The Pretty Ones

The Pretty Ones by Dorothy Eden
published by Ace Books
Copyright 1957

The
Pretty Ones

SHADOWS BEHIND SHADOWS; WHEELS
WITHIN WHEELS. THIS WAS
COURTLANDS, EMMA'S NEW HOME... (what
on earth are they talking about?)

It seemed that nothing would ever
upset the joys of marriage for Emma and
her husband Barnaby, even though she
knew little about the man she had met
and married in a matter of weeks. (so what
exactly are you basing this eternal optimism on?)

Then the unpleasant rumors started
-that Barnaby's first wife disappeared
under sinister circumstances; that no one
really knew what happened to the two
pretty young governesses who simply
ran off without cause or explanation.

Emma trusted Barnaby; there were
no questions she could or would ask him.
But when a pathetic, lonely grave turned
up in the field, her loyalty to her brood-
ing, secretive husband gave way to cold,
hard fear ...

Okay, I knew my husband (Aaron Bias - See Silver Age Gold) pretty well when we got married. In fact, I could, with all confidence say I trusted him completely. (Oh to be 21 and naive again) but I would have to say, I would not have had any hesitation is suspecting that he was responsible for a mass grave in my backyard even without all the suspicious circumstances surrounding this guy.

I mean really. Mysterious disappearances, brooding, secretiveness? Emma, that ugly shirt isn't going to save you from having your neck broken.

The Darkest Room

The Darkest Room by Grace Corren
published by Magnum Books
Copyright 1969

Touch of The Dead

Toby had been Anne Gunther's first and
only love - but Toby was three years dead,
killed in a tragic car crash (as opposed to a comic one?)
for which Anne still felt responsible. But was Toby
dead? Or was he still with her, unwilling to
let her know peace as long as she still
lived the life of which he had been
deprived? (sounds kind of like a jerk)
Anne tried to escape to Edith
Allen's country house, but no matter where
she went, how far she traveled, she could
not escape from herself. She saw Toby in
every stranger, in every darkened room,
until she thought that she must be losing
her mind. The old house that was to have
been a refuge soon became a prison -
and then fantasy turned to reality as some-
one in the Allen house tried to kill her! (okay, so was
she even invited) Was that someone motivated by living
hatred for this girl who was a stranger in
their midst - or was it the ghost of Toby,
who could not rest until Anne joined
him in eternity?

We finally have a woman smart enough to run from a house wearing a sensible matching pant and top active wear set and she doesn't think to wear shoes, or a bra for that matter! Did she leave these items in the darkest room and was unable to find them? Is Toby really such a jerk as to resent her being alive? And, if so, what was Toby's appeal to begin with? I think Anne must just go for the bad boys.

A Fear In Borzano

A Fear in Borzano by Willa Jay
published by Magnum Books
Copyright 1966

THE TOWER OF TERROR

From the moment she arrived in
Borzano, Sally Grant Knew that
something was wrong. (it's a
wonder she stayed then) The
servants were strangely aloof,
the workmen were sullen, the
natives unfriendly. Everywhere
there was resentment against
the small party of Americans who
were transporting the Mazzini
castle to America - and who might
find the gold that was rumored
to be hidden in the castle walls.

but the greatest danger was not
from the people of Borzano -
it was from the something unseen,
something evil, that lurked within
the castle itself. Sally was the
first to sense it - it stalked her
like a soul-hungry demon. And
the time came when her only
protection was a scream!
in the night! (and how exactly would that help?)

Who would have thought that anyone would have a problem with Americans taking one of their country's landmarks and shipping it back home. Those damn foreigners with their "but that is part of my country's history", and their "that is part our heritage". If it really belongs to them, then why did God give Americans enough money to buy it? You don't have an answer to that do you?

This cover is awesome. I would swear I've seen that fountain outside of Collinwood. And exactly how long does a wine need to age in order to taste like terror and death?

Louise, the Restless

Louise, the Restless by Katheryn Kimbrough
published by Popular Library
Copyright 1978

LOUISE, THE RESTLESS
is one of the spellbinding novels in the greatest
series of gothic romances ever conceived.
You won't want to miss the others,
all exclusively in Popular Library editions.

On the surface, Louise seemed the most perfect of Vic-
torian young ladies - a beautiful, talented, charming
creature, the apple of her physician father's eye, and a
seemingly untouchable ideal to the young suitors who
flocked around her.

Only Louise knew of the fever that burned in her blood,
turning her life into an inferno of forbidden desire ... for
a handsome, worldly aristocrat with too much sensual
experience and seductive skill to be trusted ... for a
dazzling concert pianist with a wife who refused to give
him up ... for any man who promised to quench the rag-
ging fires that threatened to consume all of Louise's
hopes and dreams. There had been many Phenwick
women before Louise - but none so blessed with every
grace, and so damned by a curse that turned passion to
peril and made love another word for fear ...

Wow, who would have suspected the inferno of lust that could not be doused even by a center part and hood. Looks like the boys in town have really beaten a path to Louise's door by the looks of those ... wagon tracks?

Oh those wacky Victorians! Clearly, Louise just needs to get laid.

Moon Garden

Moon Garden by Jan Alexander
published by Popular Library
Copyright 1972

A STRANGE SATANIC POWER WAS STALKING HER ...

Fleeing from the tragedy of a loved-one's death, beau-
tiful Ellen Miles come to her aunt's Southern mansion to
regain her strength. Although she had only recently suf-
fered a nervous breakdown, Ellen found herself gradually
rediscovering life and romance - drawn to two handsome,
charming men and finding love with one of them.

Suddenly strange, terrifying events began to haunt her.
Were the mansion and its garden really possessed by
some diabolic force from the distance past? Or was Ellen's
illness slowly, subtly returning to poison her thoughts?

No one - not even the man she loved - believed her tales
of terror in the night. Was his affection genuine or merely
a means to keep her silent? Struggling against the dark
powers that engulfed her, Ellen began to doubt her own
sanity ...

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FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK

There is something wrong in the logic that would ever bring someone recovering from a nervous breakdown to a dilapidated old plantation house that looks to be sinking into the swamp. The ambience just wouldn't be good for a fragile mind. Neither would a helmet of hair that looks totally too heavy and out of proportion to your head.

And what is up with all these women falling for jerks? Rule number one, if a guy doesn't believe you when you tell him something, he is probably not the guy for you. Rule number two, if you suspect a guy is dating you to "merely keep you silent" , he is probably not the guy for you. Rule number three, if a guy likes hanging out in a dilapidated old plantation house that looks to be sinking into a swamp, once again, he is probably not the guy for you.