Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32014 - The Devereaux Legacy

"She had never believed in ghosts - then she came face-to-face with their deadly omen" (cover blurb)

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but the books in this Harlequin Gothic Romance series just keep getting better and better.  Despite the number of various authors who have contributed to this series, the stories all have been strong, they all have featured great protagonists, and they all have mixed the elements of Gothic and mystery perfectly, sprinkling the stories with just a touch of romance.  This book is Carolyn G. Hart's one and only entry in the series, and it is a superb one!  Hart is the author's actual name, a mystery and suspense writer who has had more than 63 books published under the name of Carolyn Hart and Carolyn G. Hart.  After this book was published, Hart began her own series of mystery novels (the Death on Demand series, which lasted 26 books), alongside another series about a required newswoman turned sleuth (the Henrie O series, which lasted 7 books).  Her most recent series actually featured a ghost as the protagonist (the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series, which lasted 9 books). It's rather a shame she did not write more Gothics.

 

When I first saw the title to The Devereaux Legacy, my mind automatically went to The Golden Girls.  After all, Blanche Devereaux was a true Southern belle, and since this book is set in South Carolina, she would certainly fit in!  But, alas, our resident seductress is not at all related to the family in this book; rather, the title character, Leah Devereaux Shaw, is the granddaughter of an aging matriarch - a granddaughter everyone thought had been dead for the past 19 years!  It's actually a pretty great premise to start the story, much in the vein of a soap opera.  A long-thought dead character suddenly shows up decades later, and everyone is scrambling to determine (a) whether this person is who she says she is and (b) what impact her re-appearance will have on the family dynamic.  In this instance, it comes down to the fact that Leah is a direct descendant of Carrie Deveraux, while the other three members of the family residing on the Devereaux Plantation are merely adopted and not actual blood relations.  The story develops from there, as the ghost of the Whispering Lady is seen - a forewarning of death to come to the Devereaux family!

 

Hart integrates a number of great Gothic and mystery elements into the story.  There is the family history, where the Devereaux women have been thought to be mad.  One woman killed her husband and herself, and it is said that Leah's parents followed that same pattern two decades before.  There is the Whispering Lady, a ghost that has appeared off and on through the years, each appearance heralding doom for someone in the Devereaux family.  Recent appearances have coincided with mysterious accidents on the property, leading everyone to take the warning seriously.   There is also the mystery surrounding the locked tower on the property.  Her cousins and grandmother tell her the tower is dangerous and not stable, which is why it is padlocked; but Leah suspects there is more to the story and wonders if the tower holds the clues to what really happened to her mother and father that fateful night.  Then there is the enigmatic Kent Ellis, an archaeologist who is digging and researching the history of the land surrounding the Devereaux Plantation.  Just what danger does he pose to the family and their secrets?

 

The story manages to build the suspense slowly and effectively.  Leah, of course, does not believe in ghosts, so she discounts the story of the Whispering Lady. But then she sees it for herself.  And then she hears the howling dog that turns out to belong to Kent Ellis and is found brutally murdered.  Then she witnesses an accident that nearly leaves Ellis as dead as his dog.  Then a heavy planter falls from the second story veranda, crashing down where Leah had stood only a moment before.  Then she overhears a conversation that reveals how one of her cousins has been using her - a cousin she had grown to trust and care for - in fact, she was falling in love with him.  Betrayal and danger surround her at every turn, and Leah finally realizes that one of her own family is out to remove her - permanently!

 

As can be expected with any good Gothic, there are two men who could be potential suitors for our lovely heroine, and Leah struggles to know who she can trust and who she can't.  Even I have to admit, I wavered back and forth as to who the culprit could be that was so desperate to rid Devereaux Plantation of Leah's presence - and the climactic reveal and crazed attack on Leah Devereaux Shaw is a fantastically written payoff for readers.

