many twists dragging the reader along from page to page. With a diverse cast of sharply etched characters, the tale is engrossing. Intertwined with the paranormal elements, she has also incorporated a murder mystery.

It doesn't take long, however, before she realizes there is a darker side to Cliffside Manor than its history as a 'waiting room for death.' Wendy Webb is truly a master at creating a creepy, haunting Gothic atmosphere. Although Eleanor has no experience in that area, she is pleased when she gets the job.

Once a cure for the disease was discovered, the Manor's founder turned the rambling mansion into a retreat for writers and artists. Cliffside Manor, Eleanor discovers, had been built in the height of the tuberculosis epidemic in the early 1900s, and served as a sanatorium.

She knew Penelope Dare from years earlier when Eleanor had been assigned to investigate the mysterious car crash that killed Penelope's father and sister. That's when she sees that the director of Cliffside Manor is retiring, and she decides to apply for the job. She's not exactly heartbroken when she loses her job, feeling ready for her life to take a different turn. As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows - and herself - from sinister forces.Įleanor Harper has been a crime reporter all of her life, and the constant exposure to violence and death has taken its toll. After the arrival of the new fellows - including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks - she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose the group with a dangerous purpose in mind. After years of covering murder and violence as a crime reporter, Eleanor hopes that being around artists and writers in this new job will be a peaceful retreat for her as much as for them.īut from her first fog-filled moments on the manor's grounds, Eleanor is seized by a sense of impending doom and realizes there's more to the institution than its reputation of being a haven for creativity. When Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a renowned artists' retreat, she knows nothing of Cliffside Manor's dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a 'waiting room for death'. Haunting and atmospheric, The End of Temperance Dare is another thrilling audiobook from the author reviewers are calling the Queen of the Northern Gothic.

The end of temperance dare a novel