My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Anne Stuart is one of my favorite authors and it is mentioned on the first page of the book that Barrett’s Hill was written as a fan fiction story and honestly, it clearly shows. The story, of course, has all the trademarks of an Anne Stuart book, romance, and suspense in equal measure but most readers like me are used to her darker-than-dark heroes which are clearly missing in this book.
Gothic for me require a brooding mansion, you know, something that chills the spine with its spookiness, the house in this is definitely not that, there’s nothing eerie about the house, and the woods and the hill where the murder has occurred doesn’t add any frightening factor. The heroine is naïve and silly in one scene but becomes feministic and strong in the very next so the character never hooked me in. But in spite of all this, I enjoyed the romance of the story. The sexy chemistry between Adam and Miranda creates flutters and there are some sizzling parts in the snow that marks the excellent writing of Anne Stuart.
The mystery element is not going to surprise many readers but the suspense moves the story along revealing dimensions for each character. Barrett’s Hill is an interesting read for fans of Anne Stuart as it clearly shows the making of a fantastic author.
Enjoyable 💧 💧 💧
Seduction and murder.
Adam Traywick may be capable of both.
In this celebrated gothic romance, will Miranda be the next victim of Barrett’s Hill?
When her father’s will sends strong-willed, irreverent Miranda to the New England estate of nearby Barrett’s Hill to live under the guardianship of her elder cousin–the sour Reverend Smathers–and his scheming family, trouble quickly brews.
Two decades earlier a murder took place on Barrett’s Hill, and the suspects are few. Miranda’s spirited investigation raises the fear of public scandal among her hypocritical relatives–the Reverend’s alcoholic wife and viciously manipulative daughter–especially since the suspects are the Reverend, his toadying assistant Fathimore, Miranda’s own father, and the darkly irresistible Adam Traywick.
Adam turns his masterful charms on Miranda, and she falls in love. Yet as it becomes clear she’s provoked the killer’s survival instincts, with herself his target, she can’t help wondering if Adam is seducing her or planning her murder.
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