juushika 's review for:

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
4.0

Her mother's dying request takes Mary Yellan to Jamaica Inn, located in bleak moorland and run by Mary's terrifying uncle. Jamaica Inn has a phenomenal sense of place--it's a gothic nightmare, desolate and cruel; the winter moorlands are given particular loving attention. The characters and plot are less successful, succumbing too easily to type or to predictability, which, especially in the case of the Vicar, can stifle suspense. I love Rebecca, and this is no Rebecca--there's a comparable lack of both subtlety and beauty. But the voice and atmosphere are as strong, and make this a solid gothic indulgence.