Helen Maslin cleverly weaves together two gripping stories in this gothic ghost story. Modern day Kate is delighted when Leo, the boy she is sort of in a relationship with, asks her to spend the summer with him and a group of his friends at Darkmere, the castle he’s inherited. Leo is rich, charismatic, but also selfish and often cruel. Of course she goes. Darkmere Castle is beautiful, perched on top of cliffs overlooking the sea. But is it also cursed? Certainly the family’s eldest sons seem to come to nasty sudden ends. The reason is explained in the parallel story of Elinor, the young woman two centuries earlier who was married to Darkmere’s owner, another cruel, violent man. The tension mounts oppressively chapter by chapter until even Darkmere’s sunny beaches become places of danger. ~ Andrea Reece
A Piece of Passion from Barry Cunningham, Publisher I’m mesmerized by Helen Maslin’s frighteningly real blend of modern romance, Gothic ghost story and a beautiful charmed and doomed tale of lost love from long ago. You know the feeling, when you can’t wait for daylight to dawn and it’s going to be all right again, then suddenly it’s so, so NOT ! I loved it. No thanks, I don’t feel like going to the beach today. Or ever again!
A castle. A curse. One dangerous holiday. Leo has invited Kate and a few friends to spend the summer at his inheritance, Darkmere Castle: as wild and remote as it is beautiful. Kate thinks it will be the perfect place for her and Leo to get together - but instead, she's drawn into the dark story of a young nineteenth-century bride who haunts the tunnels and towers of the house ...and whose curse now hangs over them all.
Helen Maslin lives in Cheltenham with her husband and two young sons. She has studied English, History and Art History – which remain her chief interests. She also runs a fun but very messy art club at her children’s primary school. Her favourite things are brightly-coloured hair, the smell of new books, Lichtenstein’s art and cake.
