The Quick and the Dead

by Judy Gardiner

A young widow's curiosity about the original owner of the sixteenth-century cottage she has just purchased turns to terror after she receives a strange visitor from out of the past

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Kenneth McMahon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out promising with a lot of the ingredients I like - rural English setting, an antiquarian type character conducting historical research and some well written interesting characters - however the middle section of the book became tedious with the lead character becoming increasingly annoying with her constant lecturing and talking down to the family staying with her. Redeems itself a little with the ending but as another reviewer pointed out it would've made a much better short story.

[Richard Albiston · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very rarely am disappointed this much with a book. I felt the book's synopsis on the back cover was incredibly misleading. The ending was rushed, unsatisfying and unsurprising. This would have made a good short story, but as it stands I can't recommend it to fans of thrillers, horror or supernatural stories.

[Bob Box · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read in 1982. Mystery about a haunted house.

[Xandro Lombardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judy Gardiner is brilliant with her language... ...very eloquent. I feel like I am a fly on the wall.