Watchman's Stone

by Rona Randall

AN EXQUISITE MYSTERY OF LOVE AND EVIL

Elizabeth was a woman apart from all others of the Scottish Highlands - her beauty spoke of delicate heather and dark moors; her intelligence guided her family's weaving mill to success and wealth; and her clairvoyant vision touched the future with prophecy... and the present with danger.

Calum was heir to the haunting Castle Faillie, a tract of shrouded moor that seemed to be forever under the spell of the past - of an ancient Latin manuscript, of a forgotten tartan weave, and of the memory of a woman not long dead.

Genres: Gothic, Historical Fiction, Romantic Suspense

229 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Rona Green Shambrook
aka Rona Randall, Rona Shambrook, Virginia Standage

Rona Green was born on 16 June 1911 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK. Her education includes: Pitmans College in London, a Diploma in English Literature at Royal Society of Art, Birkenhead School of Art Literary. She married Frederick Walter Shambrook, and had a son.

A former actress, before writing, she worked also as journalist and sub-director of publishing company Amalgamated Press, and as assistant editor of George Newnes Ltd. Published since 1942, she started publishing mainly contemporary doctor nurse romances, before writing also gothic romances, and when the market for gothic novels softened, she wrote historical mystery romances. In 1970, Broken Tapestry, her contemporary novel about a broken family, won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. In 1989, she wrote her The Model Wife: Nineteenth Century Style, a book about social constumbres, including clothing. In 1992, she wrote Writing Popular Fiction, a complete guide for writers.

Reviews

[Sarah Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5, but rounded high; the twist at the end caught me by surprise, so props for that. :)

Overall, a fun gothic rom -- it hit a snag in the middle, when our otherwise intelligent heroine develops a case of Teh Dumbz, but then it picked up again. As with Randall's 'Dragonmede,' there's a thin vein of grittiness which is often lacking in more famous authors of this genre (even Holt -- she brought the grit sometimes, but not always). Randall wasn't afraid of heroines with hormones & traitorous bodies, while the villains do villainous things like rape, steal, & impregnate other females from sheer lusty behavior. I love me the soapier gothics. *rubs hands*

This particular novel is set in 1820s Scotland, but there's no prattling about The Ton or obnoxious phonetic accents. It has an interesting conflict centered around the tartan industry, which isn't something I've encountered in rom suspense. I also liked the hero -- a rugged, not-so-beautiful guy without possessive ticks or temper tantrums, but who always turns up when needed.

I've had this one sitting around for 10+ years (literally), but it didn't fizzle as holdouts so often do. Yay. :)

[Ana Lopes Miura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a box of my husband's great grandmother's books. Scotland in the 1800's set near Culloden moor? Yes, please. It was an entertaining story with a great twist at the end.

[ANGELIA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does this author ever write a book where the h doesn't marry the wrong man who treats her crummy, cheats on her and then croaks so she can marry the right one later on?

I hope she'll surprise me the next time (if there is one) that I read one of her books.

[Rachel Dex · Rating 4 out of 5]

kinda rounding up on my rating but kinda not, this was surprisingly fun to read. Great and actually unexpected twists at the end. Absolutely no smut tho, so be warned.