Winter Evil

by Sharon Wagner

The ring of power was gold, heavily made. Wide and thick, the entire surface was carved with symbols and set with diamonds. The ring was far from beautiful, but it exuded power…and an aura of something else that Jennifer could not name. She tugged at it, trying to pull it from her finger—and pain took her breath away. She tried again, but the ring seemed to have almost become part of her flesh; it could not be removed. She stared at it in horror, conscious of the generations of evil power that it represented…and aware that she was an imposter in this house, and with this name. Why wouldn't they believe her?

A Magnum Bestseller Gothic.

Genres: Gothic, Horror

319 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Sharon Blythe Wagner is an American author known for her prolific output of over 60 mystery, Gothic romance, and young adult fiction titles. She is best recognized for her contributions to the beloved Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, writing five titles under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, including The Kachina Doll Mystery, The Elusive Heiress, and The Broken Anchor.
Originally from Wallace, Idaho, and raised in Cut Bank, Montana, Wagner began her writing career in the mid-1960s, first publishing short stories in magazines. Her first full-length book, Prairie Wind, illustrated by her friend Rita Warner, was released in 1968. She went on to create the Gypsy series, a set of mystery novels set on a Western ranch that gained a following among horse lovers; Gypsy from Nowhere was later named one of the 30 best horse books by Horse Illustrated.
Wagner has also published under various pseudonyms, including Casey Stephens, M.E. Cooper, Ann Sheldon, Blythe Stephens, and Blythe Bradley. She lives in Mesa, Arizona.

Reviews

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1972
This starts out pretty good. Jennifer is mistaken for her friend Stacy, kidnapped and brought to a house called Snowcrest. It is creepy and mysterious, but at least there is a dog.
I like Gothic Romances that are set in the 20th century and not some watered down historical fiction. So I was pleased here that she is wearing “a Pantsuit.” That’s how you know it’s the 1970s.
This ended up going on too long and becoming repetitive. It would have benefited from better editing.

[Adrian Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young woman is mistaken for her friend, and whisked off to a creepy and isolated mansion, where she is told by various sinister family members that she will inherit the estate. She tells them they have got the wrong person, but nobody will listen, and things get worse when attempts are made on her life.

There's nothing new here, but "mistaken identity" gothics always provide a fun predicament and this is refreshingly lurid, and fairly entertaining while it lasts. The plot is complicated, with a very mixed up family back-story that I didn't fully understand. And, as with a lot of these novels, the climax is resolved extremely suddenly and of course the heroine is safe and ready to marry someone she barely knows despite the book ending with loads of unanswered questions (the ring...?)

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just an OK gothic - it had plenty of gothicy elements - oppressive gloomy mansion with hidden corridors galore and the resident crazy person, weird child and matriarch, but it just didn't come together for an interesting read. There was also The One Ring - no, not that one - of power, but I think that was inserted as a tool in order to keep our heroine at the said oppressive gloomy mansion. It didn't seem to serve any purpose aside from that, even though the whole book blurb was all about The Ring.

And, in one scene, said matriarch dies during the night and then next morning she is already in her coffin. What, did the residents keep a spare in her closet or something, expecting her to pop off any day and they'd be ready?? Strange.

Then, the nurse of the said weird child gets killed and HER body is cremated the very next day at said oppressive gloomy mansion's very own cremating unit. Well, it probably wasn't originally that, but 2 bodies were disposed of in it; and it served as the tool for blowing up that oppressive gloomy mansion.

Heroine was a bit of a ditz and not very strong. Par for the course as that was the way they were written way back during this gothic phase.

So, all in all, it was....er....interesting, but not something I'd hold my breath to read again.

But I did like the dog.

[Nattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

Winter Evil was quite good for the first 75 pages. Jennifer Warring was heartbroken after the man she was in love with abruptly ended things, and her best friend, Stacy DeLong, was comforting her.

Stacy invited Jennifer to stay with her for the weekend at her more luxurious apartment, though they would have to drive there in a blooming blizzard, Jennifer agrees to go. Once there, Stacy tells her a wild story about her father being after her, and she asks Jennifer to take her place for a while so she can hide out.

Jennifer wasn't sure how they would pull off the scheme, as she could never compete with Stacy in the looks department. Stacy was confident that with a blond wig, Jennifer could easily be mistaken for her. In her line of work she never met with a client more than a couple times, and they were unlikely to suspect anything.

I found it highly doubtful that if Jennifer felt she could never compete with Stacy when it came to looks, that all of a sudden she could pass for her twin because she changed her hair color.

The reader never gets to find out how well their scheme would have worked because the story takes a drastic turn. The turn was good until it wasn't. About 145 pages in, I'd had enough of evil rings that won't come off, evil power stopping people from leaving places they don't want to be, and a little boy doing a disappearing act every other second.

This is becoming a common phrase, but I didn't understand the main character and I didn't understand why everybody was so ridiculous. The story was finished off but good by another case of insta-love and people wanting to get married after a week.

[Mary Ezell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself was a good time. Very Nancy Drew energy. And the vibes were great…until the casual incest happened.

[Sheila Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in 2009