Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Towers of Fear

The Towers of Fear by Caroline Farr
Cover Art by Allen Kass
published by: Signet Books
Copyright 1972

THE TOWERS
OF FEAR

TERROR, LIKE A COLD
FOR, ENVELOPED THE HOUSE ...

To Storm Towers, the brooking mansion of the
wealthy and influential Hailsworth family, came
lovely black-haired Ali Cavanagh on a visit to her
former college friend, Joan, young daughter of
the house.

Almost at once Ali was drawn into the web of
mystery that encircled the Hailsworth family:
Joan, strangely remote, was locked in her private
nightmare world; Ursula, whose relationship with
Joan held sinister undertones; Monty, the
handsome playboy, who attracted Ali yet frightened
her by his strange behavior; Donald, whom Ali
longed to trust but didn't dare. And then there was
Greg, Ali's former colleague - what was the real
reason for his unexpected presence in the mansion?

All were captive to the fear that filled the vast halls
of the old house where an unknown intruder
prowled the hidden corridors. The silent menace
grew until one fearful night when Ali found herself
struggling against a faceless evil that threatened
her sanity-and her life-and Storm Towers
revealing its shocking secret ....

This whole Hailsworth family seems just a little too familiar. FLASH BACK 18 YEARS: Joan? Easily me. Strangely remote and also lock in a private nightmare world. Ursula? Totally my younger sister, our relationship has ALWAYS held sinister undertones. Monty? No doubt my older brother, if strange behavior can include playing role playing games. As for Donald and Greg? They could be any number of the people who paraded in and out of my childhood home. I can say with all confidence that I don't think I'd like this book.

Now this cover is an Allan Kass whom we have see here on "WRFH" before. In fact there is a blogger site here dedicated to to his work.

Allan Kass was born in New York City in 1917. He received his BFA in Painting from Syracuse University after which he received an apprenticeship in the fashion art department of a Manhattan newspaper.


He joined the Air Force during WW2 flying 44 combat missions over Burma and Thailand. He was awarded 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses and promoted to Captain.


After the end of the war he continued to fly for the Air Force, art becoming only a hobby. After not being called for duty for the Korean War, Allan Kass retired from the military and began again to work as an artist. This time for an auto catalogue located in Detroit.

In the last part of the 1960's, after years in advertising, Kass painted sample book cover illustrations and traveled to New York City to solicit freelance work from book publishers. Here began what Kass himself said was a more artistically satisfying career. (Though I personally am rather fond of his advertising work.)

With approximately 1000 book cover illustrations from 1969-1998 for publishers such as Signet and Fawcett covering Romance, Western, Young Adult, and Historical Fiction, Allan Kass retired. Eventually moving to Big Sky, Montana.

Allan Kass died September 2, 2005.

Below are just a few additional examples of his work.






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