Review by Booklist Review
In keeping with the grand gothic tradition of the Brontës and du Maurier, Goodman spins an engrossing if at times overwrought tale. As part of her editorial job, Agnes Corey was to read Veronica St. Clair's fan mail and forward any favorable letters to her. St. Clair was the author of the blockbuster The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights, written in the 1990s. The Wyldcliffe estate served as a Magdalen refuge in the 1890s, a women's corrective training school in the 1920s, and in the 1960s it became a psychiatric treatment center for troubled teens. Many women suffered and died there, and there is a huge cemetery on the property. Fans are still clamoring for a sequel and when she finally agrees, Agnes travels to Wyldcliffe to take her dictation. But what St. Clair has in mind is more of a prequel, and she relates a nightmare-inducing narrative--a story within the main story--to Agnes, who begins to feel she is, oddly, part of it. The otherworldly air that permeates the book veils what sometimes seems anachronistic, and Agnes has enough visits to the "Hallmark town" nearby to alleviate the reader's claustrophobia. Fans of the genre will be happy to take it all in.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Multigenerational mysteries haunt a Hudson Valley mansion in this moody if convoluted gothic thriller from Mary Higgins Clark Award winner Goodman (The Bones of the Story). Agnes Corey is nearing the end of her probationary period as an editorial assistant at Gatehouse Books in New York City. For many years, Gatehouse has been kept afloat by Veronica St. Clair's The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights, a neogothic 1990s blockbuster; despite decades of silence from its reclusive author, the book's cult following continues to clamor for a sequel. As Gatehouse's financial footing slips and executives consider selling the publisher to a larger firm, Agnes decides to write to Veronica and beg for a sequel. Surprisingly, Veronica writes back and invites Agnes to the real-life Wyldcliffe Heights--a sprawling asylum turned mansion a few hours outside the city--to work as her assistant. When Agnes arrives, she learns that Veronica has gone blind. As she takes dictation for Veronica's new book, Agnes learns about the real-life events that inspired The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. Eventually, she discovers that her own history intersects with that of Wyldcliffe. Goodman nails the gothic atmosphere, but by the end, her plot has grown too tangled to achieve maximum impact. This doesn't rank with the author's best. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
It was only afterwards that Agnes Corey realized she shouldn't have written that letter to author Veronica St. Clair. Agnes is an editorial assistant at the small press that published St. Clair's bestseller, The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. For almost 30 years, readers, including Agnes, have wanted a sequel, but St. Clair, a blind recluse, refused to write it. However, Agnes is shocked when she's hired to transcribe St. Clair's harrowing sequel to the original gothic tale. Arriving at Wyldcliffe Heights, she quickly gets wrapped up in the seemingly autobiographical novel about two young women imprisoned at an experimental mental hospital, and the fire that blinded St. Clair. As she transcribes, Agnes finds connections to her own family story and her mother, who was mentally ill. Agnes's fears for her own mental stability come to a head on Halloween when the shocking secrets of Wyldcliffe Heights are revealed. VERDICT Goodman, author of two Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning novels, including The Night Visitors, will please readers who like a gothic mystery with a creepy setting and unreliable narrators. Suggest for fans of Jane Eyre.--Lesa Holstine
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