 

The gorgeous cover art is provided by Len Goldberg, who has provided art for several other books in this line (Castle at Jade Cove, The Blue House, and Shadows Over Briarcliff).  Goldberg perfectly captures the fear and shock on Leah's face as she sees what could be a ghost of the Whispering Lady on the back side of the bridge in the Plantation's massive gardens.  It is funny, this cover has a certain resemblance to the third cover art by Rudy Nappi for Nancy Drew's 15th mystery, The Haunted Bridge, which was introduced to readers in 1972.  Both cover feature the protagonist in the foreground, turning to look back across a bridge what appears to be a ghost in the background at the end of the bridge.  This is the second time Goldberg's cover art mimics a Nancy Drew mystery, the first being the cover to Castle at Jade Cove.   It almost makes you wonder if Goldberg was intentionally honoring the Nancy Drew series, paying homage to the Gothic elements of that series.

 

This book is a definite winner and a must-read.  

 

RATING:  10 gigantic curtain of cobwebs out of 10 for thriller readers with a suspenseful mystery and glorious Gothic tale of ghosts and secrets! 

The Mystery of Adventure Island - a Ruby Lorraine Radford mystery

I honestly cannot recall where I picked this book up, but I do remember I bought it because of the attractive cover art (and yes, before you say it, I have ALWAYS been one who judges a book by its cover!).  Of course, the fact that Ruby Lorraine Radford wrote the book was just an added plus!  I have read several of Radford's books published in the line of Whitman Mystery Stories, and I enjoyed each of them - Nancy Craig, Peggy Parker, and Patty O'Neal.  Thus, with a title like this one, a striking cover such as this, and a story written by Radford, how could it be anything but good?

 

The Mystery of Adventure Island has a copyright date of 1928 by the Penn Publishing Company; however, the copy of the book I have was published by the David McKay Company.  No publication date is given, so I cannot say when this book was published - the dust jacket, though, does have a listing of Radford's books on the back, listing only four titles:  The Mystery of Myrtle Grove, The Mystery of Pelican Cove; The Mystery of Adventure Island; and The Mystery of the Bradley Pearls.  From what I found on Jennifer White's website (Books of Ruby Lorraine Radford), Bradley Pearls was copyright 1930, Myrtle Grove was 1933, and Pelican Cove was 1934.  Thus, going by those dates, I can assume that the book I have is a 1934 printing or later.  Regardless, it still contains the original story and illustrations.

 

The story centers on soon-to-be fifteen-year old Joyce Barnard, who has been sent to Rosemonde Island to spend the summer with Bruce McHenry and his wife (affectionately referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Mac).  Her father died when she was only a year old, and her mother has a difficult time returning to the island, due to the memories it brings back.  The McHenrys have maintained the family home during those years, and they have remained loyal to Mr. Barnard's wife and daughter.  But there are secrets on the island, and before you know it, Joyce begins to uncover one hidden truth after another that lead her and her newfound friend, Donald Elliott, to finding a uniquely hidden hermitage with an odd man living therein, as well as an old shipwreck that they cannot wait to explore.  But there are those who would love to know about that hermit and the shipwreck, and Joyce and Donald must work hard to keep both a secret.

 

At 298 pages of story, the book is a bit longer than many of the children's mystery stories of that time, but the plot never lags.  The pacing is such that the reader will keep turning page after page to see what happens next, and Radford makes good use of storms, swampy bogs, and treacherous sand dunes to keep Joyce and Donald from achieving their goals too quickly.  And there are plenty of characters with quirky dispositions to leave the reader wondering who can be trusted, who is telling the truth, and who has ulterior motives for what they do.  Mr. Mac is cranky and disappears for hours on end, driving his wife crazy; Frances Stafford is a whiny little thing and a sneaky tattle-tale; Edwin Stafford is a conniving thief who is crazy to find a supposed treasure on the island; and that odd hermit seems nice enough, with his little sea-life experiments, but Joyce cannot shake the feeling he is hiding something important.  Those who have been reading mysteries for any length of time will be able to figure this one out fairly early on, but it's the ride of getting there with Joyce and Donald that is all the fun!

