Lord of High Cliff Manor

by Irene M. Pascoe

The accident was more sinister than she dared imagine...

When Jennifer Shanley accepted the teaching position at High Cliff Manor, she never suspected she would become enveloped in a cocoon of hidden terror. The three-story house, precariously situated on a precipice overlooking Puget Sound, harbored the secret of the Dolphin , a tugboat that had inexplicably exploded.

Mark Kennecott, Jennifer's employer and co-owner of the ill-fated vessel, was reluctant to discuss the disaster. Mark's stepmother and her daughter also discourged Jennifer's attempts to solve the mystery, and her persistence was greeted with hostility. But Jennifer's stubborn curiosity compelled her to delve further - and almost caused her death.

Genres: Gothic

220 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1986

Reviews

[Nattie]

I enjoyed this book, but it is clearly Harlequin historical fiction, and not a gothic.

I'm new to the gothic mystery/romance scene. I've been building my collection by the hundreds, and this is the first one I settled into. It leaned heavily towards cheesy romance, too heavily, but it was still a fine read.

Jennifer was annoying, and her romance with Mark was heading towards OTT malarkey.

If you are looking for a scare, this is not it. I had an idea who was the baddie, but was still shocked and entertained when all was revealed.

[Alice]

I really enjoyed this, it's quite a simple gothic story, nothing too intense or dark so it was a quick enough read, but what made it was the heroine and hero and the romance between them, I just loved the intensity in their feelings and the descriptions the author uses, I felt the same with her other books, it's just the type that makes your heart skip a beat, at least for me. In saying that though was very disappointed by the ending, their build up and intensity had me patiently waiting for their get together and confession but it was all just on the very last page, one page! don't do me like that! so I almost wanted to take a star off for that, but these days if I really enjoy a book I'm just going to give it 5 stars, it's not that deep.
Another thing I really like about this authors books are her compassionate and understanding heroines, they always put themselves in others shoes before jumping to conclusions which we know many heroines do (jump to conclusions that is) and it can be annoying, so her heroines are always more level headed in my opinion and very kind and compassionate which I not only love but it's what makes the heroes fall in love with them too. Speaking of which Mark was a nice hero in this too, I liked him a lot, he wasn't a man of much words but what words he did say he always meant, and his intense presence was enough.
Overall I recommend it as a light enjoyable read, if you're looking for a dark or intensely gothic story then this isn't it but if you like a magnetic pull between the hero and heroine that they try to fight all the while a mystery that killed several people hangs in the background, then read it.

[Lynn]

She vowed to conquer the malevolent forces surrounding her -- and found death lurking in the shadows. — THE ACCIDENT WAS MORE SINISTER THAN SHE DARED IMAGINE... — When Jennifer Shanley accepted the teaching position at High Cliff Manor, she never suspected she would become enveloped in a cocoon of hidden terror. The three-story house, precariously situated on a precipice overlooking Puget Sound, harbored the secret of the DOLPHIN, a tugboat that had inexplicably exploded.

Mark Kennecott, Jennifer's employer and co-owner of the ill-fated vessel, was reluctant to discuss the disaster. Mark's stepmother and her daughter also discouraged Jennifer's attempts to solve the mystery, and her persistence was greeted with hostility. But Jennifer's stubborn curiosity compelled her to delve further -- and almost caused her death.

Once you got into the book, it was interesting and I enjoyed it. Was a Harlequin Gothic Romance.