Good Reads - Fiction

Romance

Romantic Suspense

F/AIKEN
Aiken, Joan - Castle Barebane - 1976, 312p.
When Val Montgomery receives a call for help from her half brother, she immediately abandons her job and her fiancee and leaves for England. Once there, she finds only his children, and seeking safe refuge, she takes them to Castle Barebane, her mother's ancestral home. Here, while trying to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her brother's disappearance, she encounters four men destined to change her life forever.

F/ANTHONY
Anthony, Evelyn - The Doll's House - 1992, 271p.
Devastated by her husband's announcement that he is leaving her, British diplomat Rosa Bennett accepts a dangerous assignment to infiltrate a ring of ex-spies whose base camp is an old English country hotel, The Doll's House. Rosa, while ingratiating herself with the proprietor, Harry Oakham, a possible member of the ring, soon finds herself inexplicably attracted to him. In a riveting climax, with her own life in imminent danger, Rosa finds out whose loyalties Harry will honor.

M/BALLARD
Ballard, Mignon F. - The Widow's Woods - 1991, 224p.
Jane Cannon returns home to stay at her parents' house while they vacation in England. Not long after her arrival, her neighbor is murdered and the Widow's Woods behind the house becomes the site of some bizarre occult rituals. When her grandfather and another young woman disappear, Jane reluctantly becomes involved and soon finds herself the target of the killer.

F/BRANDON
Brandon, Beatrice - The Court of Silver Shadows - 1980, 305p.
When Laurel Warrick accepts the position as live-in librarian at Sablecroft Hall, she is unaware of the dangers that await her. While cataloging the vast and extraordinary silent film memorabilia, Laurel discovers real terror, as she explores the mysteries surrounding the house. Despite warnings from family members, she vows to unravel the secrets of the house herself.

F/DUMAURIER
DuMaurier, Daphne - Rebecca - 1938, 357p.
The Cornwall estate of Manderley is the setting for this classic tale of romantic suspense. When Maxim deWinter brings his new bride home, she is overwhelmed by the aura of mystery surrounding the death of Maxim's first wife. When the boat with the body of Rebecca turns up, the truth about Rebecca and her life at Manderley is finally revealed.

F/HOLT
Holt, Victoria - The Black Opal - 1993, 275p.
Carmel March, found abandoned as an infant, is taken in and raised with the other children of Dr. and Mrs. Marline. She spends her early years in England until Mrs. Marline dies and she is then whisked off to Australia where she remains until the age of seventeen. Curious about the childhood she does not remember, she returns to England, and, with the help of an old friend, Sir Lucian Crompton, she attempts to resolve the mysteries surrounding her early years in England.

F/JOHNSTON
Johnston, Velda - The Underground Stream - 1991, 169p.
The quaint village of Hampton Harbor seems like the ideal place for Gail Loring to spend the summer while recuperating from a mental breakdown. Her good luck in finding a house to rent only reaffirms her decision. However, suddenly and at unexpected times she finds herself in another time, interacting with the inhabitants of the house, from over a century ago. To complicate matters, Gail's ancestors lived in the same village, and the secrecy surrounding their lives soon becomes apparent as Gail must confront a past she can neither remember nor escape.

F/LLEWELLYN
Llewellyn, Caroline - Life Blood - 1993, 339p.
Children's author and illustrator Jo Treleven, along with her infant son, has come to the isolated Cotswold cottage left her by her grandmother in order to escape and refocus her life following her husband's mysterious death—only to find the house holds its own haunted past. The brutal murder of a woman fifty years earlier and a novel written by her grandmother, perhaps identifying the killer, pique Jo's curiosity as she attempts to unravel the mystery of the house.

F/MICHAELS
Michaels, Barbara - Into the Darkness - 1990, 348p.
Meg Venturi is shocked when she learns she has inherited her grandfather's antique jewelry business. She is also surprised when she meets the man her grandfather chose to run the business with her. Meg and most of the town look upon A.L. Riley with skepticism, and when Meg receives threatening phone calls and Victorian rings inscribed with foreboding messages, Riley is a likely suspect. Meg, however, does not concur and it takes a life-threatening fire on the estate to flush out the unlikely culprit.

M/PETERS
Peters, Elizabeth - Night Train to Memphis - 1994, 353p.
Vicky Bliss, Assistant Curator of the National Museum in Munich, is persuaded to help an international intelligence agency by posing as one of an elite group of passengers on a luxurious cruise ship sailing up the Nile. The mastermind of a suspected robbery of a Cairo museum is the target of her investigation. However, a murder and other complications turn the cruise into a nightmare voyage, putting Vicky's own life in serious danger.

F/ROBARDS
Robards, Karen - One Summer - 1993, 345p.
Released from prison for a murder he says he never committed, Johnny Harris returns to a hostile homecoming. His only supporter, former teacher Rachel Grant, befriends him and soon their friendship turns into an affair that has the whole town talking. Rachel becomes even more important in Johnny's life when another identical murder is committed, and she is Johnny's only alibi. Trying to establish Johnny's innocence pits Rachel against a deadly and surprising villain.

F/ROBERTS
Roberts, Nora - Hidden Riches - 1994, 395p.
Dora Conroy, an antique dealer, is unaware of what she really purchased at a local auction. Concealed in the gaudy items are priceless treasures mistakenly shipped to the auction, but meant for a ruthless art collector. Furious at the bungle, he will stop at nothing, even murder, to regain his treasures. Luckily for Dora, Jed Skimmerhorn, ex-cop, is her new tenant and together they begin to unravel the mysterious deaths of those who have come in contact with the misdirected items. Finally, Dora puts her own life in danger as they attempt to catch this diabolical killer.

F/ROSSITER
Rossiter, Elizabeth - The Lemon Garden - 1983, 251p.
Joanna Fleming, a victim of amnesia following an automobile accident, remembers nothing of her past. She does, however, experience an ominous feeling whenever she visits her aunt's lemon garden or holds an earring, the mate of which was worn by a body found floating in Lake Garda. Joanna, an aspiring actress, is surrounded by people wanting to help her, but she is fearful of trusting anyone. Murder and an exciting chase through Italy result in a dramatic conclusion.

F/STEWART
Stewart, Mary - The Stormy Petrel - 1991, 189p.
Rose Fenemore looks forward to a relaxing holiday with her brother Crispin on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. Her plan is to do some writing while Crispin indulges his passion for photography. Crispin, however, is delayed, and when two men seeking refuge from a storm arrive at her cottage, Rose's idyllic retreat becomes anything but that. Are Ewan Mackey and John Parsons what they seem or are both hiding something? Rose is drawn into a web of suspense as the truth unfolds about her unexpected visitors.

F/WHITNEY
Whitney, Phyllis - Star Flight - 1993, 286p.
Lauren Castle's husband is accidentally killed while working on a documentary about the career of the famous actor, Roger Brandt. Months later Lauren receives a mysterious letter concerning her husband's death. Curious not only about his untimely death, but also about Roger Brandt, Lauren travels to Lake Lure. With the help of a former boyfriend, Lauren eventually meets Roger Brandt, who was her grandmother's lover. A myriad of suspects makes Lauren's job difficult, but eventually she finds the answers to why and how her husband died and to her own personal questions about her past.

Prepared by Sheila Guenzer, December 1994