The Face in the Shadows

by Velda Johnston

Ellen Stacey was a pretty, talented, out-of-work young actress, facing a long, hot New York summer. She welcomed the offer to take care of 11-year old Cecily Vandering at the family's seaside estate.

But soon it became clear this was no ordinary job. Someone was trying to corrupt Cecily with drugs, someone whom the little girl refused to reveal, someone who would let no one stand in the way. And even in the protective arms of a brilliant, handsome man who said he loved her, Ellen felt the icy embrace of fear, as a killer tightened his deadly noose…

Genres: Gothic, Fiction, Mystery

292 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Velda Johnston was a writer of romantic suspense. She also wrote under the pseudonym 'Veronica Jason'.

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that I think could have been better. It started off great, with an intriguing (although not terribly plausible) premise, but I didn't always like the execution of it. I prefer gothic suspense where the author stays in the protagonist's POV. I think it builds suspense if the reader discovers the truth along with the set-upon main character. But in this case, the author brought in just about every other character, sometimes only dipping into certain POVs for a short chapter or so. I thought it took away from the suspense, especially since a few of the characters were obvious distractors. Overall, though, the book held my interest even if it didn't quite fulfill the promise of its first chapter.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some great parts to this novel although the occasional jumps in POV character were jarring and not particularly helpful. I usually love how Johnston's books are a little odder than the genre usually allows but even for her this one was weird. I truly had no clue where is book was going and even though I was kinda bored by the middle section, I kept going because I just had to know what the hell was going on.