The Jade Box

by Nancy Faulkner

The great stone mansion of Point of Truth stood forbidding and alone overlooking the white-capped bay. The howling of the wind at night, the chill seeping up from dungeon-like cellars, were familiar to lovely young Molly Boyd. For this had been her home since she was orphaned as a little girl.

But only when Molly became mistress of Point of Truth did she discover what evil dwelled within its walls...what terror lay behind the mysterious last words of her dying guardian...what hideous curse was contained in the exquisite ancient Oriental box that was part of her legacy - a legacy of horror she could not escape even with the aid of the man she thought she loved.

Genres: Gothic

253 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Ms. Faulkner developed her love of history growing up and taught school in Virginia before moving to New York City where she wrote many books for children.

Reviews

[Adrian Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Lovely, young" Molly inherits a large mansion from her grandfather, along with a cryptic message about a "jade box"in the house that contains treasure. She finds the box... but it's empty. It soon becomes clear that somebody else is also interested in the missing treasure, and Molly is standing in their way.

The first half of the book is entertainingly intriguing as Molly tries to work out what (and where) the valuable secret is, but when the villain of the story is finally revealed, the final confrontation doesn't actually put together any of the clues or leads that had kept me interested for most of the book. In fact the baddie's evil confession doesn't even solve the mystery, which was very unsatisfying.

It's competently written, and the heroine isn't too much of an idiot, but despite the hyperbolic blurb on the back cover, which promises a "hideous curse", and a "legacy of horror", in the end it's quite a mild mystery.