Menace within

by Ursula Curtiss

When her aunt had been taken to hospital after a bad stroke, Amanda was left in charge of her house. Amanda knew about her aunt's dog but she didn't know about the secret underground shelter built beneath the house. This hiding place had been put to secret and illicit use by a workman who had known of its existence when it was first built, before Amanda's aunt bought the house. A murderer had been hidden in the secret a man who had recently killed a young woman : a man far from sane, who had a sane, loyal and dangerous ally in his half-brother. From these men's points of view it becomes imperative to eliminate Amanda, whose predicament has been made worse by her having undertaken to look after the baby of some friends who have gone on holiday. Amanda and the baby are hounded through empty, snowbound streets, cornered and threatened by these ruthless men.

Genres: Mystery, Gothic, Thriller

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Daughter and sister of, respectively, US mystery writers Helen Reilly and Mary McMullen. She worked as a copywriter and columnist before becoming a full-time self employed writer.

Reviews

[Ernie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm now an admitted Ursula Curtiss groupie. It started with THE WASP, currently my favorite book. THE MENACE WITHIN has the hallmarks I worship: original setting and characters, finely felt details, intelligence bordering on intuition, a heroine in fear of her life alone in a house in some sort of wilderness real or imagined, children and animals deployed without cloying, a poetic turn of mind and phrase, suspense always on the boil...
TMW is a sly comment on the lengths that people go to, to be safe in an unsafe world, which backfire and produce unsafety, a moral that is so timely. nothing beats a neighborly neighbor who will look out for your animals if they escape. the central metaphor may be ironic, but we really do care what happens to the characters and are scared on their behalf when a series of inadvertant choices places the heroine in peril. the New Mexico desert is an unusual setting that Curtiss knows and depicts in minute, telling detail.

[Gillis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een thriller die zich afspeelt in de late jaren ´70 in New Mexico. Moest hetzelfde verhaal zich nu afspelen, in een tijd met internet en vooral gsm´s, zou het heel anders gelopen zijn.
De basis is zeker niet slecht. Soms een tikkeltje verwarrend, maar best oke. Wat mij een beetje stoorde waren de losse eindjes. Je blijft op het eind van het verhaal met nog wel wat vragen zitten.

[Julian Rebelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slight bit confusing, but good story.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Marius · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed it. It's a pleasant read. The storyline isn't too complex: it's all a build-up towards the intense action of the last 50-60 pages or so.