The DRIFTER : THE DRIFTER [Mass Market Paperback]

Richie Tankersley Cusick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1994

With her mother determined to transform Glanton House into an inn, Carolyn Baxter is wary of Joss Whitcomb, the handsome, compelling stranger who takes the job of handyman in exchange for room and board, who possesses a dangerous knowledge of local legends.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (July 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671887416
• ISBN-13: 978-0671887414
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Drifter, September 21, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The DRIFTER : THE DRIFTER (Mass Market Paperback)

The Drifter is a book about a girl named Carolyn. Her dad reecently died and her and her mom are left with only eachother to relie on. They are having Fincanial problems and are basically in a money pit. Suddenly her mother finds out that Carolyn's Aunt Hazel died and that she left her huge masion. This was like a calling for Carlyn's mom, and she jumped on the oprtunity to go and start over there. She had her mind set on making this huge masion a Guest house, and maybe that would bring in some money. The next think Carolyn's knows it, she is sitting in the living room in the old creepy masion. She wasn't very close to her aunt, but she remembers her being a little crazy. The house was old and scary, and had something about that just told her that there was something else happening in the house that she didn't know about just yet. A boy named Nick showed up on her door that day. He was dropping off some groceries from the only grocery store in the whole town and started telling her about what really happened to Aunt Hazel and what's going on in the house. He said that nobody really knows how Aunt Hazel died, but the old, quiet, evil house keeper, Nora, found her by the sea cliffs by the house. The cliffs were practically next to the house and with all the fog from the roaring sea next to the house, the fog made it hard for somone to see where the cliffs are. They believed that Aunt Hazel slipped and lay there for hours and finally gave up. Poor Nora found her there, too. The Nick told her legends of a sea captian leaving his wife to go to sea and she fell in love with someone else while he was gone, becaus eshe thought he would never come back, like he promised. But when he did he got so mad that he murdered the two of them in the Widow's Walk, the balcony on the top of the house. In the next few days she became more and more scared of the frightening house, and wierder and weirder things were happening. One colf foggy day a stranger showed up in the house. He wanted a place to sleep and promise to help around the house to get it ready for the Guest House, Carolyn's mom was so excited she put him up for the night right away, with no hesitation. Joss stayed with them and worked around the house like he said, but there was something about him that made Carolyn a little uptight around him. He had deep, black, slanted eyes that made her throat get a knot in it. Still, strange and horrible things kept happening in the house, and Carolyn was convinced that the legends and stories were true, but nobody would belive her. People around her weree getting hurt, noises were creepoing trhough the house, and things were alwyas showing up and disappearing. She knew something was going on, and she, herself was now on the verge of death, and the truth was unraveling. Who was causing all this and were the stories true???

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Drifter, March 1, 2005

By 

Lyn (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The DRIFTER : THE DRIFTER (Mass Market Paperback)

Here is the description on the back of the book:

"HORROR HOTEL
Glanton House was Carolyn Baxter's new home, the haunted island retreat her widowed mother was determined to transform into an inn. As if in answer to her prayer, tall raven-haired Joss Whitcomb appeared at their door and offered to be the handyman in return for room and board. But Carolyn was wary. Joss was dark, compelling, dangerous. He was still a stranger, even after he saved her mother from a near-fatal accident. And now they were alone together in the eerie house he seemed to know so well. He knew the legend of a jealous sea captain doomed to kill again and again. But did he hear the ghostly whispers echoing through the halls at night? Did he know the unseen eyes that followed her every move? Who was Joss? Why was he here? How could she trust this devastating drifter when she feared for her life..."

I just finished reading this book, and now I am kicking myself; I almost didn't read it because the cover makes it look stupid! Boy was I wrong! It takes place in an old house up on the edge of a cliff on an island, where Carolyn and her mom have moved after they inherit it from their aunt Hazel. Carolyn's mom plans to turn it into an Inn, but people don't think that will work because of the creepy stories behind it. Then a drifter named Joss comes along, who asks to stay at the big house and earn his keep by fixing up the place. Joss creeps Carolyn out--but at the same time, she can't seem to pull her eyes away from him--and he sure seems to know a lot about the house.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outrageous!!, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The DRIFTER : THE DRIFTER (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is one that will spark the attention of anyone looking for a suspense thriller. It has a spooky setting that will leave you wishing you hadn't read it at night, but it's so good, you just can't resist the temptation. Carolyn is a sweet, innocent girl who is interested in the romantic stranger Joss. But is Joss all he seems to be? And what is the real story behind the murderous pirates. Carolyn must find out before it is too late. The ending will surprise anyone. I couldn't put it down and read it in one day. Although this book was not my absolute favorite, I would reccommend it to anyone who loves horror, romance, and mystery.