Tarn House

by Rose Brock

High on a cliff, looming in blackness against the sky, stood Tarn House. From the moment pretty young Lancie Wales saw it, a chill of apprehension spread through her. The house was to be hers, but even before she set foot in it someone had tried to kill her. She did not know who or why, only that it would happen again. She was being plunged into a maze of treachery and mortal danger from which no one could help her escape — not even the bright, tough attorney who had called her to Tarn House. Suddenly, inexplicably, her bequest of love had twisted into a nightmare of evil....

Genres: Gothic

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 1975

Reviews

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the mid 1970s, mystery writer Joseph Hansen--already winning acclaim for his series featuring David Brandstetter--hopped onto the gothic romance bandwagon with two novels written under the pseudonym Rose Brock. I wish I could say this was an outstanding example of the genre and that the author's experience devising mysteries resulted in an ingenious story, but that's not the case. Young Lancie Wales journeys to the shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin to claim her share of a family inheritance sometime in the late 19th Century and finds menacing cousins and, of course, love. The mystery is very slight and the characters aren't well-fleshed-out. Hansen/Brock also seems less comfortable with the evocation of place, on which Gothics depend--possibly this was why he only wrote two of these. It's not a bad example of the form; it just doesn't live up to what it could've been, given the fact that a very accomplished writer in another genre was behind the wheel.

[Derek Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent gothic adventure, (if I'm not mistaken) penned by the wonderful Joseph Hansen (he of the Brandstetter books and the Bohannon stories) under the name Rose Brock. Hansen is well known for the quality of his writing and this tale, although a little formulaic (as a good gothic should be), is full of wonderful writing (although there were possibly too many exclamation marks!!). It's edge of your seat stuff, too, with cliff-hanger after cliff-hanger, a good old spooky mansion and lake, lots of fog shrouded woods, secret passages, and a cast of fine and sinister characters. The big set piece ending, if you think about it too much, is very scary.

Highly recommended for when you want something fun and easy and rather dated (in a good way).

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love hokey gothic romances. I love the silliness of the female characters in these. Fun read for me.