Hunter In The Shadows

by Jennie Melville (Pseudonym), Gwendoline Butler

Her name was Stella. She was a widow, still young, still lovely, but with her memory clouded by grief. She did not know that a dark conspiracy was stripping her of friends, relatives, protectors. She did not know the stranger who appeared at her door, claiming to be her lost husband. She only knew she did not believe this man yet shd could not resist him.

Genres: Gothic

189 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Gwendoline Williams Butler (aka Gwendoline Butler)

Gwendoline Williams was born on 19th August 1922 in South London, England, UK, daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams, her younger twin brothers are also authors. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she read History, and later lectured there. On 16th October 1949, she married Dr Lionel Harry Butler (1923-1981), a professor of medieval history at University of St. Andrews and historian, Fellow of All Souls and Principal of Royal Holloway College. The marriage had a daughter, Lucilla Butler.

In 1956, she started to published John Coffin novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. In 1962, she decided used her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville as pseudonym to sing her Charmian Daniels novels. She was credited for inventing the "woman's police procedural". In addition to her mystery series, she also wrote romantic novels. In 1981, her novel The Red Staircase won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two themes of story intertwined. No heads up when underlying theme pops.
Would be reading story then 'what??' And go back to re-read, again, each time.

[CRYPTID · Rating 1 out of 5]

can't say the premise led me to the right direction on what to expect from this novel. rather than going into a tension filled romance with mystery surrounding the characters, it was throughly about espionage within the city of prague. despite the resolution in the last pages of the book, I felt as if nothing really occured or had changed from where we started. overall though it wasn't a terrible read, just an unsatisfying conclusion

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was confused for most of this book. I didn't realize what was going on until near the end when it was spelled out for me and then I had a lot of unanswered questions. The story managed to grip me as it was suspenseful and I kept thinking after a while I would begin to understand why all of these things were happening to Stella.