The Woman in the Mirror

 The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James  351 pages   

Summary from Goodreads: In 1947, Londoner Alice Miller accepts a post as governess at Winterbourne, looking after Captain Jonathan de Grey’s twin children. Falling under the de Greys’ spell, Alice believes the family will heal her own past sorrows. But then the twins’ adoration becomes deceitful and taunting. Their father, ever distant, turns spiteful and cruel. The manor itself seems to lash out. Alice finds her surroundings subtly altered, her air slightly chilled. Something malicious resents her presence, something clouding her senses and threatening her very sanity.

In present day New York, art gallery curator Rachel Wright has learned she is a descendant of the de Greys and heir to Winterbourne. Adopted as an infant, she never knew her birth parents or her lineage. At long last, Rachel will find answers to questions about her identity that have haunted her entire life. But what she finds in Cornwall is a devastating tragic legacy that has afflicted generations of de Greys. A legacy borne from greed and deceit, twisted by madness, and suffused with unrequited love and unequivocal rage. 

And here's what I thought:  I usually don't pick up this type of Gothic-suspense-haunted kind of story, but I got this book on Christmas Eve (our annual tradition) and actually, really liked it. I found the back-and-forth narrative between the past (Alice in first person) and the present (Rachel) to be really interesting. Alice is a little frustrating as a character -- I often was muttering "Don't open the door!" or "You're getting obsessive and weird!" at her when I was reading.  But, I was really curious to know what was going to happen and what was actually going on. A haunted object? A haunted house? Sociopathic children?  I will admit that when a supposed cursed object is handled, and then something is discovered later --- I had a Supernatural moment and was saying "Salt and burn it, dumbass!!!"   Overall, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and how easy it was to get caught up in the story.  Definitely a thumbs-up!

The Land Across

The Land Across by Gene Wolfe, 286 pages

 

As our narrator, a travel writer, is exploring a fictional Eastern European country, he is arrested and his passport taken.  He is imprisoned at the home of a local man, required to spend his nights there but free to wander during the day, much to the displeasure of his host and the pleasure of his host's seductive wife.  In short order, he encounters treasure hunters, a revolutionary group, the secret police, an occult conspiracy, and a man in black who may or may not be Dracula.

 

Although Wolfe is best known as a science fiction and fantasy author (Book of the New Sun), this comic thriller showcases his versatility as the protagonist blunders through a strange land of restless souls and murderous disembodied hands.  Alternately hilarious, confusing, and creepy, this book is certainly never boring.

Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem

Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem retold by  

Tom Ogden    273 pages

 I love ghost stories and Old Hollywood. Throw the two of them together, and I am so there. I could hardly contain my excitement when I discovered a copy of Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem in the Library’s catalog.

The narrative is divided into three sections, as indicated by the title. Odgen repeats stories that he’s heard/researched from the silent film stars like Mary Pickford; Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.; and Thelma Todd through modern day where some the studios and actors’ hangouts are reportedly haunted.

There is nothing creepy or interesting about these stories. My first clue should have been “retold by Tom Odgen.” They aren’t even well enough written to provide a narrative arc.

BUT I did learn a lot of Old Hollywood history, which is why I give it 2 out of 5 stars.