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House at River's Bend
Jo Anne Dodson was incredulous - she was the missing great-granddaughter of an eccentric millionaire and heiress to hisestate, the mountainside mansion at River's Bend. But from the moment she entered the strange house, fear began. Apparitions, curses and the suspicious attentions of a man who was not what he seemed all swelled the torrent of terror that Jo Anne's arrival had unleashed. Too late Jo Anne discovered that she had been willed a legacy of evil - and now that evil was claiming her as its own.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1975
4 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Jean Jensen
39 books211 followers
Ruby Jean Jensen
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 1, 2012
Being a big fan of Ruby Jean Jenson's horror writings, I recently read House at Rivers Bend, which was one of her earlier writings. This book is more of a Gothic Romance, not like the later horror books that she would write. While fans of this genre might enjoy this read, I found it a bit too far from my preferred type of reading. But, despite this, I plan on reading many more of Ruby's books as I feel that she is truely one of the most under appreciated horror authors around. (originally posted on Amazon.com)
September 23, 2019
Jo Anne had been informed that she inherited a house, and arrived at the old mansion at River’s Bend with a great feeling of exhilaration. That lasted until she first saw the apparition, a dead girl dragging a blanket covered with blood. What could this mean? Then, learning that her family had been afflicted with a madness that was perhaps hereditary. Top it off with not one but two suitors quickly coming into the picture. This was the third novel that Ruby Jean had published, and it was directly towards the Gothic Romance genre. However, key elements of the style that she later brought to Horror can be seen in the novel. Very entertaining, holds your attention.
September 8, 2019
I took it upon myself to add another reading project to my current list of ... four? five? ... projects, because who needs sleep? And who can keep track of that many projects, anyway? Anyway, the latest project is the Ruby Jean Jensen project, because the guys involved with Paperbacks from Hell have a lot of good to say about her. True to my nature, I started with the first book on the list (or, at least, the first I could get my hands on; all of her stuff is out of print).
House at River's Bend isn't the best place to start with Jensen, I'd wager. For one thing, it's one of her earliest novels; for another, it's not even a horror novel in the strictest sense. It's a Gothic novel, even though it has hints of the supernatural. It's more about a woman coming to live in an old, large, dark home (the place doesn't have running water or electricity) while trying to discover the secrets of her past while trying to determine who she can trust. In a way, it's almost like watching an old Hammer movie, because I kept envisioning vibrant colors and a lot of melodrama.
The book isn't terrible, but boy howdy, is it dated. The main character, Jo, is much more interested in the men in her life as opposed to her own survival, and the men see her more as on object than anything else. The dialog is forced and groan inducing, and the characters have little depth beyond what they need to be for the story. The plot is interesting, but nothing to make the novel stand out.
There are a few genuinely creepy moments in the book, though, especially when Jo first starts experiencing what could be supernatural events. It's not overfull with atmosphere, but there are some moments in the book where the setting takes center stage. Even though I didn't think much of the characters or plot, by the time I got to the last fifty pages of the book, I was invested in it enough to get to the end, bedtime be damned.
The book shows promise, which is to be expected, if Jensen is as good as Hendrix and Erickson suggest in their books and blogs, but in retrospect, it might not be the best place to begin. I'm looking forward to starting on the next few books, since that's when Jensen starts going full horror (apparently).
House at River's Bend isn't the best place to start with Jensen, I'd wager. For one thing, it's one of her earliest novels; for another, it's not even a horror novel in the strictest sense. It's a Gothic novel, even though it has hints of the supernatural. It's more about a woman coming to live in an old, large, dark home (the place doesn't have running water or electricity) while trying to discover the secrets of her past while trying to determine who she can trust. In a way, it's almost like watching an old Hammer movie, because I kept envisioning vibrant colors and a lot of melodrama.
The book isn't terrible, but boy howdy, is it dated. The main character, Jo, is much more interested in the men in her life as opposed to her own survival, and the men see her more as on object than anything else. The dialog is forced and groan inducing, and the characters have little depth beyond what they need to be for the story. The plot is interesting, but nothing to make the novel stand out.
There are a few genuinely creepy moments in the book, though, especially when Jo first starts experiencing what could be supernatural events. It's not overfull with atmosphere, but there are some moments in the book where the setting takes center stage. Even though I didn't think much of the characters or plot, by the time I got to the last fifty pages of the book, I was invested in it enough to get to the end, bedtime be damned.
The book shows promise, which is to be expected, if Jensen is as good as Hendrix and Erickson suggest in their books and blogs, but in retrospect, it might not be the best place to begin. I'm looking forward to starting on the next few books, since that's when Jensen starts going full horror (apparently).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews