Spellbound

by Claire Vincent

An evil house, an evil family, and an atmosphere of past horror held her in their unholy spell.

Genres: Gothic, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Claire Vincent is a pseudonym for Miriam Lynch - she wrote several Gothic novels and some nurse/doctor romances and some hybrids which have all of the above in them.

Reviews

[Nattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The perfect book to read on a chilly late October day, listening to the wind rustle the leaves on the trees, and sipping hot chocolate (white chocolate flavored.) Unfortunately, I had to read this in late May, but it made me feel like Halloween was just around the corner.

Right away, the story starts off strong. It is set in 1800's Boston. Emily arrives from the country to live with her mother's childhood friend. Much is not really as it seems, but some things are exactly as they seem, too bad Emily suffers from Dumb character syndrome.

I was hoping Emily would not do anything TOO stupid, but in the last 25 pages or so, she let me down.

The one annoyance in the book was Baby May, not the baby herself, but the way Emily referred to her, which was constantly. It was Baby May this, that, and the other. Baby May was little, Baby May was Small, Baby May was tiny, and Baby May had a pretty little face.

I don't know what the author was thinking, but the Baby May stuff just about made me want to toss the book out the window, without opening the window first. Yikes.

[Sarah Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the array of mediocre covers on multiple editions of this particular pulp (Belmont & their soft-focus photo fetish being the worst offender), this is still a good read -- one of Lynch's best, IMO. I esp liked the Civil War tie-ins & how they relate to this goffick conflict.

Solid 4 stars, a keeper for yours truly. :)