"Perhaps every tragedy has its roots in some little act," considers Margot Humbert, the heroine of Gilbert's (The Wedding Guest) twisty and suspenseful gothic tale with a mystery in the middle of its marriage plot. In 1923, many in the rural English village of Ashlaw have not yet recovered from the ravages of WWI. Linden Grey and her mother, a war widow, suffer "straitened circumstances" and are eager to develop their friendship with the relatively prosperous Humberts, whose soon-to-be marriageable son, Alex, is Linden's age. Alex quickly becomes "spellbound" by the enchanting Linden, but his sister, Margot, begins to realize that Linden's cool perfection and beauty mask an empty soul and a "squalid self-interest." When a simple-minded village girl falls to her death down an abandoned mineshaft after being accused of stealing a strand of imitation pearls, Margot is sure that Linden is involved and lying about it. The girl's death triggers a series of events that devastate Margot's family and cause Alex to leave for Africa, prompting Linden to seek an attachment to another promising and propertied young man. Linden's new prospect happens to be Margot's devoted but undeclared lover, whom Linden successfully manipulates away from her rival. Gilbert's characters are richly drawn: cold Linden; her na?ve suitors; Margot, who wonders if Linden is an "instrument of evil like the witches of old, through no choice of their own"; and a classically gothic, slightly mad serving woman who wants to destroy the haughty Linden and who holds the key to the mystery of the missing pearls in this taut, suspenseful tale. (Aug.) FYI: Gilbert's most recent novel, The Treachery of Time, won Britain's Catherine Cookson Award for fiction.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Forget the eye of newt and cauldrons bubbling; Gilbert's latest novel is not about the occult, but about being caught under the spell of someone mysterious. Young Margot Humbert is taken with the beautiful and enigmatic Linden Grey, who has recently come to town. Margot's brother, Alex, is also bewitched by Linden and falls hopelessly and obsessively in love with her. However, when a string of beads goes missing, little Katie Judd is blamed and her body is found later in an abandoned coal mine. Margot, distraught over Katie's tragic death, digs deep into the mystery of the stolen beads, only to find Linden, with her pristine manners and polite responses, to be manipulative, deceitful, and the prime suspect. Margot must decide whether to tell Alex what little she knows. What is the truth, who is lying, and who is keeping secrets are slowly revealed in a well-crafted, suspenseful story, set in the early 1920s. Gilbert uses a little Gothic drama, a touch of Dickinsonian coincidence, and clever plot twists to create a wonderful mystery with just a hint of witchcraft. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
