The Gothic Novel Book Club <Hiatus> discussion

For April, our group will be focused on the Gothic Mystery. We have one new nomination and one old friend!

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

First there were ten--a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal--and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

Holmes and Watson are faced with their most terrifying case yet. The legend of the devil-beast that haunts the moors around the Baskerville families home warns the descendants of that ancient clan never to venture out in those dark hours when the power of evil is exalted. Now, the most recent Baskerville, Sir Charles, is dead and the footprints of a giant hound have been found near his body. Will the new heir meet the same fate?

Let's have two more nominations then. The thread will close at the end of March Break (the 16th). The poll will go up on the 17th.

Apparently I wouldn't know a Gothic mystery if it came up and bit me, so I'll take your word for it! I'm looking forward to reading whatever comes up. :)

I had to look up 'Gothic mystery' on the Internet, and found some lists, but some of them included a lot of books that didn't seem to me to be either mysteries and/or Gothic at all! The Hound of the Baskervilles was the only one I knew that seemed to fit, other than one that I have by Dorothy Eden that I haven't read yet, but it doesn't seem to be in print, so I didn't want to nominate that one. And Stephen had originally told me detective mysteries, and I didn't think it had a detective in it.

I think the kinds of books we're looking for don't necessarily have to have a detective. And Then There Were None doesn't have one, for example. They should be really dark mystery books. With lots of blood and murder or any other convention of the Gothic genre involved. I hope that helps.

Ok, we have three nominations! Does anybody have one more?

I have The House of Shimmering Sands by Phyllis A. Wheatley on my list to read. Would that be a valid nomination?

Dang. Sry. I have Thst info wrong above. It is supposed to be Whitney, but it may be by Victoria Holt. Now I can't remember and don't have time to find it. For the record I am game for anything by those two gothic writers. Read the Hound way too many times. The first book mentioned on here sounds interesting. Thanks.

Hi Debbie, and welcome! I tried to look that book up, to see if it is available (I have a few Dorothy Edens that would work well, except that they seem to be out of print, so if nobody could get it, no point in nominating), but I couldn't find a book with that title at all.

Sorry, it is Victoria Holt's, Shivering Sands. I totally screwed that up. LOL...I was just looking at it on Amazon, and while there are paperbacks available, it is not available for kindle, so I don't think it is a good option. Downloaded to kindle is just too convenient these days. I am itching to read something like Victoria Holt, Phyillis A. Whitney, or Dorothy Edens tho. Remember how much I loved them in high school and got away from that genre as I thought I "out grew them" HAH! I'm gonna check out a few more titles and may propose those. Thanks!

What about The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels? any interest?

The Dancing Floor

Does Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier count as a gothic mystery?

Stephen wrote: "Does Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier count as a gothic mystery?"

Yes, Stephen, I think it does!

Just so nobody thinks I'm crazy, in my post above where I said we had three nominations, there had been a post nominating a book before that, which seems to have been deleted!

In case anybody missed it, the poll to select April's book has been posted, so please help us make a choice! Also, if you have already voted, there was a mistake in the initial selections - it should have been The Ghost Writer by John Harwood, not Phillip Roth. That has been corrected, so if you had voted for that selection you will need to vote again, or if you want to change your selection based on the change, plese feel free to do so. Thanks!

Sorry about that everyone! It was late and I was tired.

I'm a newbie can someone tell me how and where to vote? thanks!

Debbie, please vote on the main page of the group! The vote will end on March 31.

K. Thanks Stephen!