The Lighthouse
by Bill Pronzini
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After moving to an isolated lighthouse on the Oregon coast, a college professor and his wife become terrorized by an unknown enemy and separated from each other by a gulf of mistrust.Tags
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Anticipating a peaceful and relaxing year in which to write and illustrate a book, college professor Jan Ryerson and his artist wife Alix move to the isolated Cape Despair Lighthouse on a desolate stretch of Oregon coast. But their well-laid plans are twisted awry shortly after their arrival. Jan experiences several terrifying blackouts, but conceals them from his wife, fearing that she will leave him if she knows that he will soon be blind. The villagers, suspicious of the couple from the start, become increasingly hostile and resentful. And when the murdered body of a young woman is discovered, they are quick to blame the stranger in town.
My Thoughts:
I have a special fondness for lighthouses. I also really like the show more writting of the husband and wife team of Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller. Learning some of the technical points about the old Fresnel lighthouse lenses and mention of the diaphone fog horn, was an added attraction. Altogether they helped to make The Lighthouse an enjoyable read with a little added depth. The small village seemed to have it in for the Californian's from the start. Their attitude along with other added ingredients made the resulting story perhaps darker and more ominous than it needed to be..but then it was the kind of book that stays with you long after the last page is turned. Just word of warning to anyone that has problems reading very small print...the paperback addition is not only very small print but it is also some type of small very dark font. show less
Anticipating a peaceful and relaxing year in which to write and illustrate a book, college professor Jan Ryerson and his artist wife Alix move to the isolated Cape Despair Lighthouse on a desolate stretch of Oregon coast. But their well-laid plans are twisted awry shortly after their arrival. Jan experiences several terrifying blackouts, but conceals them from his wife, fearing that she will leave him if she knows that he will soon be blind. The villagers, suspicious of the couple from the start, become increasingly hostile and resentful. And when the murdered body of a young woman is discovered, they are quick to blame the stranger in town.
My Thoughts:
I have a special fondness for lighthouses. I also really like the show more writting of the husband and wife team of Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller. Learning some of the technical points about the old Fresnel lighthouse lenses and mention of the diaphone fog horn, was an added attraction. Altogether they helped to make The Lighthouse an enjoyable read with a little added depth. The small village seemed to have it in for the Californian's from the start. Their attitude along with other added ingredients made the resulting story perhaps darker and more ominous than it needed to be..but then it was the kind of book that stays with you long after the last page is turned. Just word of warning to anyone that has problems reading very small print...the paperback addition is not only very small print but it is also some type of small very dark font. show less
Too slow, too dark. Did not finish
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Author Information

Bill Pronzini was born in Petaluma, California on April 13, 1943. His first novel, The Stalker, was published in 1971. He is best known for his creation of the Nameless Detective Mystery series, as well as several westerns and novels of dark suspense. He has been a full time writer since 1969. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more show more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. He has won numerous awards including three Shamus Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Mystery Writers of America. His book Snowbound received the Grand Prix de la Litterature Policiere, as the best crime novel published in France in 1988. Pronzini has established himself as a master of the Western novel as well as earning a name for himself in the dark fiction genre. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Lighthouse
- Original publication date
- 1987
- Important places
- Oregon, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- co-author, Bill Pronzini
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 77
- Popularity
- 412,474
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.13)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 3























































