Phyllis A. Whitney: The Red Carnelian

I am not able to load a photograph of this cover right now. I'm not sure why.

I wanted to include this novel because it's a Whitney novel that on the surface would appear to be a Gothic novel or Gothic romance, but it's not much in the way of a Gothic-- though there is some romance. The basic storyline is that Linell works at Cunningham's department store. Her ex-fiance is murdered, and the mystery begins. Oh, and some scary mannequins are near the body. This whodunnit is plodding and awkward. It's Whitney's first for adults, and it shows. I made it through 45 pages and thought that was more than fair.

I am going to avoid a full review here since this one does not qualify as much of a Gothic novel to my mind. Much of the action takes place at work, and it's not at all spooky, sadly.

**I do not recommend this one.

Rating: 2+ stars (out of 5. It's just "ok" for fans of whodunnits, I guess).