06-03-2012, 01:50 PM
It's the 1960s and Elizabeth York is a young actress in Hollywood. After the recent murder of her husband she's been suffering blackouts and memory loss, which begins to influence her work. So her agent finds her a place with a psychiater who is supposed to be able to fix people's minds in record time. Elizabeth signs in at "La Casa del Mar", a luxurious old mansion run more like a hotel than a clinic, where only six other patients are staying. Then it seems like the murderer of her husband has followed her here and Elizabeth's life may be in danger.
The reader will enjoy the glimpse in the life of a Hollywood actress and the goings on around a film set. Lots of detail will place us in the '60s and for those who were already around in the day, it will be a fun commemoration. It's a refreshing deviation from the Victorian age where many gothic romances are situated.
The prose is straightforward and never confusing. There are a few minor errors that must have slipped by the editor, but they do not deter from your appreciation of the story.
The story is fast-paced and never dull. Lots of twist and turns will encourage the reader to try and devise possible plot directions, and I don't think it's a spoiler if I say that if anyone predicted the ending of this book, that person should start writing fiction themselves. I think this is one of the most original endings I have read in a long time. I salute the author for being able to surprise me, a reader who has long since given up hope to be surprised by the plots of gothic romances.
My verdict: an 8 out of 10
The reader will enjoy the glimpse in the life of a Hollywood actress and the goings on around a film set. Lots of detail will place us in the '60s and for those who were already around in the day, it will be a fun commemoration. It's a refreshing deviation from the Victorian age where many gothic romances are situated.
The prose is straightforward and never confusing. There are a few minor errors that must have slipped by the editor, but they do not deter from your appreciation of the story.
The story is fast-paced and never dull. Lots of twist and turns will encourage the reader to try and devise possible plot directions, and I don't think it's a spoiler if I say that if anyone predicted the ending of this book, that person should start writing fiction themselves. I think this is one of the most original endings I have read in a long time. I salute the author for being able to surprise me, a reader who has long since given up hope to be surprised by the plots of gothic romances.
My verdict: an 8 out of 10
