By Lee Jordan
1983 Signet
Paperback, 216 pages
Lee Jordan is mystery writer Alan
Scholefield and his wife, author Anthea Goddard. Together they wrote a handful
of books under the Jordan pseudonym and this one is a taut thriller that keeps
up a quick pace for the entire running time. Even necessary flashbacks to fill
in plot points do not slow down the narrative and I blew through this short
book in just a few sittings. Don’t forget, I’m an extremely slow reader. Not
really a horror book, more of a thriller/ mystery, but the authors manage to
convey the characters’ fear and discomfort in a way that should please horror
buffs.
American Rachel Chater returns
to her and her husband’s new home in Sussex Downs, England after a hospital
stay, recovering (mostly) from a car accident. She is plagued by dreams
featuring a large black cat peering through the window, the cat she swerved to
avoid, causing her accident. Her husband has to go to the US for work, leaving
Rachel alone with their infant and a part-time caregiver in the secluded house.
Strange things happen, like scary phone calls, broken ornaments and the
ever-present black cat that keep Rachel in constant anxiety. With a damaged,
painful leg and very few friends to help her, every acquaintance becomes a
possible threat and Rachel feels that her and her daughter’s lives are in
danger. Especially after a suspect near fatal accident with the baby.
Rachel is an extremely paranoid
person. She thinks the impossible of the cat and she suspects all of the humans
in her life, including her husband, of being out to get her. Of course, she has
every right to feel some of that. She harbors guilt for the death of the
town fix-it man who she was driving home the night of the accident. As well
written as Rachel is, I still got mad at her for being such a cat-hater. The
poor cat, also injured in the crash, is just trying to survive and I felt so
bad for it. Of course, I had a large black cat resting on either side of me as
I read this one. But the authors really did crank up the suspense and Rachels
terror felt very real in certain spots.
Despite a slight lapse in
credibility at the ending (do villains really ever reveal the entire
scheme with convenient exposition as they go in for the kill?), I have no
problem recommending this book. It’s a page turner with plenty of suspenseful
passages and an easy to absorb writing style. A nice cover (by Shaw? Looks like
it) completes the package and this book can still be found fairly cheap. It’s a
good way to spend a few hours.