Passé décomposé

by Mildred Davis

It was an unspeakable nightmare-she was in some kind of institution, and the other patients all seemed to be freaks and imbeciles. She couldn't remember her own face . and she was baffled by the strange scars on her arms and legs. The doctor told her that her name was Jane, that she'd been in a serious accident, that she was being taken care of by a kindly man who was her trustee and guardian. She remembered a lot of other things, too . . . but she had no way of knowing what was real and what was a product of her own fantastic dreams. She remembered clouds, and fire, and danger, and parts of books. And a man dying. She struggled to walk into* her past . but then a stranger appeared, and advised her that for her own safety some things were better left forgotten!

Genres: Gothic

Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Mildred B. Davis, an american teacher, published her first novel, The Room Upstairs, in 1948. It was awarded an Edgar for best first novel of the year by the Mystery Writers of America. A rich novel with subtle strains of gothic horror and hard-boiled private eye, this book lifted her into the limelight as an author of promise.

Reviews

[David J. McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twist at the end of this book was AMAZING!!! I did not see it coming at all. Mind-blown! It was very well-done! And the overall mystery of the book leading up to it was great too! Many suspects that kept me guessing as to who might have been behind the things happening to Jane.

The one thing I did not like about the book was the sanitarium, or more specifically the layout and the way it was physically described. It made for a few confusing moments as I'm trying to picture the scenario in my head but was unable to because I couldn't quite picture the layout as described in the book. (Example: the night Jane and Zee both heard voices -- where Zee was sleeping and the layout of the annex as described in that moment had me puzzled.)

[Isolde Feron · Rating 3 out of 5]

histoire vraiment intéressante, mais une écriture qui essaie d’imiter Agatha Christie - en vain -, desservie par quelques incohérences et une très mauvaise traduction. le livre gagnerait à être retraduit, ou lu en anglais.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane is in a sanitarium following a terrible accident she can't remember. There are only a few other residents. The Doctor in charge inherited the home from his grandfather and he is only planning on keeping it until the residents there have passed away as they have no where else to go. He takes in Jane as a favor to a friend who is Jane's guardian. It seems all of her family are gone now. All she has is the guardian a trusted family friend and a fiance, both of which she doesn't remember.

She's remembering snippets here and there. She remembers her father holding her and playing with her but the Dr. said her father died when she was just months old. She remembers her family telling her not to marry her fiance as he is a bad man. There's the reoccurring dream about overhearing a conversation about guns and shooting someone. Was it a dream or a memory and was it a plot to kill someone? And there is the memory of the terrible fire! Was that where she was injured? No one is telling her anything. She's in a wheel chair unable to walk, but the Dr. says that should come back to her as her strength grows. Then the stranger appears and threatens her life. How did he even know she was beginning to remember things? Who can she trust? Is her fiance behind the plot? Is he really her fiance? What happened to her nurse, Zee, who heard the voices Jane heard in the night too?

Lots of great suspense! I read this in 2 days last weekend with convenient thunderstorms and all! This is my second Mildred Davis and I liked it just as well as the first I read.