Kala Aiden’s fiancé (Peter Caterson) wants to tear down an old mansion by the sea (the Blue House) and build condos in its place. Rumpled art teacher Kala Aiden’s fiancé (Peter Caterson) wants to tear down an old mansion by the sea (the Blue House) and build condos in its place. Rumpled art teacher (Matt Donegal) and the late previous owner of the Blue House (Sadie Andrews, who may have been murdered) were planning on turning the mansion into a place for aspiring artists to study. While they fight over who has the rights to the house Kala temporarily stays there. She sometimes sees terrible visions of what might have been the murder of Sadie.
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the eerie scenes inside the mansion and the creepy séance room. Kala was one feisty heroine at times. I was curious to find out what really happened to Sadie. A fun old Harlequin Gothic from the 1980s. ...more
Grace Hamilton offers graduate student/heroine Jenny Fletcher a summer job sorting through some family historical papers with material she could use fGrace Hamilton offers graduate student/heroine Jenny Fletcher a summer job sorting through some family historical papers with material she could use for her thesis. Jenny arrives at remote Lone Lake Island and gets caught up between two brothers (Glenn and Martin Larabie, Grace Hamilton’s nephews) and their separate causes for the future of the island. Jenny eventually starts receiving threats to leave the island. This was an entertaining, old Harlequin Gothic from the 80’s. I enjoyed the setting, and the atmosphere of the island. I found the cast of characters interesting and I was curious to find out who the culprit was....more
Fun old Harlequin Gothic from the 80’s about an American girl (Trudy Stone, who is 23) who inherits an Italian villa from her late aunt Julia. She arrFun old Harlequin Gothic from the 80’s about an American girl (Trudy Stone, who is 23) who inherits an Italian villa from her late aunt Julia. She arrives in Italy by train but the lawyer who was to greet her is away and couldn’t come. Trudy has never been to the villa and she doesn’t have the keys to get into it, the lawyer has them. A friendly stranger who knew her aunt (Dr. Carl Redman, early 30’s) picks her up at the train station and drives her to Castle Malice, which is next door to the villa she inherited. The elderly man who owns the castle (Ben Steiburn…art collector) was also friends with her late aunt and would like to help Trudy out. So he lets her stay at his castle for a while, till the lawyer comes back and opens up the villa for Trudy. While Trudy is at the castle she meets an assortment of people who knew her aunt. Trudy also hears about the legend of the ghost of the Masked Swordsman. It is said her aunt saw the ghost right before she died (she was found dead in her pool.)
Pretty soon things start happening to Trudy…her aunt’s death mask appears next to Trudy’s pillow in the middle of the night. She is locked in the tunnel that connects Castle Malice to the villa. She sees the Masked Swordsman, who makes some attempts on her life. Is the ghost for real, or is someone pretending to be the swordsman, trying to get rid of Trudy to get the villa. Ben Steiburn is interested in tearing the villa down so he can use the land to build an art museum for himself. When she finally sees the lawyer he tells Trudy that she is the owner of the villa until her death, then it goes to someone else, someone whose name he doesn’t know. (He tells her there is also a second will. The details are in a sealed envelope…the lawyer’s late father helped aunt Julia with her will before he died.) This makes Trudy suspicious of many people who could want her dead to get the villa/inheritance.
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t written in the first person POV (point of view) like most gothic books are. It had a likable heroine, a good cast of characters/suspects, and some handsome suitors for Trudy.
An entertaining read that kept me interested....more
Sarah Smith has been working as a nurse's aid for two years at Ellis Hospital (just outside London). She was brought into the hospital two years ago aSarah Smith has been working as a nurse's aid for two years at Ellis Hospital (just outside London). She was brought into the hospital two years ago after a bombing raid. (The year is now 1946.) She can remember nothing of her past life---she has amnesia. They named her Sarah Smith when they brought her in because she was wearing a Satyr ring and the inner band was engraved with two S'S like two entwined snakes. She is approximately eighteen or nineteen (the doctor's guess) and she has no one. All she had was the clothes on her back and the ring she was wearing. A kind doctor helped her to get training at the hospital as a nurse's aid so she can earn some money. But Sarah feels imprisoned here and she'd love to leave, even though the staff are nice and friendly.
One day they bring into the hospital a girl who has just been in a car accident named Roma Starr Tate (her car skidded and she ran into a tree) who is from Boston, Massachusetts. She has a husband but they are having trouble getting in touch with him. Sarah sits by her bedside while Roma remains unconscious for days. When Roma finally regains consciousness she asks if Sarah could go to America and let Roma's beloved grandfather know that Sarah was with her in the end (in case she dies). Sarah has become somewhat attached to this patient because they both have many similarities. They were both brought in after having bad accidents, they seem to have no one, and they both bear a striking resemblance to each other. Although Roma is blonde and Sarah is a brunette, they could be look-alikes. Roma eventually dies and her husband finally shows up at the hospital. Sarah has already taken a dislike to him because Roma hinted he was hung up on some girl called Sybil.
On an impulse Sarah decides to go to America using Roma's passport and changes her hair color to blonde. She feels bad for leaving the hospital, and though the staff meant well and were friendly, she wanted to be free. Upon arriving in America she see's Roma's husband Andre on the plane and faints from the surprise/shock. Andre takes Sarah to Roma's (and his) home, and for the sake of Roma's ill grandfather (who has had a recent stroke) Andre persuades Sarah to pretend to be Roma for a while. The grandfather doesn't know that Roma has died and he is showing signs of improvement now that "Roma" is back home, but how long can Sarah keep up this farce? She hates deceiving the old man, but if it's helping him... And then there's Andre, handsome in a gloomy way---tall, pale, thin, blue eyes, dark curly hair.
I enjoyed this book. It had an interesting cast of characters, including Roma's greedy step-mother Clara and her son James, who were eager for the "fortune" and the family home they were denied when Clara's husband died and everything went to Roma, who (because Sarah is pretending to be Roma) they believe is still alive. This book had a nice gothic setting (a house by the sea), mystery, secrets, and it was told in the first person POV (point-of-view). The storyline drew me in. This was a really good read....more
Art dealer Courtney Hughes goes to Rockhurst, a gloomy old mansion, for a month to evaluate a large art collection for a sale. The deceased, Jacob PadArt dealer Courtney Hughes goes to Rockhurst, a gloomy old mansion, for a month to evaluate a large art collection for a sale. The deceased, Jacob Padgett, left his heirs a fortune in art treasures. When Courtney arrives at Rockhurst she meets Aaron Padgett, the moody and handsome grandson, and Daniel Padgett, the friendly grandnephew. While she is there cataloging the collection she hears a rumor from the staff and family that old Jacob believed one item he possessed increased tremendously in value over the years. But no one knew what that item was. When Courtney starts looking for answers she also finds herself in danger. Is someone trying to kill her? Could Aaron be involved? What is the item/treasure?
I really enjoyed this old Harlequin Gothic. It was a fun read with a likable heroine and hero, interesting secondary characters, some suspense, and an old mansion....more
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