01-30-2018, 10:01 PM
This was the first of two I read by this author and I had commented on my reaction in another thread. This was one of those mild romantic suspense novels from the 60s that were classified as Gothics. The story was completely predictable and I was able to guess the outcome within the first 20 pages.
The synopsis: To know Harriet Ussher was to hate her. Spoiled, arrogant, the blonde heiress treated everyone with contempt. so when she was found murdered in the summerhouse at Whisperwood, the night of her 21st birthday party, the police had a number of suspects to choose from. There was Tim Shaw, the hot-tempered young manager of the Ussher Iron Works, who had quarreled with Harriet earlier that evening. There was her stepfather, William Rodman, and his luxury-loving playboy son, Richard. There was Michael Zachary, the sailor she had married on impulse - a marriage that had been quickly annulled. And there was her pretty "poor relation" cousin, Jonne Hale, who found the body. Jonne knew she wasn't guilty, and she didn't want to believe any of the others were either. Certainly not Tim...or Richard. But somebody had killed Harriet...somebody who believed Jonne knew more than she was admitting and marked her for murder too!
My criticisms: Jonne acted liked a stupid, immature, childish, spoiled brat at times; the romance developed too quickly and the author unsuccessfully tried to play up the multiple rivalries
The synopsis: To know Harriet Ussher was to hate her. Spoiled, arrogant, the blonde heiress treated everyone with contempt. so when she was found murdered in the summerhouse at Whisperwood, the night of her 21st birthday party, the police had a number of suspects to choose from. There was Tim Shaw, the hot-tempered young manager of the Ussher Iron Works, who had quarreled with Harriet earlier that evening. There was her stepfather, William Rodman, and his luxury-loving playboy son, Richard. There was Michael Zachary, the sailor she had married on impulse - a marriage that had been quickly annulled. And there was her pretty "poor relation" cousin, Jonne Hale, who found the body. Jonne knew she wasn't guilty, and she didn't want to believe any of the others were either. Certainly not Tim...or Richard. But somebody had killed Harriet...somebody who believed Jonne knew more than she was admitting and marked her for murder too!
My criticisms: Jonne acted liked a stupid, immature, childish, spoiled brat at times; the romance developed too quickly and the author unsuccessfully tried to play up the multiple rivalries
