Tag: sara elizabeth mason

The Whip (1948) by Sara Elizabeth Mason

March 20, 2019

The Whip by Sara Elizabeth Mason 1948 book cover

5 Stars (5/10 stars)

“Afraid? I think I’ve been afraid all my life…”

 Carlotta Ives poisoned her aunt Sophie. No one disputes that, least of all Carlotta. The only question is whether she was sane, and that is what Dr. Mark Sargent has been asked to find out. While Carlotta refuses to speak in her own defense, she does agree to answer two questions for the doctor: why she is so afraid, and why she hates her aunt. Dr. Sargent discovers that, behind the doors of her Chicago mansion, Aunt Sophie presided over a cruel little kingdom.

As far as police are concerned, the more Carlotta reveals, the tighter she pulls the noose around her own neck. Dr. Sargent isn’t so sure. All the members of the Willingham family are bound together by hatreds so strong that only a skilled psychiatrist can untangle the whole truth behind Aunt Sophie’s death. Continue reading “The Whip (1948) by Sara Elizabeth Mason”

The Crimson Feather (1945) by Sara Elizabeth Mason

October 22, 2018

Book cover of The Crimson Feather by Sara Elizabeth Mason (1945)

5 Stars (5/10 stars)

You couldn’t go up to the door, ring the bell and ask, “Did you put poison in Mr. Tolliver’s coffee? And did you, by any chance, bash him over the head?”

When Ann Bartley left her hometown in Alabama five years ago, she swore she’d never return. How could she, after her fiance jilted her to elope with one of her in-laws? She’d see Hugh and his new wife at every family event. Even after the doctor orders her south to recover from pneumonia, she resists.

Then she receives a panicked letter from her sister Jean: “I need you, I need you desperately now. I’m so afraid…” Is Jean losing her mind, or is her husband’s family trying to drive her crazy? Ann would do anything to defend her sister—even after Jean’s enemies start turning up dead.

Continue reading “The Crimson Feather (1945) by Sara Elizabeth Mason”