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Cat's Prey
When Antonia arrived in Aukland, the voice that warned her of danger over the telephone sounded heavy and menacing. It decoyed her away from the hotel -- and while she was away someone searched her room. She eventually reached the haven of her cousin Simon's house, but even there she heard noises in the night, and saw a light where no light should have been. Were they just the hallucinations of a mind taut with panic? Surely she wasn't imagining the "accidents" that pursued her! But is she were truly paranoiac why would the reserved and practical Dougal Conroy find her attractive -- was it really protection he was offering? And the the terror enlarged to gigantic proportions, and the whispering voice on the telephone was saying, "It's your turn next..."
191 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
66 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Eden
95 books168 followersAka Mary Paradise.
Dorothy Eden was born in 1912 in New Zealand and died in 1982. She moved to England in 1954 after taking a trip around the world and falling in love with the country. She was best known for her many mystery and romance books as well as short stories that were published in periodicals. As a novelist, Dorothy Eden was renowned for her ability to create fear and suspense. This earned her many devoted readers throughout her lifetime.
Dorothy Eden was born in 1912 in New Zealand and died in 1982. She moved to England in 1954 after taking a trip around the world and falling in love with the country. She was best known for her many mystery and romance books as well as short stories that were published in periodicals. As a novelist, Dorothy Eden was renowned for her ability to create fear and suspense. This earned her many devoted readers throughout her lifetime.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 27, 2016
Antonia Webb gets a surprising message that she is one of her aunt Laura's two beneficiaries (the other is her cousin Simon). Laura was known as “Globe-Trotting Laura,” never staying in one place for long. Antonia does not remember ever meeting Laura. However, Antonia's mother was Laura's favorite sister according to Simon, who has invited Antonia to stay with him and his fiancee Iris at the small hotel they have just bought in Auckland, New Zealand.
Soon after she arrives in Auckland, Antonia receives a phone call from a mysterious man, who claims he has information about her aunt's death. Antonia goes to meet the informant, but he never shows up. Furious, she returns to her hotel room to find it has been ransacked, though nothing appears to have been stolen. The only odd thing is that an old letter from Laura had been pulled half out of its envelope and a piece ripped off it.
Antonia tries to put the bizarre experience behind her, and goes on to the Hilltop, Simon and Iris's new hotel:
Iris is a strange match for soft, gentle, kind Simon. She is almost otherworldly, while he is very much of this world with his love for small creatures like his precious budgies, which are like children to him, but which Iris seems to hate. Still, they seem to be a happy enough pair, though most of the affection is obviously on Simon's side.
The household is rounded out by Bella, a taciturn, unhappy woman whose husband is an invalid and whose only son, Gussie, is a 12-year-old holy terror.
It is not long before Antonia begins to notice strange things – a voice calling out at night, seaweed and sand mysteriously tracked onto the floor, gray hairs from an unknown woman, and Gussie's odd statement, “She were naughty last night.” Who was naughty? Iris claims that that Antonia is sleepwalking or worse. Antonia knows better – there is something going on at Hilltop and she is going to find out what it is.
As always, Dorothy Eden tells a good tale full of suspense. She reminds me of Mignon Eberhart when it comes to building suspense and creating a tense atmosphere. Her characters are well drawn and interesting. Dougal Conroy, the love interest in this tale, is nice, sensible, though rather put upon, understandably. Unlike some romantic suspense or gothics, her female characters are neither stupid nor weak. My personal favorites are Henrietta Conroy and Miss Fox, Dougal Conroy's mother and secretary respectively. You can see why poor Dougal feels rather henpecked with them around. His reaction to Antonia is rather amusing. You can just imagine him thinking, “Another woman! Just what I need.”
Soon after she arrives in Auckland, Antonia receives a phone call from a mysterious man, who claims he has information about her aunt's death. Antonia goes to meet the informant, but he never shows up. Furious, she returns to her hotel room to find it has been ransacked, though nothing appears to have been stolen. The only odd thing is that an old letter from Laura had been pulled half out of its envelope and a piece ripped off it.