 

Now, I would be remiss if I did not mention that this book was written in the 1920s, and one must remember that society had different opinions of people in that day than we do now.  As such, there are some references in the book (the "n" word) that appear numerous times, said casually and in some instances by the black characters themselves.  Thus, when reading the book, it is important to read the story in the context of the time period it was written and not try to force it into today's societal standards. 

The book features a beautiful frontispiece by Katharine McCollum, depicting the scene where Donald takes Joyce to see the old shipwreck that he discovered.  McCollum also painted the gorgeous cover, featuring Joyce and Donald along the coast during a storm, when Joyce gets her first taste of how exciting it can be to experience a storm on the island.  It appears she also provided illustrations for other children's books, including The Mystery of Sun Dial Court by Martha (Josephine Chase) Wickes.  From what I could find online, McCollum was not only an illustrator, but also an author, teacher, and, of all things, a puppet and marionette maker!  Clearly, the woman was talented in many areas!

 

One last comment - there are a couple of lines in the book that made me immediately think of other series books.  When Joyce and Donald first come across the hermit's abode, Joyce refers to it as a "hermitage," which made me think of the Dana Girls' book, The Secret at the Hermitage.   And the hermitage in this book definitely had some secrets!  Later, when Mr. Mac is coerced into talking about Joyce's father and his boyhood, Mr. Mac mentions a boat captain who encouraged her father and his friends to search for a supposed buried treasure - "Seems he got some papers about it from an old Chinese junk" (p. 140).  This, of course, brought to mind the Hardy Boys book, The Mystery of the Chinese Junk.  Obviously, this book was written many years before the Dana Girls or the Hardy Boys books, but it brought a smile to my face to see similar plot devices.

 

I enjoyed the stories and the characters, and it definitely piques my curiosity about her other mystery stories (which I am going to have to track down now!).

 

RATING:  9 baby jellyfish in a jar out of 10 for a great story filled with mystery, treasure hunting, and a few more surprises along the way!

Carolina Castle - an historical mystery

For many years, I have heard about this book, and I have known very few people who actually own a copy.  Apparently, this book did not have a large print run, and finding copies of the book (particularly with a dust jacket!) are very difficult, indeed. A company did reprint the book some years back, but even those reprint copies are hard to find (and expensive as well!).  Thus, I had resolved myself to the fact that is was VERY unlikely I would ever read the book, let alone own a copy.  But, lo and behold, a recent visit to a dear friend resulted in my being gifted an extra copy of the book that he had!  Talk about flabbergasted (I knew I would find a way to use that word one of these days)!  I was completely shocked, utterly thrilled, and forever thankful for such a truly wonderful, generous gift.  Needless to say, I couldn't wait to read it!

Carolina Castle is one of the few Mildred Wirt (Benson) stand-alone mysteries.  Yes, I know her "Mystery Stories for Girls" books were all individual mysteries, not connected in any way, but they were all under the banner of "Mystery Stories for Girls," so they can be viewed as a series of sorts.  But Carolina Castle, published in 1936 by The Penn Publishing Company, was not published any particular banner or series, and is one of the few books Wirt wrote that was published by Penn (in a "Chat with Cleveland Writers" article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1931, she indicated she was working on an aviation series for Penn Publishing Co. - not sure what series that was, because the Ruth Darrow series was published first by Barse, and then by Grosset & Dunlap).  But, that's neither here nor there - we're talking about Carolina Castle.

