No spoilers of course.

Finished it this afternoon. Excellent! On a scale of 1 to 5, it's definitely a 5.

The setting is very unique, imo; I mentioned it in a different thread [while halfway through it].

That decided me to read this novel ahead of a stack of others.

Ann Clark, RN, is the young heroine of the story. She's smart, competent, professional, compassionate. She's hired to care for an elderly man, Nicodemus Laniard, who is master of the estate. Is the old man really senile and falsely accusing family members [themselves generally selfish and cold] of wanting to do him in for their share of the inheritance, or is he telling the truth despite half-coherent rants and tantrums? The family is unwelcoming and self-absorbed; no nurse has remained past 48 hours at Crow's Nest Island. But Ann, suspecting the family whom she does not like, is determined to stay, care for and protect her helpless elderly charge.

Romance brews up between herself and Max Able, and also with Dr. Steven Webb. She's essentially torn between the winsome doctor with his warmth and charming smile, and dependable loyal Max -- the "strength of a sturdy tree which could weather any storm."

I'm glad Ann had to choose between them and not me!

The author tries to remain as "medically correct" as possible. One line did give me a laugh, though: That Nicodemus' "wild behavior" [sometimes] might be due to hardening of the arteries.

However, I am impressed with the author's overall treatment of its nurse and doctor characters: Their devotion to patients, compassion and professionality.

The story stays on track, characters and surroundings are simply yet adequately described and easy to visualize; as though it's a movie unfolding to one's inner eye. Good twists and turns, most of which I did not foresee. Action, suspense, drama.

A slight criticism [which I'm reluctant to make, as the story is so good] is a bit more Gothic atmosphere could have been injected into the story. Another thunderstorm, fog, "things that go bump in the night," perhaps the rumor of a haunting.

Ann is definitely the kind of person I'd like to have as a friend. She's an ace, a real trooper. I was sorry when the story ended.

I "used" these actors to portray the characters [different eras]:

Ann Clark: Julie Adams [age 24]
Dr. Steven Webb: William Katt [age 28]
Max: Kevin Spacey [age 30]
Nicodemus L: Kirk Douglas [age 82]
Tenspot: Himself [a dog, lol]
Clayton L: Harrison Ford [age 30]
Mara L: Nancy Barrett [age 22]
Valerie L: Meryl Streep [age 52]
Harrison: Roddy McDowell (w/US accent) [age 35]
Kate: Kathy Bates [age 40]

Definitely, definitely give this book a read!

Arlene Hale wrote many nurse novels, which makes me suspect she was probably a nurse, hence her desire to remain medically accurate. You may laugh at how people viewed illness, even in the 60s, but they really did believe that hardening of the arteries can cause many different problems. It may sound funny to us today, but who knows, maybe they're right. We're just waiting to find out more answers on that front.

Hi. I went to the local used bookstore to see if I could find other Gothic Romance novels written by her. No luck. I'll search Bookfinder.com. I'm not a huge fan of fiction; Gothic Romance is an exception, and I hope she wrote more GR novels.

I'm a medical transcriptionist, so the medical aspect of the story was of course appealing...and why I got a giggle out of "wild behavior" possibly attributable to hardening of the arteries. And no doubt in 2028 someone will giggle over an attribution made in the 1980s [when I was very young and just embarking on my career].