NORA BARRY – Sherbourne’s Folly. Doubleday/Crime Club, hardcover, 1978. Hardcover reprint: Detective Book Club, 3-in-1 edition. No paperback edition. No UK edition.

   The illness of an older sister calls a woman and her adopted daughter back to England from the American suburb where they now live. Once returned, as outsiders to the very much ingrown group of relatives and friends they’d left behind, they’re gradually become more and more aware that something sinister and evil is eating away beneath the strained welcome that greets them.

   In spite of the obvious Gothic trimmings, the accent on time, memory and the nostalgia for a vanished childhood makes this a refreshing change of pace from the hard-boiled violence, for example, of a tale told by a tough private eye. It’s a must as well for lovers of treasure hunts, mazes, and yes, even mansions with secret passages.

[UPDATE] 10-18-09. I read this review just moments ago for the first time in over 30 years, and from what I can tell, I enjoyed the book. I have to confess, however, that the comments above are all I remember about it. This also was the only mystery novel that Nora Barry wrote, either under that name or her real name, Diane Cleaver.

   Using Google — and how did we ever live without it? — I’ve found an online obituary for her here. Turns out that she was a well-known literary agent for most of her life, and that she was born in Birmingham, England, becoming a United States citizen in 1976.

   Which perhaps makes the book semi-biographical in nature, but that’s not a limb that I should be crawling out on, I’m sure. It sounds like a delightful story, though. If I could easily find my copy, I’d love to read it again.