The Trap

by Daoma Winston

Richenda came to Alton Retreat seeking refuge and solace, but now she was just another victim, helplessly entangled in the trap.

Genres: Gothic

Paperback

About the author

Daoma Winston was a prolific writer of Gothic romance and horror/thriller novels. All of her novels have a strong occult theme and usually feature ghosts, witches, demons or magic.
(Not "Golden Tramp.")

Reviews

[Emina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very good at suspense. The protagonist was realistic in terms of her thought patterns and self-expression. I found myself really frustrated at the antagonists, which meant Winston definitely did her job. She also used some beautiful words and strong description. Because it's a gothic, I was expecting supernatural things to come up, but even so, I was enthralled with the storytelling and plot points.

I didn't particularly love the character description. I felt myself getting tired of reading what everybody was wearing, but I appreciate Winston's effort to help us visualize the family.

[Adrian Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young woman named Richenda (yes really) loses both of her parents in an accident and then meets two strangers who tell her they were sent by her parents to take care of her. Richenda is therefore whisked off to a remote and sinister mansion where she finds secrets, danger and attempts on her life.

This is all pretty formulaic and as usual the heroine is docile and obedient the entire time, despite the very suspicious behaviour of everybody in the house. I suppose it's competently written, except for the fact that the author introduces her main character as "Richenda" with a nickname of "Ricky", but later in the book, when giving a forwarding name and address in a post office, the heroine states that her full name is "Rickella", so that was irritating and immersion-breaking. And, as usual (part 2) at the end, the villain reads through a leisurely and comprehensive list of all of their evil deeds while everybody listens patiently, and then self destructs.

It annoys me how the heroines in these gothics do very little to help themselves except for "waiting it out". Beautiful cover, though (Popular Library edition)