Wait For What Will Come (1978)

                            Devon and Cornwall on More4 to return for a second series ...

                                                Listening: Come Sail Away

When American Carla Tregallas unexpectedly inherits a manor house in Cornwall, her first intention is just to sell it and move on with her well-planned life. But one glance at a photograph pulls her across the sea to spend the summer exploring her ancestral home and the stories it holds. Not least is the legend of the aquatic demon, who returns every two hundred years to claim a bride from the Tregellas family. And with the two hundred year mark approaching, and seaweed mysteriously appearing in her room, it looks like Carla might be the next intended victim. Unless, of course, there's something a little more earthly going on...

Despite having a clever variation on the typical theme of a Michaels thriller (young woman, large mansion, ominous family story, but an aquatic demon instead of a ghost), Wait always feels a little abrupt to me. Development feels pretty stalled until the last chapter, when it all happens at once, and the villains of the piece feel rather cookie-cutter, underdeveloped.

Perhaps I just wanted more about the mysterious and seductive merman, or more delving into the story of the poor previous Tregallas maiden's fate, which is left rather unclear. Because I do very much like the broad strokes of resolution MPM painted in--they had potential! More historical mystery, less annoying drug runners wandering around. It's one of the very few times she does that--all that exciting possibility ignored. And it's frustrating.

Maybe also I dislike Carla a little--she's brash and rude (in true American stereotype), and her love interest is no better. I really couldn't say there's a moment in the book where I felt Carla and Michael to be a good match, until the very end, when it felt rather forced. Maybe MPM was having a bad moment about love again? Or maybe she just wasted all that charm and sexual tension on Vicky and John in Five Moons. Look, what works for a snaky conman and a defensive investigator who are naturally on opposite sides (until they aren't), just isn't going to work for a young couple who have no reason to dislike each other that intensely. 

Anyway. It's a fun book, a good beach read, but I think it lacks the sparkle, the joy, the wit of her others. (But I will always love the merman).

Raiting: ***

Notes: 

    *Look for MPM's signature interest in antiques and old clothing!

    *If you're wondering what poem they're referencing at the end of the book, it's this one, which         is even eerier than this book.  

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