpose than to guard the gate surrounding the property to ensure no one gets in - or out!  Freddie Bracut is nothing but ashes in an urn, an urn that Edie will never let out of her sight, since it contains her dead husband, to whom she still converses.  Lila is the missing housekeeper that Edie insists was there when Chance first appeared on the scene, but now is nowhere to be found.  And about half-way through the book, two more characters come into play - Grebbs, the rude, take control man with a deadly mission - one he will not allow anyone to get in the way of; and Fernando, the gardener from the house next door who seems to know an awful lot about the mysterious goings-on in that other property...

 

It is pretty clear from the beginning that no one in the story is exactly who they say they are.  We know that Melanie is not really Marilee Bracut; yet, she somehow ends up assuming this girl's identity not only to escape the possibility of arrest for killing her late aunt's fiance, but also to avoid the retaliation from Chance and Jack if she does not do what they say.  Edie comes across as a dotty old woman who talks to her deceased husband's ashes - but is she as crazy as Chance and Jack say she is, or is she simply playing her own game?  After all, she seems to be able to escape from a locked room and have free reign of the house whenever she wants.  Chance has his own agenda, but what that is, no one seems to know.  He keeps himself locked in the library and is brutally insistent that no one explore the house or leave the property.  Why?  Jack is the most nonchalant of them all.  While he appears to be working for Chance, he catches Melanie and Edie in places they should not be and never tells his boss.  Is he working an angle of his own that could ultimately aid Melanie and the elderly woman?  Grebbs makes no bones about his killer attitude; but the question is, who is he there to kill?  And if Melanie gets in his way, will she wind up dead, too?  And finally, there's Fernando.  He seems nice enough, and he seems to be trapped on the property the same as Melanie and Edie.  But is that all an act?  Why is he really in the house?

 

This story is chock full of Gothic tropes - hidden passages and staircases; dark, spooky attics; strange sounds in the middle of the night; a body buried in the basement; deadly secrets and unknown intentions.  Roberts does not miss a beat with the suspense, and she moves the story at a pretty fast pace.  The only flaw that I found in the story is just how weak the main character is.  Melanie comes across extremely whiny at times, afraid of her own shadow and unwilling to take any chances at all to figure out what is going on.  Edie, an elderly woman much smaller than Melanie has more strength and gumption, and I found myself rooting more for her than for Melanie.  

 

My copy of this book also has a glaring printing error on page 149.  As Melanie is eavesdropping on her "captors," the lines in the story are placed out of order.  The paragraphs, as printed, read:

 

"...there's a chance I can claim the estate after the old

doorway until it was almost too late; she slipped hastily

gal's gone"

 

Melanie didn't realize they were moving toward the

into the designated sewing room and didn't dare to

close the door for fear they'd heard the click... 

 

It took me a moment upon reading it to realize that the second line that starts with "doorway" actually belongs as the second line of the next paragraph in order for the two to make sense.  Not sure if every printing of the book has the same mistake, or if it is only the particular printing that I have.

 

The cover art is standard Gothic fare, with the young woman in a flowing dress (Melanie?) running from the dark mansion in the background, a light shining from a second-story window.  There is no signature on the cover to identify the artist, and the copyright page does not give any credit.  However, looking at the face of the woman, I do have to wonder if perhaps Hector Garrido provided the art, as the facial structure of the woman is similar to his style from other covers he has painted. 

 

Overall, I did enjoy the story, with the exception of who weak Melanie is throughout the entire book.  If she were written as a stronger character, then I would say the story was pretty close to perfect as a Gothic would be.   

 

RATING:  8 jars of pickled artichokes out of 10 for a fast-moving, suspenseful story that is very intense and gripping right from the start!