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The Other Karen
Hired to impersonate the dead granddaughter of the aged and ill Josephine Andexter, Catherine Mayhew soon has reason to suspect the motives of her employers, Eunice and Brian Andexter, and to wonder about the life of the real Karen
185 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1983
About the author
Velda Johnston
75 books30 followersVelda Johnston was a writer of romantic suspense. She also wrote under the pseudonym 'Veronica Jason'.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2016
Velda Johnston began to write her stories around the same time as Mary Stewart with all the warts from that era. Clearly now, her mysteries are dated and that is a shame because her style of writing is very easy on the eyes. The plot flows smoothly. Some may even say it is boring because there are no graphic descriptions of violence and you are expecting the villain(s) to wiggle out of the woodwork when they finally show up.
This time around there was amnesia but it was the inability to remember by choice.
It was the 1980s and Catherine Mayhew was making ends meet as a office temp between trying out for parts as an actress. She was approached by two former roommates to make a business deal. If she could buy into their new vintage-chic clothing business, she would be guaranteed job security along with a decent paycheck. The problem was she needed an initial $10,000 as her share.
An orphan, she could depend only on herself. A sly acquaintance gave her an ad for a 'job' in Maine for several months. If approved, she would earn just shy of the amount she needed to enter her roommates' business arrangement. She was to take on the identity of the mysterious Karen to make this young woman's elderly grandmother happy once more.
Of course, there was more to the story but you would have to read the book to find what happened.
This time around there was amnesia but it was the inability to remember by choice.
It was the 1980s and Catherine Mayhew was making ends meet as a office temp between trying out for parts as an actress. She was approached by two former roommates to make a business deal. If she could buy into their new vintage-chic clothing business, she would be guaranteed job security along with a decent paycheck. The problem was she needed an initial $10,000 as her share.
An orphan, she could depend only on herself. A sly acquaintance gave her an ad for a 'job' in Maine for several months. If approved, she would earn just shy of the amount she needed to enter her roommates' business arrangement. She was to take on the identity of the mysterious Karen to make this young woman's elderly grandmother happy once more.
Of course, there was more to the story but you would have to read the book to find what happened.
April 17, 2020
I dug this out of my attic; I hadn't remembered a thing about it, and I enjoyed it yet again. Johnston is a classic romantic-suspense writer with many fine books to her name.
This one was highly reminiscent of Mary Stewart's THE IVY TREE and was compelling for similar reasons.
This one was highly reminiscent of Mary Stewart's THE IVY TREE and was compelling for similar reasons.
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February 24, 2025I was not sure that I would enjoy this book, but it was really really good! I thought that the story was well developed and surprising twists and turns
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews