Phyllis A. Whitney: The Quicksilver Pool

Hmm. This novel is compared on the cover blurb to Rebecca. I'm sure the editors thought that would make it a big seller in 1955, and maybe it was. But it's certainly no Rebecca. It's also not one of the early Whitney works that I've enjoyed, like Sea Jade.

The Quicksilver Pool reads more like a vague historical romance. The Gothic elements are missing, and by the time I got to page 59, I was already done. I read on a few more pages and gave up. The heroine and hero start out on a ferry, and secondary characters early on muddle up the narrative.

If you love novels set during or right after the Civil War, you might enjoy this one. I was hoping to, but I wouldn't call it a gothic romance at all.

Have you read it? What do you think? :)

Phyllis A. Whitney: Vermilion

I have missed all of you! :) We've moved in to our new place, and so far, so good. I wanted to review Whitney's Vermilion.

The cover to the left is the same one I have. The publication is 1981, and it is obviously a "later" Whitney novel. I've mentioned before that I like her earlier ones (so far anyway upon rereading), and this one proved to be no exception.

Plot: 3/5 The plot is interesting enough, but not riveting. Lindsay Phillips returns to Sedona, Arizona to find out who murdered her father, Jed Phillips. Sibling rivalry takes center stage, and her love of her sister's husband, Rick, complicates things.

Characterization: 3/5 The most interesting characters were Vermilion (an imaginary friend or maybe even a second personality that Lindsay Phillips has. As a former student of psychology, I was leaning toward MPD. The whole thing was more than a little strange, even with the calm narration.) and the dead man, Jed Phillips.

Atmosphere: 3/5 There was nothing too scary about this one. I liked the eerie drumbeats and the idea of the alien setting of red rocks, but it didn't make me shiver.

Literary: 2/5

Romantic Elements: 3/5 The whole romantic setup is a bit awkward because Lindsay and Rick are getting together as Lindsay's half sister Sybil, his wife, and he are breaking up. One unbelievable thing happens between them. I won't give it away, but any normal wife would have murdered good ole Rick for it.

Rating: 2.5+ stars

This one could be skipped if you're not a hardcore Whitney fan or a lover of Arizona...

Phyllis A. Whitney: Woman Without a Past

I love the hard cover design of this novel. It looks like the Old South to me and is mysterious and wistful.

This novel was published in 1991 and is one of Whitney's later works. As I've mentioned before, I prefer her earlier gothic romance novels. Woman Without a Past didn't change my mind on that.

The novel moves slowly to its conclusion, and the most appealing character was Honoria Phelps.

Characterization 3/5: Twins are part of the central story here, and Whitney handles them well at first, but there is little tension after the first third of the novel. Honoria Phelps is spritely and easy to picture. I do like some of the names in the novel: Amelia Mountfort and Cecelia Mountfort-- very pretty.

Plot 3/5: The plot moved too slowly for me, and the abduction mystery just left me feeling "meh." I picked the novel up and put it back down many times. Also, Molly's meeting with Charles Landry was so contrived/annoying from the outset that it colored the rest of the novel for me.

Atmosphere/spooky elements 2/5: Very few. The twin thing and birthmarks, etc. was interesting, but there was little suspense or spookiness to the novel and that was with a "ghost," a pyschic, and more.

Literary elements 3/5: The history of Charleston, South Carolina is interesting. If you like Southern settings, you might check this one out. I'm not sure Whitney fully captured it, but she did a nice job with some of the details.

Romantic elements 3/5: I like the red herrings Whitney threw in early in the novel, but overall, this book wasn't terribly romantic. It's one that I would have liked a different ending/choice of lovers for.

Rating: almost 3 stars--  **+

I recommend this if you're a big fan of Southern settings (maybe) or a diehard Whitney fan.

Phyllis A. Whitney: The Winter People

This novel is one of the early ones by Whitney; it was published in 1969. I have used the image of the book cover I have, and I found the image at The Official Phyllis A. Whitney website:

http://www.phyllisawhitney.com/The%20Winter%20People.htm

Dina Blake is a museum jack of all trades when she meets Glen Chandler, a sculptor. From the moment Glen sees her, he insists upon sculpting Dina in alabaster. Their relationship develops, and they marry in a whirlwind. Dina is spirited away to Northern New Jersey. On her way to the family estate, High Towers, she runs into her old love, Trent McIntyre; his reaction to her new marriage puzzles her. Soon, she realizes that Glen has not told her everything about his family-- namely about his dark twin Glynis.

Danger and intrigue stalk Dina through the halls of High Towers. What kind of game are Glen and Glynis playing? Is Aunt Nomi friend or foe, and who can save Dina from the evil that lurks at High Towers?

Characterization: 5/5 [I loved this novel immediately, and the nicely drawn characters were a key to that reaction. I could picture Dina Blake with her Scandinavian looks. I could see Britt Eklund (in her younger years) playing her role, and Ralph Fiennes as her husband (a younger Ralph Fiennes); he has the hair color for the part! Trent McIntyre might be played by Clive Owen.]

