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The Ardreys
The Ardreys by Kay Vernon - Zebra Books - 1979
- GenresGothic
Mass Market Paperback
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 20, 2022
For a time in the 1970s, Kensington's Zebra imprint published a special line of illustrated gothic romances, of which this is one. I've read some of the illustrated Zebras before and it's interesting seeing random black and white drawings inserted here and there. They are good drawings (at least in this one); they just remind me of the first paperbacks I read as a very young child.
The story in this one was refreshingly good for a Zebra Gothic and with an oddly matter of fact title for that imprint ... lol. And this story really is more of a family drama about the Ardreys and a mysterious man they nurse back to life who changes their lives forever. It does have some gothic elements. I loved that the story was told by two main narrators (sisters Letty and Kate Ardrey), and occasionally from the point of view of others so that we got to learn new things about the way the characters see one another. The family is endearing and I felt the author let us get to know them well.
The big reveals at the end were kind of disappointing. The mystery didn't have a whole lot of action to begin with, but there were some major occurrences that just kinda ... blew over. Spoilers ahead! There was another character who was supposedly redeemed in the end, but I wasn't quite convinced. There was also at least one major plot occurrence that never got answered unless I'm dumb:
It's not a masterpiece, but I still really enjoyed it. 3.5 stars.
Later re-published as "The Dark Seas of Maltern Manor".
The story in this one was refreshingly good for a Zebra Gothic and with an oddly matter of fact title for that imprint ... lol. And this story really is more of a family drama about the Ardreys and a mysterious man they nurse back to life who changes their lives forever. It does have some gothic elements. I loved that the story was told by two main narrators (sisters Letty and Kate Ardrey), and occasionally from the point of view of others so that we got to learn new things about the way the characters see one another. The family is endearing and I felt the author let us get to know them well.
The big reveals at the end were kind of disappointing. The mystery didn't have a whole lot of action to begin with, but there were some major occurrences that just kinda ... blew over. Spoilers ahead! There was another character who was supposedly redeemed in the end, but I wasn't quite convinced. There was also at least one major plot occurrence that never got answered unless I'm dumb:
It's not a masterpiece, but I still really enjoyed it. 3.5 stars.
Later re-published as "The Dark Seas of Maltern Manor".
Displaying 1 of 1 review