Antonia tries to put the bizarre experience behind her, and goes on to the Hilltop, Simon and Iris's new hotel:
“The rambling old house on the summit of the hill had been rather a surprise to her. It no doubt had an odd sort of attraction for anyone who liked isolation, perched up there, its tall windows vulnerable both to the sea wind and to the gusty one that came down the long shining curve of the sky from the mountain range a hundred miles across the plains in the west.
*************************************
“But she wondered if they had the queer sense of desolation and loneliness as the wind stirred round the house and the sound of the sea, like recurring thunder, came from the rocks far below. Sunshine lay like a carpet over the golden hillside, the wind-smoothed tussocks shone like the backs of sleeky groomed animals. But there was that constant sense of desolation that she couldn't shake off when she stood in the light airy hall.”
Iris is a strange match for soft, gentle, kind Simon. She is almost otherworldly, while he is very much of this world with his love for small creatures like his precious budgies, which are like children to him, but which Iris seems to hate. Still, they seem to be a happy enough pair, though most of the affection is obviously on Simon's side.
The household is rounded out by Bella, a taciturn, unhappy woman whose husband is an invalid and whose only son, Gussie, is a 12-year-old holy terror.
It is not long before Antonia begins to notice strange things – a voice calling out at night, seaweed and sand mysteriously tracked onto the floor, gray hairs from an unknown woman, and Gussie's odd statement, “She were naughty last night.” Who was naughty? Iris claims that that Antonia is sleepwalking or worse. Antonia knows better – there is something going on at Hilltop and she is going to find out what it is.
As always, Dorothy Eden tells a good tale full of suspense. She reminds me of Mignon Eberhart when it comes to building suspense and creating a tense atmosphere. Her characters are well drawn and interesting. Dougal Conroy, the love interest in this tale, is nice, sensible, though rather put upon, understandably. Unlike some romantic suspense or gothics, her female characters are neither stupid nor weak. My personal favorites are Henrietta Conroy and Miss Fox, Dougal Conroy's mother and secretary respectively. You can see why poor Dougal feels rather henpecked with them around. His reaction to Antonia is rather amusing. You can just imagine him thinking, “Another woman! Just what I need.”
October 16, 2017
I couldn't pry my eyes away from this book, I read it in five hours while in bed. As much as I enjoyed the story, most of the characters got on my bad side.
Antonia came to town at her cousin and his fiancee's request. Aunt Laura had recently died, and she and Simon had been left a sum of money. The impression that you initially get of Antonia is that she is a smart and attractive young woman, but she turned out to be another dummy.
If you think someone is playing mind games with you, why would you continue to interact with them? Why would you continually allow yourself to be half talked down from your suspicions? If you even have half your suspicions left, why wouldn't you take every precaution available to make sure you were safe?
Antonia was stubborn to the point of being absurd. She wasn't going to let anyone run her off; she was going to get to the bottom of it all. It didn't matter what she suspected. She would even let herself be pushed into going for drives with a man she scarcely knew but knew enough to be afraid of, all in the name of not wanting to appear rude.
I was rooting for something really vicious to happen to her by the end of the book. If you're stupid enough to guzzle down handmade drinks provided by suspicious people, isn't that what you deserve? What all has to happen before you get it into your thick skull that someone around you means you harm?
The insta-love was a real drag, but of course a case was bound to be included.
Antonia came to town at her cousin and his fiancee's request. Aunt Laura had recently died, and she and Simon had been left a sum of money. The impression that you initially get of Antonia is that she is a smart and attractive young woman, but she turned out to be another dummy.
If you think someone is playing mind games with you, why would you continue to interact with them? Why would you continually allow yourself to be half talked down from your suspicions? If you even have half your suspicions left, why wouldn't you take every precaution available to make sure you were safe?
