The Bethnal Inheritance

by Martha Whitfield

It was Fourth of July, when the terror began. Instead of fireworks exploding, Julie McDonald was surrounded by fear. “Go home! Go home! Get out while you can!” The voices cried out in the night and when Julie awoke she wasn’t sure if the warnings were real or in her dreams.

Ever since she arrived at Bethanl House she had the strangest feeling that she didn’t belong, that she was an unwanted intruder, a threat to the family. How could she prove to them that it wasn’t so -- that the summer job with Mrs. Bethnal was a heaven-sent opportunity to get her away from the her tragic sorrows and nothing more?

Then all at once the accidents started to happen. First someone tried to suffocate her. After that someone broke into her room. And when she was almost pushed off a high ledge, Julie knew that these were no accidents. Someone was trying to killer her -- and it was a member of the Bethnal family. The only things she didn’t know was who -- and why…

Genres: Gothic

400 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1981

Reviews

[MV · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1981 Zebra Gothic clocks in at 400 pages. The story revolves around the secrets of the mysterious Bethnal family, who presently live in the Washington DC Metro area. The plot was okay, but it dragged for me in many places. I wanted more suspense overall, especially for a book of this length. I admit my eyes glazed over as I read about all of the family's history (which the heroine had been hired to research) and that I sometimes did some skimming as I was eager to just get on with it sometimes. The parts I liked best were those that included thorough, almost travelogue-like details of the DC area, including a detailed tour of the Capitol, Leesburg (VA), Harpers Ferry (WV), Skyline Drive / Shenandoah and Charlottesville, and areas of Maryland including a trip on the (presently-closed!) Whites Ferry. I am certain this author is local. Now I suspect some readers might find those details more tedious than I did, as the book is saturated with them. I smiled when my alma mater Virginia Tech was referred to as VPI (as it was once more commonly known). I was annoyed by the terrible-twos child character in the book. I am amused by the cover which shows the heroine, clearly ready to backhand the next person who grates on her nerves, and a determined-looking black cat sidekick (who fails to appear in the story) walking across an open field in a lightning storm. Overall, not the best Zebra but not bad.