The Devil's Caress

by June Wright, Wendy Lewis (Introduction)

The fourth in Dark Passage’s reissue series of crime mysteries by June Wright, The Devil’s Caress , originally published in 1952, is an tense psychological thriller set on the wild southern coast of the Mornington Peninsula, outside Melbourne. Overworked young medico Marsh Mowbray has been invited to the country home of her revered mentor, Dr. Kate Waring, but it's far from the restful weekend she was hoping for. As storms rage outside, the house on the cliff’s edge seethes with hatred and tension, and two suspicious deaths soon follow. "Doubt is the devil’s caress", one of the characters tells Marsh, as her resolute efforts to get to the bottom of the deaths force her to question everyone's motives, even those of Dr. Kate. This is a classic country house mystery with shades of Agatha Christie, but with the jagged emotional edge of Daphne du Maurier.

Genres: Mystery, Australia

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

June Wright (1919-2012) was the Australian author of six detective stories (plus one posthumously published), the last three featuring Mother Paul. Born in Melbourne, where most of her books are set, she had begun her writing career by winning a competition run by a London publisher. This ensured the publication of her first book, Murder in the Telephone Exchange in 1948. She herself had been working in a telephone exchange for four years. She was the mother of six children. Her last novel was published in 1966. She then retired from writing to help her husband with his business.

Reviews

[Lisa Brantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but rounded up because June Wright deserves to be read. Although this is more Mary Stewart than Daphne du Maurier.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my full review click the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this book, but it took me a while to get through. There were quite a few points in the middle where I put it down and didn’t pick it up again for a while, but overall the story was good. The murder mystery aspect was good!

[Jane (Avid reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deliciously creepy and gothic.