Veronica Black (1935–2008)

When the Prioress of a religious order receives a mysterious letter from an elderly nun, she dispatches Sister Joan to her convent to investigate. She arrives to find the correspondent dead, a novice missing, and a recent accidental death of a third sister. Can she deduce what is happening before another nun disappears?

Books set in the recent past remind me how quickly the expectations for women have changed. This mystery increases that disconnect by placing the main character into a show more religious order, where her past as an independent woman jars against the religious vows she made. I was whole-heartedly rooting for Sister Joan as she as she tries to decide whether a crime has occurred. And, as the evidence mounts, she struggles to discern where the line between obedience and endorsing heresy lies, and whether she’s crossed it. show less

Fairing better than the first novel, Falcon Royal focuses on the story of Felice, hired by the Falcons as a personal assistant, little Willow, a half-relative living on the grounds, Lady Mair, the lady of the Falcon house, and of course the husband James Falcon. Still haunted by the curse began by the witch Margred years previous, Willow is an evil little thing, delighting in bugging Lady Mair and uncovering general mischief. Encouraged by the story of the witch, and that she herself bears show more the same half-crescent moon marking on her person, she hopes to eventually unlock the full magic and become the lady of the house. Felice is actually a delightful person, but of course in this saga generally delightful people meet the worst ends.

There is never usually something breathtaking about any characters in these novels; they usually have something so horrendous about their personalities that it's impossible to latch onto them emotionally. The same can be said here for both Willow and to an extent Lady Mair. Other people you just end up feeling bitter for, as they are washed away by deceit of some sort, leaving behind only memories of "ugh". Each book focuses on several parts, of time lines, showing the lives and deaths of major characters and how they age.

Feeling slightly rushed because of this, the pacing is a bizarre animal. At times slow and with build-up to show characterization and purpose, yet housed in a small book where at least two generations live, I can't say the book is a fast-paced creation, but it's not slow either. The strange miscellany makes it fun to read on one hand, while baffling on another. Being a 70's Gothic book, the story and writing style match the Gothic, old-world tone exactly. Told in third-person, no one seems to be a cut out character, but it's unique in the way they're handled. You never know them truly well, for everyone - even the nice ones - are off-standish for the reader.

The series seems to focus more on women than men, perhaps because the main heroine who began the curse was a witch - and the writer is a woman - but ultimately it seems that men somehow cause all the women go through (usually without knowing it). In the first book, for example, Henry made the mistake of falling in love with someone other than his wife, giving in to greed for self-survival, and ultimately paying the worst sort of price. Here James is a nice guy who would never resort to scandalizing actions such as illicit affairs, but his general manner is his doom. Not having much of a backbone and protective of all, he goes head-to-head in mild arguments against his wife Lady Mair. While I can understand her viewpoint on a few occasions, she's just not that likable of a woman. Her betrayal comes not from him betraying her in a direct sense like Harry did to Margred, but instead he betrays her through being overtly passive in life. Different route but ultimately the same destination.

As always the end is bittersweet, leaving a dull lump in the throat. Frankly this series is just depressing. I've always loved the old Gothic traditions and atmospheres, with large looming castles, dashingly handsome men, coy and sweet women...but that's generally not found here. Still it's interesting, as almost all books telling a families movement are. It left off with more evil witting from Willow, leaving me craving more in its sequel. If you're a fan of the Gothic stories, this popular series from the seventies (that spawned 12 books) is worth a look, but be warned it's far different from most books experienced. show less

At last! It took me three agonizingly long days to get a chance to read the new series I picked up. I had to finish another book first - grrr.

This sadly wasn't what I expected, though. Maybe the writing style wouldn't have worn thin if I enjoyed the story better. I thought of the traditional gothic stories with big, looming castles, davishingly handsome men, and a smidge of romance that makes the heart melt. Instead the main protagonist isn't a very friendly wench. Being in her head would be show more similar to being in the head of a sociopath, or at least it felt like that at the time. Sure, the girl HAD feelings, they were just oddly spread out. When her grandfather died, as an example, she looked about it so logically and without too much emotion. WTF?? He was all the family she had! I suppose Darby was setting up the whole witch thing, but really, she's the main protagonist and she got on my nerves.

In fact, my favorite character was her beloved Harry, who despite his flaws at least was more likeable. He did the 'wrong' thing in the end, but he suffered mentally rolling over the decision. It doesn't matter which way he decided, he still showed more emotion that she. Margred's love for him doesn't make much sense to me either. I understand there's something special about him that attracts her, and her eventual seeking of revenge is adumbrated at the beginning by a rude man, but why him of all people? How could she so instantly fall in love? And I wanted one last confrontation between them, damnit!

This is one of those depressing novels a bit reminiscent of the original V.C. Andrews - almost every damn person dies! And each time the knife in the heart twists even deeper. Argh! I liked this in Andrews' books but here it just pissed me off further. Not that many of the characters deserved falling in love with, but still.

Another irritating side note is that the front excerpt doesn't seem to have happened in the book. When did that scene ever occur? It didn't go down like that at all. ????

That isn't to say this book didn't have it's good points. Cool cover. It's short with relatively slow pacing, but because of its length the pacing sort of matches. The ending is bittersweet as hell and is easily remembered. It's not boring. The whole witch thing was semi-cool. And I did love the dancing bear :) Oh, and even if this is psychically guessed on my part - it sets up the mode for an excellent series to come. (Please God, please God...I have at least five more of these on my shelf to read!)

I have a hard decision to make - the next book I own is book four, not book 2. I either wait out till I get the second and follow in order, or just start at four and see if I like that one better, reading in order from there up. I just don't know yet. show less

First in the “Sister Joan” mysteries set in a convent in Cornwall in the late 1980’s. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. A slim, 215-page book that only took a short time to read, it still kept me up an hour past my usual bedtime so I could finish it. I liked the main character, and though was able to piece together parts of the mystery, part of it was a surprise. Well-written and quite descriptive of the religious life without being judgmental or preachy. I’m looking for show more the next books in the series show less