Dark at Noon

This is an 70s gothic, so the romance is typically more implied rather than overt and is suspenseful just like the mystery part of the book. This book does convey the feeling better than most 60's and 70's gothics that the hero is enamored of the heroine. In most gothics of that time you would be pretty surprised at the end that the hero had fallen in love with the heroine if you didn't know the formula. I thought the mystery was well done; it definitely kept my interest. The solution was logical and believable. There were many clues along the way. Of course, the identity of the culprit is no real surprise, because the person seems a likely suspect. Still, you can't be sure, because there are other possibilities. The author did a good job delineating the characters, even the secondary ones. There are some you are not sure will be likeable, but, as the heroine gets to know them and like them so do you. The castle where much of the action takes place has a lot of gothic amenities, such as a keep only reached by a drawbridge by way of the main castle. There are several sets of spiral stairs behind hidden doors.