Evil of Dark Harbor

Dark Harbor #6

by Clarissa Ross, W.E.D. Ross (AKA)

Arriving to take her place as governess for a wealthy family, Sabrina was filled with excitement. But from the moment she entered the dark corridors of the mansion, terrifying and mysterious events began to unfold. She was unaware of the sinister curse a vengeful monk had placed on her new employers. Then the ghost of the diabolical monk appeared on a shadowy landing as she looked on in terror . . . she was disturbed at night by a midnight caller who lured her to danger . . . and a rowboat sank, nearly killing the little girl in Sabrina's care. As suspicion and accusations hovered over Sabrina, she began a battle to not only clear her name and reputation, and to save the children in her care, she also had to battle to save her own life.

Genres: Romance, Horror, Gothic

189 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

William Edward Daniel Ross, W. E. Daniel "Dan" Ross (born 1912) is a bestselling Canadian novelist from Saint John, New Brunswick who wrote over 300 books in a variety of genres and under a variety of mostly female pseudonyms such as Laura Frances Brooks, Lydia Colby, Rose Dana, Jan Daniels, Ross Olin, Diane Randall, Clarissa Ross, Leslie Ames, Ruth Dorset, Ann Gilmer, Jane Rossiter, Dan Ross, Dana Ross, Marilyn Ross, Dan Roberts, and W.E.D. Ross. As Marilyn Ross he wrote popular Gothic fiction including a series of novels about the vampire Barnabas Collins based on the American TV series Dark Shadows (1966-71).

Reviews

[Rina.P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rose Marks macht sich grosse Sorgen um ihre Freundin Helen. Helen hat sich einer Kommune angeschlossen, die auf einer Priateninsel in einem alten Kloster lebt, in dem es auch noch spuken soll. Rose befürchtet, dass Helen in einer gefährlichen Situation ist. Sie erhielt einen Brief, in dem Helen sie bittet den Kontakt für immer zu unterlassen. Kurz entschlossen fährt Helen dort hin und tritt in diese Kommune ein. Die Mitglieder weichen ständig ihren Fragen nach Helen aus. Und Rose begibt sich in Gefahr.
Dieses Buch hat zwar nur wenig Seiten aber es war nicht schlecht. Mal ein nettes kurzes Vergnügen für zwischen durch. Geeignet für die Bahn auf den Weg zur Arbeit.
Hat Spass gemacht es zu lesen.

[Christopher Cornelius · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. And Scooby-Doo ending.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is a tale-within-a-tale story as an old sea dog tells a young woman about the dark past of a fallen-down mansion due for demolition in the near future.

An old-fashioned Gothic horror romance takes place on a lonely island. All the usual elements are here: a beleaguered beautiful heroine, a tortured handsome man with a sad past, dark secrets, forbidden romance, foggy weather, cryptic sayings and mysterious hauntings. The Hall family is supposedly under a curse imposed by an angry ghost after a monk was rudely turned away from the house and froze to death. A curse also seems to follow the heroine, as she labors under suspicion due to the tragic death of a young girl under her care and recurring accidents that place her present charges in considerable danger.

But the hauntings make no sense since they are only glimpsed by the governess, a woman without family blood ties to the Halls and only a recent arrival on the island itself. The romance also fails to engage as chaste kisses bring nothing but bemusement to the heroine’s mind without the attendant passion, breathless confusion or tortured worry over being propositioned by two male members of the family, both of them above her in station. There is more tension between Sabrina Wyler and her jealous rival Ann Gray than there is between the governess and her two love interests.

The mystery itself falls flat. There are no surprises, in spite of the constant appearance of a hooded figure meant to be the monk. The killer is fairly obvious without even the twist I was hoping would appear from a likely corner. The ending neatly ties up all the loose ends, leaving only Irene Moore to make up her mind about whom she will marry. In short, this is a very boring and trite mystery.

[Mermarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starting to seriously dislike this author's writing style. Half of the story was set in the present, then, an old sailor started telling a ghost story for the rest of it.... predictably uneventful.