The Eye Stones

by Harriet Esmond (pen name), John Burke

Romantic adventures and nightmarish evil…

A shock awaits Deborah when she arrives in Norfolk to stay with her recently married sister...

She soon discovers that both her sister and her new husband have tragically perished in a fire which destroyed their home. Alone in the bleak Norfolk brecklands, Deborah is at first forced to accept hospitality from the handsome yet forbidding widower, Sir Randall Gaunt. Yet even when Deborah later stumbles upon the warm companionship of Lord Stannard, the charming young aristocrat wooing her with such passionate urgency, the strange events that follow cause her feelings of uneasiness to grow. And then, before long Deborah becomes inextricably involved in a nightmare of unimaginable evil…

Genres: Gothic, Gothic Romance

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Sarah Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason I couldn't connect with this one. It has all the elements that should make a good gothic -- mysterious British Isles countryside, implied sadomasochism (on the villain's part), bizarre superstition, missing sisters, Victorian-era setting -- yet after 80-some pages there's still nothing going on. (The entire novel is only 240 pages. That's much too slow a ratio for a supposedly dire gothic.) People hold conversations that go nowhere. People drive in carriages that go nowhere. People make references to the past that go nowhere. What's odd is that clearly these things are happening in the technical sense -- yet it's nothing beyond what the cover blurb teases. Booooring. Combine a plot of slow-and-useless happenings with a heroine that's as exciting as lukewarm oatmeal & what do you get? ...Not much, really.

To quote MST3K: "Things are doing things."

I could probably push myself to finish it...but why bother? I've got a huge pile of gothics & this one just isn't holding my interest. If the plot wasn't so boring or the heroine wasn't so bland, I'd probably manage to choke it down (I've finished some gawd-awful gothics for the sake of really small things). But both problems at once? Meh.

DNF. I'll add an extra star for the Sade-ian villain's evilness...albeit the plotting was entirely too transparent for a supposedly smart & independent heroine.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is about as Gothic as one would wish without ghosts, demented monks and other weird characters turning the work into a bad surreal macabre fantasy and/or nightmare. There is of course, the presence of the traditional folk lore superstition with regard to the eye stones to ward off evil or to maybe contain it. There are monsters too, but these hide behind faces of gentlemen or "honorable men". This is actually a Romance with its own Gothic twists and turns. For those who enjoy something different from the usual fare, you will find out that it is not so very different from what you are used to after all. The difference is in how the story was told and/or presented to the reader.

P.S. ~ Who was the girl with the broken arm that Deborah saw at dawn at Saxwold Hall after the passing of a storm? A red herring? or one of the debauched gentlemen's playthings (usually impressionable maids easily beguiled by titles and appearances)?

[Janet Welling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly suspenseful

The author has a wonderful ability to create suspense in a slow, measured progression. Every scene is described with perfect clarity so the reader is drawn into the plot from the very first page. Lots of interesting and dubious characters throughout the story. The romance portion of the book feels like an afterthought. The relationship between the hero and the heroine is very weak and lacks the creativity shown in the rest of the book.

[Squeaky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love gothic fiction, historical even better! This one was great, a strong protagonist, a love triangle- some dark stuff going on. Kept me reading. Not my favorite, but I was entertained and it was on kindle unlimited.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gothic-Finally!

Excellent read. I’ve been looking for gothic romances and noticed new stories out there. This is one of the best I’ve read. You can tell the author has a love for the subject matter. That’s always enjoyable to experience.

Highly recommend.

[Melissa Pruett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good!

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery, really good bad guy, dark and cruel. Clean (no romance-y) but does have a dark using of women as part of the gothic plot. Doesn’t go into any graphic detail though

[Eta George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm shocked at how good this was. The prose can get cumbersome but the plot was chef's kiss.

[Kathy Randol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!

I enjoyed reading this. If you like Victorian Gothic Murder Mystery books I highly recommend this.....

It has many twists and turns. Does Evil Outweigh The Good? You'll have to read it and find out..

[Lisa Greer · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://gothicked.blogspot.com/2011/05...