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The Iron Cobweb
Elizabeth March becomes increasingly afraid when a number of small, disturbing incidents occur that make her feel she is losing her grip on reality.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
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About the author
Ursula Curtiss
85 books16 followersDaughter and sister of, respectively, US mystery writers Helen Reilly and Mary McMullen. She worked as a copywriter and columnist before becoming a full-time self employed writer.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 13, 2017
Another winner from Ursula Curtiss! She was so good at creating the kind of suspense that keeps your chest tight while you and the main character wait for the baddie's next move.
The book could have done with 50-75 pages less, after a while Elizabeth started doing or saying similar things more than a few times.
Her toddlers were slight nuisances, but then most children are in books are. It threw me off when three-year-old Maire began screaming at the top of her lungs. Elizabeth described the frightening cry as "oun". The other adults also kept referring to the sound as oun and I couldn't figure out how they were pronouncing the word. Was it oun as in noun, or oun as in own? Whenever the oun thing came up it took me out of the story because I was too busy scratching my head.
This is probably just me, but I always have trouble reading Ursula Curtiss books. There's something about her writing style that makes me feel confused, like somehow things are going over my head, like I'm not astute enough to get her clever dialogue. Many vintage authors have a tendency to have that same style, so maybe it's a "retro" thing.
The book could have done with 50-75 pages less, after a while Elizabeth started doing or saying similar things more than a few times.
Her toddlers were slight nuisances, but then most children are in books are. It threw me off when three-year-old Maire began screaming at the top of her lungs. Elizabeth described the frightening cry as "oun". The other adults also kept referring to the sound as oun and I couldn't figure out how they were pronouncing the word. Was it oun as in noun, or oun as in own? Whenever the oun thing came up it took me out of the story because I was too busy scratching my head.
This is probably just me, but I always have trouble reading Ursula Curtiss books. There's something about her writing style that makes me feel confused, like somehow things are going over my head, like I'm not astute enough to get her clever dialogue. Many vintage authors have a tendency to have that same style, so maybe it's a "retro" thing.
June 20, 2023
Claustrophobic yarn of domestic suspense where nobody says what they are thinking, our privileged protagonist is dumb as a box of rocks, and her children are annoying. Who calls their kid 'Jeep,' even as a nickname? And then there are all those cigarettes she smokes, one after the other. I got asthma just reading about them. Effective description, plot was OK, the characters not worth caring about.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews