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The Dolphin Summer
Vintage paperback romantic suspense.
427 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
18 people want to read
About the author
Carola Salisbury
24 books10 followersCarola Salisbury is a pseudonym for John Michael "Mike" Butterworth.
Butterworth trained as an artist at Camberwell College of Art and worked briefly as a tutor in drawing at Nottingham College of Art. After briefly working as a salesman, he joined the Amalgamated Press (later renamed Fleetway Publications) after submitting samples of artwork to them. Although these were turned down, he tried again, submitting a script for a sea-going adventure strip. This was accepted and Butterworth was hired as a scriptwriter, at first working primarily Western strips featuring Billy the Kid and Buffalo Bill. His interest in history (particularly naval history) led him to pen many historical comic strips for Comet and Sun, including the Napoleonic era adventures of Max Bravo, the Happy Hussar and World War II air-ace Battler Britton.
Aside from his writing, Butterworth was a gifted editor and created a number of new papers for the firm including Playhour Pictures (soon after abbreviated to Playhour), Valentine and the teenage girls' magazine Honey.
In 1965 he became one of the main script writers for Ranger where he penned the sprawling science-fantasy The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire which remains one of the most popular boys' adventure strips published in the UK to this day.
Butterworth left Fleetway Publications and turned freelance. His first novel, The Soundless Scream, appeared in 1967 followed over the next few years by a number of well-received crime novels which appeared under his full name, which has led to some confusion between his work and that of Science fiction writer and Savoy Books publisher Michael Butterworth. Butterworth also turned his hand to Gothic romance novels under the pen-name Carola Salisbury and Sarah Kemp.
He died at the age of 62.
Butterworth trained as an artist at Camberwell College of Art and worked briefly as a tutor in drawing at Nottingham College of Art. After briefly working as a salesman, he joined the Amalgamated Press (later renamed Fleetway Publications) after submitting samples of artwork to them. Although these were turned down, he tried again, submitting a script for a sea-going adventure strip. This was accepted and Butterworth was hired as a scriptwriter, at first working primarily Western strips featuring Billy the Kid and Buffalo Bill. His interest in history (particularly naval history) led him to pen many historical comic strips for Comet and Sun, including the Napoleonic era adventures of Max Bravo, the Happy Hussar and World War II air-ace Battler Britton.
Aside from his writing, Butterworth was a gifted editor and created a number of new papers for the firm including Playhour Pictures (soon after abbreviated to Playhour), Valentine and the teenage girls' magazine Honey.
In 1965 he became one of the main script writers for Ranger where he penned the sprawling science-fantasy The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire which remains one of the most popular boys' adventure strips published in the UK to this day.
Butterworth left Fleetway Publications and turned freelance. His first novel, The Soundless Scream, appeared in 1967 followed over the next few years by a number of well-received crime novels which appeared under his full name, which has led to some confusion between his work and that of Science fiction writer and Savoy Books publisher Michael Butterworth. Butterworth also turned his hand to Gothic romance novels under the pen-name Carola Salisbury and Sarah Kemp.
He died at the age of 62.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 30, 2020
Overall, this was very good. A lot of description and quite dramatic. Speaking of drama, at times, the heroine was a little much, but I liked her. (Note though that I don't necessarily have to "like" a heroine to enjoy a book - all depends on how she's written!) And I enjoyed the escape aboard a yacht and to 1897 Gibraltar and Oran, Algeria. My second guess as to the villain's identity turned out to be correct, but although I guessed it fairly early on, it was not so obvious that I got bored - I even questioned my guess a couple times. And, I didn't figure out EVERYTHING. The romance was okay. The ending was great. Might be the only Gothic I've read where the forbidding "house" was actually a yacht!
February 24, 2014
I have a problem with love interests that are mere figureheads. I'm not that gullible. I want interaction. I want conversation. Simply put, I want a reason why she loves him. A rigid, commanding stature and brooding eyes is not enough! You hear that, people? Not enough!!
Now that I have got that on the table, let me tell you about "Dolphin Summer".
Dolphin is a boat. Our heroine,(darn! What's her name?) Annabel is invited to come aboard as companion to a dying invalid named Melloney.(I take it that the author meant Melanie not mel-o-ney rhyming with bologna, still I called her Mell-o-ney bologna a few times in the course of reading)
Anyway! Once aboard, strange things start happening, people die in various ways until you wonder if there will be anyone left to choose between by the end and yet...and yet...I never really felt worried. Either the suspense wasn't great enough or I just didn't care enough, one way or another I wasn't feeling it like I should. This wasn't Carola Salisbury's finest hour.
I would put it on a par with a fairly tame Victoria Holt. Good for a rainy afternoon but not one I would look to reread any time soon. Still, I love Carola Salisbury and will definitely pick up another one of hers no question about it.
CONTENT:
SEX: None
PROFANITY: None that I remember
VIOLENCE: A few people die but nothing gruesome
PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: None
MY RATING: G
Now that I have got that on the table, let me tell you about "Dolphin Summer".
Dolphin is a boat. Our heroine,(darn! What's her name?) Annabel is invited to come aboard as companion to a dying invalid named Melloney.(I take it that the author meant Melanie not mel-o-ney rhyming with bologna, still I called her Mell-o-ney bologna a few times in the course of reading)
Anyway! Once aboard, strange things start happening, people die in various ways until you wonder if there will be anyone left to choose between by the end and yet...and yet...I never really felt worried. Either the suspense wasn't great enough or I just didn't care enough, one way or another I wasn't feeling it like I should. This wasn't Carola Salisbury's finest hour.
I would put it on a par with a fairly tame Victoria Holt. Good for a rainy afternoon but not one I would look to reread any time soon. Still, I love Carola Salisbury and will definitely pick up another one of hers no question about it.
CONTENT:
SEX: None
PROFANITY: None that I remember
VIOLENCE: A few people die but nothing gruesome
PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: None
MY RATING: G
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews