Moncrieff

by Isabelle Holland

Book by Holland, Isabelle

Genres: Gothic, Crime, Fiction, Romance

238 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1975

About the author

Isabelle Christian Holland (born June 16, 1920 in Basel, Switzerland — died February 9, 2002) was an author of children and adult fiction. Her father was the American Consul in Liverpool, England during WWII. She moved to America in 1940 due to the war. She wrote Gothic novels, adult mysteries, romantic thrillers, and many books for children and young adults. She wrote over 50 books in her lifetime, and was still working at the time of her death at age 81 in New York City.

Two of her novels have been made into movies:

Bump in the Night, 1991,
The Man Without a Face, 1993

Both of these novels deal with issues or allegations of pedophilia.

Reviews

[Taylor - Muse Ignited Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - I like all of her books and while this one is no different the setting wasn’t my favorite. She usually has more exotic or unusual settings- however that being said this is still a good page turning mid-century romantic suspense- or as I would classify it now: a domestic thriller.
Shes a great writer and I always enjoy her insights into various aspects of human nature as well as her obvious research into different things (Learning about the relationship between a blind man and his guide dog was particularly interesting in this one). Some of the relationships and revelations are fairly progressive especially for the time it was written.

If you enjoy her writing definitely check out Kilgaren and Darcourt

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-crafted book. A little predictable, and now perhaps a little dated, but I'll go back to this.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat gothic-y story. I enjoy Holland's writing.

[Sep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antonia Moncrieff has all kinds of problems as a single mom, raising a son, and dependent on her editor job for a large publishing house. (Apparently, in the good old days, publishers matched writers with editors to rewrite promising novels.) I a short amount of time she finds out she inherited a house, has been matched with an old acquaintance, and has her apartment burgled. LIfe gets more and more complicated, but Ms Holland, as usual, brings it all off. Great mystery and suspense. The picture of 1970s New York is a joy.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I'd like to mention that the hero's nickname for the heroine was "Copperhead" which probably says everything you need to know about this book. Personally, I laughed and laughed at that.

I liked the characters, setting and tone, but the whole blackmail thing kept throwing me out of the story. I mean, I can understand Antonia's reason for lying at first, but at a certain point it just seemed like TSTL behavior. In fairness, the other characters involved had the same reaction I did, so I'm sure it was deliberate, it just got dragged out too long for me.

Also, there was a certain element of "the gay guy did it" that I wasn't sure how to interpret. I mean, it was important to the plot, but not integral to the character's badness so it could just be the way people talked about homosexuality in the '70s that threw me?

Despite those quibbles, it was fun and I'm looking forward to reading more by Holland.

[Lora Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this gothic suspense written in the 70s. Loved the atmosphere....a brownstone with cold drafts that come from nowhere, a young boy wise beyond his years with his own little menagerie in said brownstone, his mom with a past she's trying desperately to hide, a blind man and his brave guide dog, strange and dangerous occurrences......set in Brooklyn in my favorite city... NYC.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another oldie courtesy of the library used book sale. Romantic lsuspense set in New York City (and Brooklyn Heights) Excellent 7/8ths through. The ending is realy contrived. Almost impossible how all the threads come together. But still a very good book

[Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book released in 1976, I thought this lasted the test of time. I am on a mini-Isabelle Holland glom (thanks to my library), and this one was all atmospheric and gothic 1970s New York, with a heaping of dramatic romance. More please.

[Debi Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Isabelle Holland book! I have read it many times & will continue to re-read it frequently. Simply a very well told gothic style story with unforgettable characters!