Knight's Keep (U)

by Rona Randall

AN OLD MAN DIED—AND THE CURTAIN ROSE ON AN EERIE DRAMA...

Orphaned Janet Bewleigh had become an heiress overnight—the unexpected reward for an act of kindness—and now the once-locked doors of her beloved Knight's Keep were open to her.

But there was an aura of evil at the stately manor house; it weighed on Janet like an invisible shroud. She wondered about Lord Ashford, her enigmatic, strangely attractive host, and about the sad, dead girl whose ghost still hovered over the Keep.

And then Janet read the ancient family inscription, and knew that the final act would soon be played:

"REPELLE, DOMINE, VIRTUTEM DIABOLI"
DRIVE BACK, O LORD,
THE POWER OF THE DEVIL...

Genres: Fiction, Gothic

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Rona Green Shambrook
aka Rona Randall, Rona Shambrook, Virginia Standage

Rona Green was born on 16 June 1911 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK. Her education includes: Pitmans College in London, a Diploma in English Literature at Royal Society of Art, Birkenhead School of Art Literary. She married Frederick Walter Shambrook, and had a son.

A former actress, before writing, she worked also as journalist and sub-director of publishing company Amalgamated Press, and as assistant editor of George Newnes Ltd. Published since 1942, she started publishing mainly contemporary doctor nurse romances, before writing also gothic romances, and when the market for gothic novels softened, she wrote historical mystery romances. In 1970, Broken Tapestry, her contemporary novel about a broken family, won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. In 1989, she wrote her The Model Wife: Nineteenth Century Style, a book about social constumbres, including clothing. In 1992, she wrote Writing Popular Fiction, a complete guide for writers.

Reviews

[Sarah Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much going on here, despite a promising start. I can deal with predictability in gothic romance (as with any specific genre, there's a limited number of tropes), but one thing I can't forgive is dullness. At no point did I feel Jane was in any real danger; even at the climax, when ___ turns violent & menacing, there was no real threat because the other hero was 10 feet away, hidden behind a door. And the poison incident (poor Ruffles the puppy ;___;) was pretty obv not the fault of the person who brought the food, so again -- where's the tension?

I liked the side characters better than the leads. Miranda the stepmother (who was younger than her stepson) & land manager Gavin were both more interesting than the MCs. In fact, Jane had better chemistry with Gavin than the hero -- unforgivable, given that neither of them is romantically interested in the other. *wince* The hero had no real personality & Jane's whiplash emotions were too tidy & glossed. (Also, I lol'd when she was offended that Miranda didn't want to relocate her sitting room. Bitch, please. The woman's been living there for years as lady of the manor. WTF did you think would happen?) Even Dora the seamstress & Sly Bitch Sarah the maid had more dynamic page presence(s). Why were they repeatedly referenced & brought into Jane's orbit, then not given a significant role to play? Short novels are like episodic tv shows -- your page/airing time is limited, so everyone is potentially key to the arc.

RR isn't a great writer, but even she has done a similar storyline much better. If you're wanting to try Randall & are into the "girl unknowingly marries a killer & is blinded by lust disguised as love" plotline, read WATCHMAN'S STONE. The characters have better depth & the story has legit twists, as opposed to this book's lackluster paint-by-numbers.

2.5, rounded up for the decent beginning.

[Lynn Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

ho hum.........nothing new here.