The lead protagonist for this book is Evelyn Brandleton, who shares the mystery with her best friend Joan Carling, as well as her brother, Benny Brandleton.  The story opens to a rather depressed Evelyn, as she is facing a rainy day at home in South Carolina, where her friend has come to stay for part of the summer.  She feels she is failing as a hostess (p. 6), as there were "few parties to enliven the week" (p. 6).  Apparently, one must host plenty of parties if one wishes to truly be a good hostess and entertain one's guests!  But as soon as the rain stops, Evelyn convinces Joan to visit Castle Hill, on old, burned down mansion not far from her own home (but, of course, set back from the road so it is not easily seen by passers-by).  They set out to explore the once stately estate, but by the end of that first chapter, Evelyn hears a terrifying scream, and then all is silent!

Before continuing, there are a few things to note about this first chapter.  First, let's look at the title to that chapter.  "Whispering Walls."  For those familiar with the Penny Parker Mystery Stories, you might recognize this as the title to the 15th book in that series, which was published in 1946 (ten years after the publication of this book).  Coincidence, or not?  Second, society's racial thinking is shown abundantly clear in this first chapter, as Wirt refers to "the negro shacks which were just visible..." (p. 5), to the distinct dialect Evelyn uses when mimicking the family's cook, Magnolia (p. 8), who is described as "the old colored cook" (p. 9).  These type of references continue throughout the story, both with regards to Magnolia (or "Aunt Mag" as they call her) and Wishy, the old man who lives in the woods - who even uses a surprisingly derogatory term when referring to himself: "You don't ketch dis niggah neah dat place" (p. 171).  I have read a number of vintage children's series books from the '30s and '40s that utilize terms such as negro, negress, darky, and others, but I have to admit, this is the first one I've read that actually uses that term!  This definitely dates the book, showing it is very much a product of its time.

But, moving along, the mystery begins as Evelyn finds her friend has fallen through some not-so-sturdy floorboards, which leads them to discover a secret staircase that leads down to some tunnels below the house.  They, of course, set out to explore them, and soon find that they lead to a hidden exit some distance away.  Needless to say, they set about to thoroughly explore every inch of the tunnel, and soon enough, Evelyn's brother joins them.  They uncover a buried chest, which they hope contains valuable treasures!  After some failed attempts, they ultimately locate the key to the chest at the home of an elderly woman who knows some of the history regarding the house, and upon opening the chest, they find some dresses, an old sword, two small miniatures, and a diary - one that belonged to Beatrice Dinwood, the daughter of the man who built the fine home back in the 1700s.  And this sets the stage for a historical mystery that leads these three young protagonists on a search for a long-lost family treasure, as well as a search to find a descendant of the Dinwoods so they can learn what really happened to Beatrice and the man she loved.

The book is very well written, probably one of Wirt's best, and if you aged the three protagonists, it would have made a great adult historical novel.  While there are a only a couple of "cliffhanger" type incidents, the mystery is intriguing enough to draw the reader in, wanting to know what treasure will be found, where the family heirloom is hidden, and what exactly happened to Beatrice Dinwood when she escaped capture by the British army that was overtaking the town.  Wirt plants clues throughout the story that are not overt or obvious, making it a much more fun read than normal series mysteries, where the solution is somewhat obvious to anyone who has been reading mysteries for any length of time.  Plus, the historical aspect is certainly interesting, as Wirt manages to slide in a number of historical facts about the Revolutionary War and what happened in Charleston (or Charles Town, as it was known back then).  

 

I would love to know who provided the art for the frontis piece (which depicts a scene from page 38 of the story, when the girls, by candlelight, begin to creep down the stairs into the tunnel below the plantation).  It is beautifully rendered, albeit a bit reminiscent of the scene from The Hidden Staircase when Nancy is walking down the stairs with a candle.  The shadows, the torn floorboards above the girls' heads, all work together to create a very creepy ambiance that is perfect for the scene!

Overall, I'd definitely rate this as one of Wirt's better books - it's a shame that copies of the book are so difficult to find, especially at a reasonable price!  Perhaps it's about time someone did another reprint so more people can enjoy the story!

RATING:  9 special charms to keep the graveyard ghosts away out of 10 for a wonderfully written mystery that employs history, lost treasures, and cryptic clues from a diary to create a great read!