Put Out the Light

by Rae Foley (Pseudonym)

In spite of her bitterness at years of neglect, Constance Armstrong accepted her rich aunt Natalie's invitation to stay with her. At first she found the luxurious life in the big new England house a pleasant contrast to her struggle in Hollywood to support herself and her dying mother on a typist's salary. There had never been any communication between the two sisters so Constance knew nothing about Natalie, not that she was a famous poet, or that until her recent marriage to handsome young Jack Clifford she had been a recluse or why she had inherited all of her father's fortune. Natalie was kind and generous now, as if she were trying to make amends for the past. Yet there were nagging questions that Constance couldn't ignore. Why did Natalie's lawyer and Alice, her maid, want her to leave? Why was Natalie's biographer Tim Struthers so curious about Jack and the source of his income? Why did Tim hint that she as well as Natalie could be in some kind of danger? He was right...

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

A pseudonym used by Elinore Denniston

Reviews

[Alonzo Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heroine is the impoverished niece of a rich and famous poet. She is bitter — as a secretary in Hollywood, she had to fight off the men, care for her sickly mother, and still somehow look gorgeous. But now, she lives in wealth with the aunt she resembles. The money is fine, but survival may be a problem, as fortune hunters, crazy servants, handsome lawyers and journalists, congregate in the Connecticut mansion that is the home of madame poet and plot heaven knows what. Will the last person alive remember to Put Out The Light?

Decent woman in peril thriller that felt like it would have made a good movie. I kept visualizing this work as a wide screen panavision thing starring Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman (as the poet), with fall foliage everywhere, thundering music, and maybe a bit too much Acting.