Antonia was stubborn to the point of being absurd. She wasn't going to let anyone run her off; she was going to get to the bottom of it all. It didn't matter what she suspected. She would even let herself be pushed into going for drives with a man she scarcely knew but knew enough to be afraid of, all in the name of not wanting to appear rude.
I was rooting for something really vicious to happen to her by the end of the book. If you're stupid enough to guzzle down handmade drinks provided by suspicious people, isn't that what you deserve? What all has to happen before you get it into your thick skull that someone around you means you harm?
The insta-love was a real drag, but of course a case was bound to be included.
June 28, 2024
This is another gentle suspense novel from Dorothy Eden, published in the early 1950s - although the edition I managed to obtain was published in the 1970s, hence the mini-skirted heroine on the cover.
The protagonist is Antonia, who travels to New Zealand at the behest of her cousin, Simon. Their globe-trotting aunt Laura has died recently, leaving ten thousand pounds to Simon and an unknown residue to Antonia, who is due to receive it on her twenty-fifth birthday in about six weeks time. Under the terms of the will, she is not to be told how much she is due to receive, but she assumes from something said by Dougal Conroy, the young lawyer handling the estate, that it will be about four thousand pounds: a decent sum in the early 1950s but not huge.
Simon is due to marry in a few days time. His fiancé is Iris, who apparently nursed Aunt Laura in her final illness. He has bought a house with part of the money he has inherited. Iris has already moved in, and they offer one of the many spare bedrooms to Antonia. Simon is a mild, rather unworldly character, who is very fond of budgerigars and not handsome, and Antonia can't help thinking that his fiancé is marrying him for the chance of a comfortable home and to pursue her own dream of running a guest house. It's soon clear from Iris' manner towards Simon that Antonia is right. One wing of the house is shut up, in preparation for building work, but Antonia hears strange noises at night, sees a light on in the supposedly-empty wing, and receives the impression that someone is staying there secretly. But when she goes there one night, the door is locked and someone inside turns the light off. Next morning, the room is empty.
A process begins, led by Iris but supported by Simon, whereby doubt is cast upon Antonia's perceptions: gaslighting, basically, although decades before that term was coined. When she stayed overnight at a hotel in Auckland before coming out to the house, she was lured by a telephone call to meet someone who claimed to know something about Laura's death but didn't turn up. When she returned to the hotel, there were signs that her room had been searched, but the police and hotel manager were unimpressed. Iris tries to convince Antonia that she imagined all that and is sleepwalking. However, both Dougal and his mother have seen the light in the empty wing since their house is just down the hill.
As time goes by, more oddities occur. Iris 'suggests' Antonia see a doctor, insinuating that she is having a mental breakdown. She recommends a sinister family friend who is a doctor: a man whom Antonia spotted staring at her on the plane from Auckland. Meanwhile, Dougal drops hints to Antonia that she'd be better off returning to the UK although he won't say why. He and Antonia have a prickly relationship, and the situation is made more complex by his funny, inquisitive and imaginative mother who loves to jump to conclusions.
I enjoyed the story as a whole. There's a little lowkey sexism in the attitude of Dougal to being 'managed' by his mother and his capable secretary, and his consequent animosity towards Antonia. The romance element is very understated which is fine by me. Antonia is far from being a doormat, and she does suspect that crimes are being committed. Being the 1950s, when women were expected to be deferential and polite, she often metaphorically bites her lip though sometimes she does speak out. The theme of gaslighting was found in 'An Afternoon Walk', the previous novel I've read by the author, and does add to the suspense and off-balance nature of what is being done to the protagonist. Content warnings for readers would include the (offpage) crime committed against a child and the behaviour of a predatory cat which Iris deliberately introduces to the household. Altogether I would rate this at 4 stars.
The protagonist is Antonia, who travels to New Zealand at the behest of her cousin, Simon. Their globe-trotting aunt Laura has died recently, leaving ten thousand pounds to Simon and an unknown residue to Antonia, who is due to receive it on her twenty-fifth birthday in about six weeks time. Under the terms of the will, she is not to be told how much she is due to receive, but she assumes from something said by Dougal Conroy, the young lawyer handling the estate, that it will be about four thousand pounds: a decent sum in the early 1950s but not huge.
