Whispers of Goodbye
Grade : D

I have nothing against books written from the first person point of view. As a matter of fact, many of my all-time favorites are written in the first person. But in the case of Whispers of Goodbye, it did not help the story one bit.

The story opens with Catherine de Claire Reed living in a shed on her former plantation. She has lost everything. Her home was destroyed by Union soldiers, her son drowned, and her husband recently killed himself. A mysterious letter arrives from her sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth tells of living in a great deal of fear and begs Catherine to come to her at the plantation, Whispering Oaks. Worried about the only family she has left in the world, Catherine races to Whispering Oaks, only to find her sister has disappeared.

Catherine quickly learns Elizabeth was not the person she knew. For example Elizabeth never told Catherine about having a child, or her troubles with her husband, John McMahon. Catherine quickly finds herself sucked into a world of intrigue after her sister's body is found. Did Elizabeth commit suicide, as claimed, or did her husband murder her? Unsure whom she can trust, Catherine agrees to marry John and stay at Whispering Oaks to keep an eye on her niece. That decision may unfortunately cost Catherine her life.

The story is told from Catherine's point of view, but we get more insight into her sister Elizabeth's psyche then we ever do Catherine's. Catherine comes across as very cold, distanced and detached from what is happening around her. As a result it is very hard for the reader to care about her. Nor does it help that seems to make the silliest choices. She agrees to marry her brother-in-law mere days after her sister's death and sees nothing unusual about his declaration that he fell in love with her first, but married her sister because Catherine was too young at the time. Catherine marries him despite serious doubts about his innocence with regards to Elizabeth's death. Any woman who would marry a potential murderer doesn't come across as very bright, and the part about John being in love with a "too young" Catherine is downright icky.

Even though John is the hero of the story we never know him at all. We see him through Catherine's eyes, but it's a very murky picture of a northern gentleman in the south. We are never in doubt about his love for his daughter Rebecca, and know the reasons for his cold attitude towards Elizabeth, but his fierce temper and jealous behavior put a cloud over his love for Catherine. Since we don't hear his side of the story until practically the very last page he never seems heroic. Instead he takes on the aura of an emotionally abusive husband.

As for the rest of the cast of characters, they are straight out of Central Casting for any Gothic: the supposedly sympathetic friends of the deceased; the ex-slaves who spout tales of black magic; and the angelic-looking child who speaks of talking to ghosts. Instead of adding atmosphere they simply make the story all the more predictable.

Because I never cared for the heroine, I couldn't get into the story. As a Gothic, this tale relied heavily on atmosphere, but instead of being bone-chilling, it was detached. And when a reader can't connect with the characters, what's the point of reading the story? There may have been a good story here, but by the time I was done looking for it, I just didn't care.

Reviewed by Jennifer Schendel
Grade : D
Book Type: Gothic

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : October 26, 2001

Publication Date: 2001

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Jennifer Schendel

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