Plot: 4/5 [The plot caught me up quickly; I really like the pace of the novel. I took one star off simply for how Dina runs into Trent McIntyre again; it seems so far fetched, but then I was thinking about how I ran into someone from my past once in the strangest place at a pivotal time. I guess it could happen.]

Atmosphere/spooky elements: 4/5 [The whole focus on cold, ice, white, and snow is chilling. I love the enclosed atmosphere Whitney creates; it is quite claustrophobic. The estate itself is creepy as is the obsession of Glen Chandler with Dina's image for his sculpture. Finally, Glynis is as menacing a twin and painter as you will find in literature.]

Literary elements: 5/5 [Yes, the novel is smart. Whitney uses symbolism and tone to create a true atmosphere. In other words, the novel is well written.]

Rating: 4+ stars   ****+

Don't skip this one. It is a true Gothic Romance, and the tone and atmosphere are masterful.

The Winter People

Phyllis A. Whitney: The Ebony Swan

This novel is one of Whitney's later ones, published in 1992. Fun fact: the author died at the age of 104! She also thanks Dr. Robert Atkins-- I assume THE Robert Atkins in her introduction to this book. He must deserve some credit for her ripe old age.

This novel centers around Alex Montero, a seventy something grandmother/former ballet dancer. Her granddaughter, Susan Prentice, has come back to her family home in Virginia after twenty-five years away. She has not spoken to her grandmother, Alex Montero, since she went away at age six. Mystery surrounds her mother's death which led to Susan's being spirited away in silence from the family she loved.

The past is not dead, and someone does not want Susan and Alex to know what really happened to Delores, Susan's mother. Whom can Susan and Alex trust?

To be honest, I read all the way to page 150 and quit. The novel just seemed silly to me, and it was dragging terribly. Other than Alex, most of the characters were flat and uninteresting.

Perhaps the tipping point was when Whitney threw pages of health information in the middle of the novel-- all about supplements like fish oil and hawthorn root, etc. I really believe in fish oil, but that was a bit over the top! It was laughable and dampened the budding romance while being overtly preachy and bizarre. I should cut the author some slack; after all, she was around 90 when she wrote this novel, and she did live a long life, but it's still not what I want out of a Gothic Romance Novel. I know she has so many other great novels that I didn't want to waste anymore time on this one.

Rating: 2 stars    **

I don't recommend this one unless you are a hardcore love everything Whitney has ever written fan. 

Phyllis A. Whitney: Sea Jade

I can't remember ever having read this one by Whitney, though I have read many by her. It turned out to be quite surprising and well written-- a true Gothic published in 1964. I wish I could find the Fawcett Crest cover of the edition I read (my copy cover is quite tattered). It is quite different with shades of jade on the back and periwinkle and jade on the front as background for a ship labeled Sea Jade, a yellow moon, and the heroine in a pink dress and black cape, looking back at a small house.

In the novel, a young woman, Miranda Heath, has traveled to the creepy Kent mansion of Captain Obadiah Bascomb, her father's old friend and sailing partner. After her father's death and with her mother having died long ago, she hopes to find help -- shelter, etc. from him, though her father warned her right before his death not to trust him or ever go to him for help.

Miranda realizes something is strange right away, and that she is not wanted there in Bascomb's Point. The Capt. tells her his plan that she will marry Brock McLean, the son of his other business partner, so that the business may rise again to greatness. She does under some duress-- rather foolishly as McLean is not outwardly interested in her, to say the least.

In an unhappy marriage, she explores a mystery that Captain Bascomb  mentioned right before his death and gets more than she bargained for. Of course, there is a rival love interest, Ian, and a cast of other characters who are well drawn. The love entanglements are not predictable; the plot is not either. It is full of twists and turns.

Characterization: 5/5 [I could picture the characters vividly. Brock McLean would be played by Clive Owen; Miranda Heath might be Scarlett Johansson. Ian Pryott could be played by Ewan MacGregor. I pictured Lucy Liu in the role of Lien, Capt. Bascomb's wife, and Glenn Close as Sybil McLean-- Brock McLean's mother. Then, there's the black dog named Lucifer... ]

Plot: 5/5 [I was into the plot from page 1 and it moved steadily and unpredictably.]

Atmosphere/spooky elements: 4/5 [The ancestral home is mysterious as is the lighthouse, and old ship, and the brooding husband and menacing Captain. The 1870s setting in New York is another Gothic touch. I could only wish for some true supernatural elements, but most are only suggested at by characters who want them to be true.]

Literary?  4/5 [It is well written and smart. The novel references Gothic writers, and some history of Chinese trade and ship building make the novel a standout.]

Romance? Yes, but much unhappiness before that happens.

Rating: 4+stars ****+

I highly recommend this one. I have read some of Whitney's weaker, older OR more modern works, and this one is superior to several. I will be on the lookout for other similar ones by her.

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).