09-03-2020, 12:13 AM
Never heard of this author before. However, after consulting my trusty, but outdated and unfortunately incomplete, resource book, it appears that this author wrote at least a couple of other books. Not worth the effort of searching for if my resource and I agree. She rated only one other book and this one was not on her list.
For those who like historical Southern gothics, this might appeal. I use the word "might" cautiously. Synopsis: Kate's younger sister Amanda was sent from somewhere down the Mississippi River (I assumed southern Missouri) to St. Louis to stay with her mother's cousin Carrie to break her from an unsuitable attachment. Unfortunately, things go wrong and Amanda ends up dead (supposedly drowned though they never found the body). So, just for laughs, her parents send Kate to St. Louis to stay with said cousin to see if she can find herself a husband. Once she gets there, she thinks she sees Amanda's shadow. At first, she is mocked by her cousin Carrie's late husband's nephew Dirk. She is angry and wants to run back home but then decides that nobody was going to drive her away from her purpose of finding her dead sister. As a background, this story takes place in 1859, so there are slaves about this plantation. Having read enough of these kinds of stories, the plot seemed somewhat thin and totally guessable. The only variable was the sudden outbreak of cholera.Â
I have to say, the publisher classified this as an historical romance, which it probably was, rather than a traditional gothic. However, I chose to include it here because the publisher's synopsis tried to make it sound like a gothic and there were certain elements of a gothic: mystery (which was solved in the end), suspense, romance; you had a hero, heroine and a villain of sorts. It was readable at least.
For those who like historical Southern gothics, this might appeal. I use the word "might" cautiously. Synopsis: Kate's younger sister Amanda was sent from somewhere down the Mississippi River (I assumed southern Missouri) to St. Louis to stay with her mother's cousin Carrie to break her from an unsuitable attachment. Unfortunately, things go wrong and Amanda ends up dead (supposedly drowned though they never found the body). So, just for laughs, her parents send Kate to St. Louis to stay with said cousin to see if she can find herself a husband. Once she gets there, she thinks she sees Amanda's shadow. At first, she is mocked by her cousin Carrie's late husband's nephew Dirk. She is angry and wants to run back home but then decides that nobody was going to drive her away from her purpose of finding her dead sister. As a background, this story takes place in 1859, so there are slaves about this plantation. Having read enough of these kinds of stories, the plot seemed somewhat thin and totally guessable. The only variable was the sudden outbreak of cholera.Â
I have to say, the publisher classified this as an historical romance, which it probably was, rather than a traditional gothic. However, I chose to include it here because the publisher's synopsis tried to make it sound like a gothic and there were certain elements of a gothic: mystery (which was solved in the end), suspense, romance; you had a hero, heroine and a villain of sorts. It was readable at least.