Simon is due to marry in a few days time. His fiancé is Iris, who apparently nursed Aunt Laura in her final illness. He has bought a house with part of the money he has inherited. Iris has already moved in, and they offer one of the many spare bedrooms to Antonia. Simon is a mild, rather unworldly character, who is very fond of budgerigars and not handsome, and Antonia can't help thinking that his fiancé is marrying him for the chance of a comfortable home and to pursue her own dream of running a guest house. It's soon clear from Iris' manner towards Simon that Antonia is right. One wing of the house is shut up, in preparation for building work, but Antonia hears strange noises at night, sees a light on in the supposedly-empty wing, and receives the impression that someone is staying there secretly. But when she goes there one night, the door is locked and someone inside turns the light off. Next morning, the room is empty.
A process begins, led by Iris but supported by Simon, whereby doubt is cast upon Antonia's perceptions: gaslighting, basically, although decades before that term was coined. When she stayed overnight at a hotel in Auckland before coming out to the house, she was lured by a telephone call to meet someone who claimed to know something about Laura's death but didn't turn up. When she returned to the hotel, there were signs that her room had been searched, but the police and hotel manager were unimpressed. Iris tries to convince Antonia that she imagined all that and is sleepwalking. However, both Dougal and his mother have seen the light in the empty wing since their house is just down the hill.
As time goes by, more oddities occur. Iris 'suggests' Antonia see a doctor, insinuating that she is having a mental breakdown. She recommends a sinister family friend who is a doctor: a man whom Antonia spotted staring at her on the plane from Auckland. Meanwhile, Dougal drops hints to Antonia that she'd be better off returning to the UK although he won't say why. He and Antonia have a prickly relationship, and the situation is made more complex by his funny, inquisitive and imaginative mother who loves to jump to conclusions.
I enjoyed the story as a whole. There's a little lowkey sexism in the attitude of Dougal to being 'managed' by his mother and his capable secretary, and his consequent animosity towards Antonia. The romance element is very understated which is fine by me. Antonia is far from being a doormat, and she does suspect that crimes are being committed. Being the 1950s, when women were expected to be deferential and polite, she often metaphorically bites her lip though sometimes she does speak out. The theme of gaslighting was found in 'An Afternoon Walk', the previous novel I've read by the author, and does add to the suspense and off-balance nature of what is being done to the protagonist. Content warnings for readers would include the (offpage) crime committed against a child and the behaviour of a predatory cat which Iris deliberately introduces to the household. Altogether I would rate this at 4 stars.
January 21, 2017
What appears to be pulp fiction turns out to be an engaging thriller, well-written and suspenseful. Antonia arrives in New Zealand to collect a modest inheritance. She immediately finds herself at the centre of a mystery that draws the reader in from the start. Dorothy Eden has a talent for making the most trivial detail seem sinister and sustains tension throughout the tale. There is also a degree of self-awareness, as if the book knows it's a melodrama, raising it above the run-of-the-mill examples of this genre. Can't wait to read more of her books.
April 3, 2023
A young woman travels to meet distant family members living in a remote mansion, to take her share of a large inheritance. Mystery and danger soon follow! There is indeed a cat, but it only
makes a fleeting, allegorical appearance.
An extremely formulaic plot, which only works because Dorothy Eden has enough skill as a writer to make it engaging. The perilous situations suffered by the heroine are on the mild side, and it's pretty obvious who is responsible, so read it if you want to enjoy a non-challenging, typical example of the "gothic romance" genre.
makes a fleeting, allegorical appearance.
An extremely formulaic plot, which only works because Dorothy Eden has enough skill as a writer to make it engaging. The perilous situations suffered by the heroine are on the mild side, and it's pretty obvious who is responsible, so read it if you want to enjoy a non-challenging, typical example of the "gothic romance" genre.
