The Sleeping Bride

by Dorothy Eden

Aurora's vanishing was the climax to a series of disturbing incidents that had puzzled her sister, Lydia. And when some degree of explanation was forthcoming, Lydia found it so unsatisfactory that she decided to start her own investigation.

Genres: Mystery, Gothic, Romance, Historical Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Aka Mary Paradise.

Dorothy Eden was born in 1912 in New Zealand and died in 1982. She moved to England in 1954 after taking a trip around the world and falling in love with the country. She was best known for her many mystery and romance books as well as short stories that were published in periodicals. As a novelist, Dorothy Eden was renowned for her ability to create fear and suspense. This earned her many devoted readers throughout her lifetime.

Reviews

[Carrie Dalby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy it as well as the historical, more Gothic books of hers I've read, but it kept my attention as the mystery unfolded.
Written/published/set in the 1950s, so there is a different time feeling, but not like historicals without cars/telephones.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 1959 mystery novel should have been left in 1959.

Don't misunderstand me. I love reading old crime novels. What I do not love are the dated views on 'romance' and misogyny.

Our heroine Lydia (yes, this is a book that definitely deals in heroes, heroines and villains, rather than main characters) is the younger, plainer step-sister of beautiful Aurora Hawkins, who is shortly going to marry Philip Nash, a man she has known for only a month. When Aurora mysteriously vanishes, her family assume she has changed her mind and run away, but then they realise something is seriously wrong. Lydia and Philip join forces to investigate Aurora's disappearance, with all too predictable results.

Philip, our 'hero', is the kind of man who falls in love at the drop of a hat. Although there is evidence to suggest that his fiancée is in serious trouble, he has no qualms about 'falling in love' with Lydia. He tells Lydia she talks too much every time she speaks more than two consecutive sentences (even when all the information is vitally important) and kisses her in spite of her protests. Lydia, who fell in love with his voice over the telephone before she'd even met him, decides that "if he made love to her she would passively submit". Oh, and he tells her that he always falls in love with beautiful women, and that she will have to get used to it.

If you find that nauseating, the solution to the mystery is even worse. Aurora's former employer/lover committed a murder and is worried that Aurora has information that could convict him. He uses his 'hypnotic power' to force her to submit to being kidnapped and drugged by him to keep her under his control. At least when Philip and Lydia find her, in an unconscious stupor, they have the decency to wait until they've got her to hospital before falling into each other's arms. Presumably, at SOME point, one of them will get around to telling Aurora that her engagement is off?

[Virginia Markhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. This book was so disjointed it was very difficult to read, The story line went too many different directions and the conclusions made were not based on anything that had been written. Very disappointed overall,

[Abby B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Dorothy Eden read! I loved the twists and the turns of the plot line. She really knows how to captivate the reader from chapter to chapter, all the way to the end! I think she is definitely becoming my new favorite author 😍.

[Elizabeth Keysian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. I really couldn't work out what was going on, and that kept me on the edge of my seat. I know these books are a bit dated, but that's why I love them!

[Nattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book kicked off great but fell off around page 55. I lost the ability to connect with the characters once Aurora went missing, it seemed like the story had gone from a simple suspense/thriller/mystery, to something complicated and not as interesting.

I found it really baffling that a man could fancy himself in love with one woman after just meeting her, and then not much more than a month later fancy himself in love with another woman after just meeting her as well.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, so so far... but more of just suspense and not gothic. I will stick to the gothics... not the mystery/suspense novels by Eden.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is listed in my journal and does not have a "thumbs down" mark, but it was so unremarkable that I can't remember a thing about it. NOTHING!

[Jackie Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

predictable.