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The popularity of gothic novels comes and goes, and now it seems to be on the rise. Fortunately for readers, popular fiction author Jane Peart has a special talent for writing gothics as proved by her recent releases of the Edgecliffe Manor Mysteries. From the time she read Jane Eyre at age 11, she has been drawn to the goosebump-inducing suspense of such authors as Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney.
Web of Deception introduced the series this past summer. Suddenly left homeless by the death of her vicar father, heroine Rachel Penniston takes a post as governess to two motherless children at an isolated mansion on the Cornish coast. Although their father Brett Venable must go to Australia on family business, the arrival of his younger brother Tony (Townsend) and his sister-in-law Verdonia Templeton set the mysterious plot in motion. Missing valuables, stealthy footsteps, and noises in the night raise Rachel's suspicions. The web of suspense grows tighter as various members of the staff leave. A sudden and somewhat violent ending explains all in a surprising way.
Book 2, Shadow of Fear, was recently released, and the suspense seems even higher than in Book 1, perhaps because readers see everything through the heroine's eyes. Challys Winthrop manages to rescue her little half-brother from her drunken, ruthless stepfather and flee to her aunt and uncle's home far across England. But circumstances require that Challys stop to serve as a maid in an inn when she is unable to pay for lodging. In a further effort to earn money, she poses as a model for an artist. When she has finally made her way to her relatives, she finds them almost destitute and she must take a job as secretary to the Lady she had met while fleeing her stepfather. She meets and falls in love with the Lady's nephew. But strands from the past arise to threaten Challys's new love, and she must undertake another daring plot to clear herself.
Both these titles capture readers with their suggestions of foul play, idealized romantic relationships, highminded virtue and "coincidence," and the mention of small details that set the scene so well for the era. Peart is a prolific author of romantic fiction with many fans. They may feel these gothics are some of her best fiction to date. The Edgecliffe Manor Mysteries are great read-in-an-evening books. Start early because you won't be able to stop until you've turned the last page.
Anne Callahan is a freelance reviewer from Chicago, IL.
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