I love Rebecca and was looking forward to Jamaica Inn, but once I got to it I was pretty disappointed.

This book should be wonderful - the rundown inn isolated on the moors in Cornwall, smugglers, wreckers, murderers and thieves - what more could you ask for in a plot for a gothic thriller? Somehow, though, this just didn't work for me. I kept reading along, waiting to find someone to care about and for something interesting to happen and it just didn't happen. It all feels too careful and too formulaic - insert charming handsome horse thief into slot A, combine with plucky heroine in slot B, varnish with rumors of smuggling and murder and combine with mist to create your romantic thriller (allen wrench provided with kit). ( )

Dark, gothic, fascinating storyline. daphne Du Maurier is able to describe a scene perfectly without wittering on.

Reminded me of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre ( )

After her mother's death, Mary Yellan must leave her farm in Helston and move in with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle by marriage, Joss Merlyn, is abusive and a drunkard, and her Aunt Patience, whom Mary remembered as vivacious, has been cowed by her husband. Joss is also the landlord of Jamaica Inn, a place with a bad name and a mystery, as Mary discovers that her uncle's business runs towards illegal activities. For the sake of her aunt, she doesn't say anything at first, but as she learns more of what's really going on, she's not sure how long she can keep silent.

I once read that the Gothic novel was the precursor to the romantic suspense genre, and this novel is a good example of that: the love interest with a dark past, mystery and danger, are all present. The suspenseful ambiance is well done, as might be expected from this author, with vivid descriptions. Though not as well-written as Rebecca, I think partially because I liked the protagonists more and partially because I had a better idea of what to expect, I liked this story a little more. ( )

Listened 09/2009.

After her mother's death, 23-year-old Mary Yellan goes to live with her Aunt Patience. Mary remembers Patience as a vibrant woman, and is shocked to see the effect of her marriage to Joss Merlyn, keeper of Cornwall's Jamaica Inn. Joss' violent, alcohol-infused rages have taken a toll on Patience, who cowers at the very sight of her husband. And Mary quickly learns that all is not right at Jamaica Inn: the coach driver refuses to stop, the guest rooms are unused, and the pub is rarely open. She awakens one night to voices outside, and quickly determines her uncle is the leader of a smuggling ring operating under cover of darkness. Mary becomes obsessed with engineering her own escape, and rescuing her aunt from a destructive relationship. She meets Joss' brother, Jem, an admitted horse thief who she finds irresistibly attractive, but keeps him at arm's length because of assumed loyalty to Joss. Mary also meets a local vicar -- an albino at that -- who rescues her on the moors one night, and offers a refuge from the evil environment at Jamaica Inn. And the more she learns about the smuggling ring, the more frightening her situation becomes.

Well, this being a mystery, I need to stop the plot summary right there. Suffice to say that things are never what they seem. There's way more to the smuggling ring than meets the eye, good people are bad and bad people are good. Du Maurier weaves it all together into a kind of exquisite tension that keeps the reader's guard up, waiting for someone to jump out from behind a corner. And she paints a vivid picture of the nineteenth-century Cornish seaside:
There could be not stillness where the sea broke upon the rockbound shore. She heard it again now, and continually; a murmur and a sigh as the spent water gave itself to the strand and withdrew reluctantly, and then a pause as the sea gathered itself for a renewal of effort -- a momentary fragment in time -- and then once more the thunder and the crash of fulfillment, the roar of surf upon shingle and the screaming scatter of stones as they followed the drag of the sea. (p. 145)

I enjoyed this book well enough; I was caught up in the story and kept sneaking off to read. Mary is a strong protagonist, unwilling to accept her circumstances. However, while I definitely appreciate a strong female lead to a mousy one, some of Mary's actions were unrealistic. The ending was also too neat and predictable. These two flaws make Jamaica Inn a 3-star book instead of 4-stars, but still recommended, especially for fans of gothic mysteries. ( )