Heavy Heavy Hangs

by Doris Miles Disney

Jenny protested that Adelaide would never have killed herself. She remembered her sister, before her marriage to Dennis Holland, as an attractive, vivacious girl. Yet the Hollands described a hysterical, unhappy woman who slipped away while her son was sleeping and hanged herself from an attic beam. In fact, these in-laws seemed to share a sense of relief that poor Adelaide was no longer with them, and that Sandy, the child, would soon be departing with his aunt...

Genres: Gothic

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had me so anxious! A young woman named Jenny takes a train from Chicago to a small town in New England after her older sister, Adelaide, hangs herself in her attic. Aside from Adelaide’s young son, Sandy, from her first marriage, Jenny doesn’t expect to find any friends in the household. Her sister’s letters prepared her for an unsympathetic group: Dennis, Adelaide’s husband, was once Adelaide’s rejected suitor, but her first husband was killed in the war, and Dennis renewed his courting, this time successfully. Their marriage, though, was less of a success, even though it was barely past the one-year anniversary. He had brought Adelaide to his family home, where he lived with his autocratic mother, Emma; his sister-in-law, Flo, and her son, his cousin Charles, and Bess, his unmarried aunt. But though Adelaide’s letters had not painted a happy picture, Jenny could not picture her confident, vital sister taking her own life. And Sandy, who was recovering from a case of rheumatic fever, was her world, her joy. She would not have killed herself. Jenny knew it. But how to find the truth? And who can she trust? And, in the end, will the person who killed Adelaide again?

[Clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me only the first 25 pages to find out who the murderer truly was.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly liked this book although I was pretty sure early on who the murderer was. That tends to make me a little impatient with the main character who hasn't tumbled to the same conclusion, but I never thought she approached too stupid to live territory.

I did have one technical nitpick with the story, though. For the most part, it was well written and well constructed, but the author had a repetitive quirk that started to get on my nerves. She was a little too fond of appositives:

Apparently she, Jenny, couldn't do him justice in a letter.

He, Dennis, was in uniform, too, his summer grays.

He, Charles, had returned from the bank and found the family gathered in the living room.

Over and over. What an unwieldy construction. I wonder if it was something the editor did to make ambiguous pronouns clearer or if the author herself liked that kind of phrasing? But seriously, if the pronoun isn't clear why not just go with the noun? Jenny couldn't do him justice in a letter...Dennis was in uniform too...Charles had returned from the bank... Pretty simple really.

Anyway, that carping aside, it was an interesting—if a little too transparent—book.

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, though I pegged the murderer fairly early on (but not the motive). Minor swearing.