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Old house of fear

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Russell Kirk's 1961 Gothic novel "Old House of Fear" delivers mystery, murder, mayhem, and a maiden in distress on a remote and haunted island in the Hebrides Islands of northern Scotland, along with some subtle satire on the politics of the era.

Kirk's hero is Hugh Logan, lawyer and former combat veteran, dispatched to Scotland to negotiate the purchase of his employer's ancestral home, Carnglass Island. Logan's attempts to make contact with the owner of the island draw the unwelcome attention of thugs who try to prevent Logan from reaching his destination. The persistant Logan finally reaches the desolate island by boat. There he finds the owner and her pretty young niece held captive in the "The Old House of Fear" by shady characters led by the mysterious Dr. Edmund Jackman.

The heart of the story is the duel between Logan and Dr Jackman for the fate of the captives and the island itself. Logan, making the most of a weak hand with the assistance of the lovely and fearless Mary MacAskival, repeatedly outbluffs his violent but haunted opponent, who fears the unseen, ancient horrors of the island and the ghosts of his own past more than he fears Logan. Kirk's tale includes a castle filled with hidden passages and family secrets, crofters and fishermen with authentic gaelic dialects and their own secrets, and an duel to the death around the ruins of an ancient Celtic chapel and a ruined Pictish fort.

Kirk's tale holds up well for suspense; his prose captures the expected atmospherics of a small island community terrorized by a misplaced communist agent and by its memories of far older horrors. This novel is highly recommended to fans of mystery and gothic novels.

Here is an old-fashioned mystery, cloaked in dark corners, secret passages, and dangerous paths where you never know who is telling the truth.

Right from the start, you are drawn in to the lure of the island itself; then into the people that Logan encounters along the way. The author makes good use of drawing us in with the information he wants us to know; then little by little reveals the rest of the story in true suspense fashion.

An entertaining read; just like I remember from years ago!

Product like new. The condition of the book was excellent and very readable. Delivery was faster than I expected. Completed my Russell Kirk collection. Very enjoyable. God Bless!

I first read this book when I was 10 or 11--found it in hardcover form in the local public library. Still as good today as it was then.