February 1, 2022
This book is quite old, and was published in early 50's. Despite that, its a good story of a young woman who travels to New Zealand to meet her cousin and to find out more about her inheritance from her late aunt. Things are not all they seem and weird things start to happen. Although the book is not big, the story is good, and a little bit difficult to put down! It picked up pace as it went a long and then there's a bit of a twist at the end! Enjoyed it!
September 21, 2025
In this novel of suspense, Antonia travels to New Zealand to visit a cousin and receive a legacy, only to find mystery, danger, and romance. This is a surprisingly complex story, with an engrossing plot that was highly entertaining
January 25, 2019
A fun read. Eden's family sagas have more depth, but her Gothic romances are entertaining. The 1950 New Zealand setting was enjoyable. Binge-read that last half of it.
January 11, 2021
this was fun
September 13, 2014
Good fun.
Published in 1952, this is categorized as romantic suspense, but by today's standards there's no romance to speak of. It's well done. Plot: a young woman goes to New Zealand to see about a small inheritance from a world-traveling aunt.* On her way there, she is tricked, followed, her room broken into and searched, and when she arrives at a remote off-season hotel to greet her simpleminded bird-fancier cousin and his new wife, more shenanigans ensue. There's a cool, officious estate attorney, a suspicious stranger on a plane, a 12-year-old delinquent who has a secret to impart, a crazy old lady (actually, the book is ripe to bursting with variously-crazy old ladies), and as the inheritance is revealed to be larger than first thought, the dangers to the protagonist mount. There are screams in the night, mysterious lights, an accident that is not accidental, a conspiracy to convince her she's going mad...many good, if old fashioned, mystery tropes.
And Eden manages to wedge a good deal of wry humor in, too. The female protagonist is never anything less than spunky and bright, and most of the supporting female characters are also strong and well-drawn. There's something of Agatha Christie in style and tone, here--considering the date of publication, this is not a surprise. The plot never sags (though there were a couple missed opportunities for even more tension), and it's a quick, painless read. I didn't like the first book of hers I tried, but this one has me convinced to try others at my underfunded, we-keep-every-book-forever library.
* Who somewhere down the line is hinted to be a lesbian, though this is so subtle, a good many readers probably missed it back in 1952. It's not important to the plot, but I noticed and applauded it.
Published in 1952, this is categorized as romantic suspense, but by today's standards there's no romance to speak of. It's well done. Plot: a young woman goes to New Zealand to see about a small inheritance from a world-traveling aunt.* On her way there, she is tricked, followed, her room broken into and searched, and when she arrives at a remote off-season hotel to greet her simpleminded bird-fancier cousin and his new wife, more shenanigans ensue. There's a cool, officious estate attorney, a suspicious stranger on a plane, a 12-year-old delinquent who has a secret to impart, a crazy old lady (actually, the book is ripe to bursting with variously-crazy old ladies), and as the inheritance is revealed to be larger than first thought, the dangers to the protagonist mount. There are screams in the night, mysterious lights, an accident that is not accidental, a conspiracy to convince her she's going mad...many good, if old fashioned, mystery tropes.
And Eden manages to wedge a good deal of wry humor in, too. The female protagonist is never anything less than spunky and bright, and most of the supporting female characters are also strong and well-drawn. There's something of Agatha Christie in style and tone, here--considering the date of publication, this is not a surprise. The plot never sags (though there were a couple missed opportunities for even more tension), and it's a quick, painless read. I didn't like the first book of hers I tried, but this one has me convinced to try others at my underfunded, we-keep-every-book-forever library.
* Who somewhere down the line is hinted to be a lesbian, though this is so subtle, a good many readers probably missed it back in 1952. It's not important to the plot, but I noticed and applauded it.
January 30, 2014
A serviceable Gothic mystery for our next edition of Horror 101...
August 18, 2015
Not a bad mystery but not terribly subtle.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews