Moormist

Zodiac Gothic #Taurus

by Brenda Castle

Cover Lovely, sensual Christie Peters had not wanted to marry Drewe Radford, but once she had promised her father that she would she refused to go back on her word, refused to admit, with Taurian stubbornness, that she had sentenced herself to a lifetime with a man she did not love. But Christie's worst fears about her Piscean husband were not realized until she arrived at Ellersley Hall and learned the truth about the first Mrs Radford's dark fate...a fate that seemed to be written in the blackest stars...and would soon be Christie's own.

Genres: Gothic

381 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1976

About the author

Brenda Castle
aka
Georgina Ferrand and Rachelle Edwards

Reviews

[Sarah Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulp gothics are definitely hit or miss, but this is a keeper. While I enjoy it for sentimental reasons (I'm a Taurus gal, after all :P), it also has the classic gothic ingredients that I'm drawn to: first-person narrator, 19th-century setting, & echoes of Jane Eyre. Despite what you'd expect from a Zodiac novel, there's no supernatural element here; instead it pays homage to old-old-school (obsession, insanity, & jealous relatives). As a bonus, Ferrand's writing was better than average pulps. The plot was comfortably familiar without being too predictable & the characters were vivid for their entire 178 pages.

MOORMIST might not be a five-star book compared to, say, Charles Dickens...but who cares? There's nothing worse than a gothic that tries too hard (*cough* are you listening, Grange House?). I'd rather have a book that knows what it is & thrives within that frame.

[MV · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was really good! I've read several of the Ballantine Zodiac Gothics and this is easily the best one (so far). It was a nice surprise (well, not a total surprise, since I had seen Sarah Mac's review first :)) to read this one after a long string of lackluster gothics!