Halloween Bingo 2025
This is a modern version of the gothic suspense novel. I've been reading it beside Victoria Holt's Bride of Pendorric and couldn't resist contrasting the two. Both have a young woman trying to solve a mystery, meeting a mysterious man, and facing danger. But, oh, the contrasts. Holt's heroine, Favel, is sheltered, naïve, and dependent on the man that she has chosen. Armstrong's Ruby is daring, adventurous, very independent, and rather notorious. Ruby would eat Roc Pendorric for breakfast and then go for drinks with her friends. Both books are set in Cornwall and its legends and superstitions feature heavily.
Ruby is sent to a small hamlet in Cornwall to deliver a large box of books. If she didn't love her business partner, Mr. Owen, so much, she would have refused to go. One of her wartime friends, Tamsyn, married the baronet in that community and I rapidly gathered that Ruby had hoped that Tamsyn would choose her instead. Against her better judgement, Ruby visits Penryth Hall, stays overnight, and in the morning Sir Edward is found dead. Still caring about her former lover, Ruby is determined to find out what happened. She refuses to believe in the Curse of Penryth Hall.
Every good gothic has a witch of some variety to provide guidance, advice, or prophecy, and this one has the Pellar, a man with herbal knowledge and a good grasp of psychology. Plus Ruan also has an annoying tendency to read Ruby's mind. Combative at first, their relationship rapidly morphs into a united front as they investigate together. They unravel the tangled local history that seems to have led to murder.
A gothic romance without the romance part. Reading the description of the next volume, I thought, “Well, Ruby and Mr. Owen are headed to Scotland, not Cornwall.” Until I read farther and realized that Ruan gets the call to help them with another investigation. Perhaps I'm wrong and they're just going to be close friends, but I hope not.
I read this book for the Horrid Houses square of my Halloween Bingo card.
No comments:
Post a Comment