THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

by Elisabeth Ogilvie ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 1983

Another one of Ogilvie's Maine gothics, a bit more fog-bound than usual. Juliet (""Jule"") and twin sister Roz have a terrible Mummie--a stolid giantess who keeps them on a tight choker even until they near 18. On the mainland they're home-bound except for school. But, when high school looms, off goes the cosy little family--big bad Mummie, timid father Jondy, and the twins--to a deserted island where Jondy's father was caretaker at the now-empty Benedict mansion. On the isle, Mummie Dearest alternates baking goodies with such pastimes as drowning kittens and nearly breaking Roz's nose for talking to boys in boats. Eventually Jondy tells the girls why Mummie's such a drag: one of the ""twins"" was kidnapped by Mummie from the wealthy family where she worked as a nurse! Jondy will die; Mummie will too--after Roz confronts her with the truth and skips off with all the cash in the house, leaving Jule with a mountain of dead Mummie. So now it's some years later, with Jule still bearing a grudge while Roz, now ""Jean Deverell"" (hospital baby footprints established that she was the lucky kidnapped one), lives in luxury. Jule, in need of cash, visits her former sister, becoming a houseguest with the nice Deverells; other visitors include cousins Francesca and Piers and darkly handsome lawyer Nick. Jule and Roz waver from guilt and anger to the closeness they knew in childhood. And, through new revelations and lots of reminiscences, sisterly love will triumph. . . even through murder and death. Something like a muted version of an old Bette Davis melodrama: unexciting, strange, and mighty sparse on believability.

Pub Date: May 23, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1983

Categories: FICTION