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New Old Books
Dec. 4th, 2023 07:37 amLast night I realized that there were three Jayne Castle kindle books available and I don’t think I’ve ever read them before. They are new (as of last month) to kindle, but from the early to mid-80s. I’m reading 1984’s _Double Dealing_ right now and enjoying the hell out of it because I _think_ these are the earliest instances of some things that show up over and over again in her later work in combination with things I am not sure I’ve ever seen her repeat.
For example, there is a single phrase referring to Samantha (protagonist) being taken along with her mother (Vera) as a child to Alabama to participate along with her mother in social activism. This is the beginning of Samantha’s fear of dogs (which gets a lot more than a single phrase). It’s part of a compact but intense description of Vera and how Vera raised Samantha which is, to say the least, atypical. There are tons of JAK novels in which the protagonist was raised by just one parent, a single woman, but it isn’t usually the biological mother — it’s usually a dead parents, raised by an eccentric aunt situation.
The Deal is present (I don’t have any reason to believe this is the first appearance of The Deal), and there is a strong theme of who-has-the-upper-hand (again, probably not the first) as well as Am I Being Manipulated by This Strong Sexual Attraction? The characters protect themselves in various ways from various other characters, including not being entirely forthright about very important information (Failure to Disclose, altho not in this instance virginity, because that’s not an issue here). But wow, the book is titled _Double Dealing_ for a _reason_. Everyone in this book has got at least a couple things going on at the same time, sometimes more. It’s _fun_!
There’s a revenge-in-business plot, altho oddly, this time it’s the woman driving that bus (altho I’m betting that he’s in it for the same reason as well). Often, the woman talks the man _out_ of the revenge in business plot. The Someone Is Plotting a Takeover But is Spotted in Time plot is here in a few sentences as background for Samantha’s business intel competency WRT the Thorndyke’s. The book starts in California, heads up to an island in the Puget Sound, but revolves around property in Phoenix (and there’s some backstory in Florida), so really all the standard locales are in play. Maybe they’ll go to Hawaii in the second half of the book. LOL.
I meant to read a chapter or two and stop, but I blew through the first half last night before going to sleep. I’m a little frustrated because my kindle keeps rebooting and I’m not sure why.
For example, there is a single phrase referring to Samantha (protagonist) being taken along with her mother (Vera) as a child to Alabama to participate along with her mother in social activism. This is the beginning of Samantha’s fear of dogs (which gets a lot more than a single phrase). It’s part of a compact but intense description of Vera and how Vera raised Samantha which is, to say the least, atypical. There are tons of JAK novels in which the protagonist was raised by just one parent, a single woman, but it isn’t usually the biological mother — it’s usually a dead parents, raised by an eccentric aunt situation.
The Deal is present (I don’t have any reason to believe this is the first appearance of The Deal), and there is a strong theme of who-has-the-upper-hand (again, probably not the first) as well as Am I Being Manipulated by This Strong Sexual Attraction? The characters protect themselves in various ways from various other characters, including not being entirely forthright about very important information (Failure to Disclose, altho not in this instance virginity, because that’s not an issue here). But wow, the book is titled _Double Dealing_ for a _reason_. Everyone in this book has got at least a couple things going on at the same time, sometimes more. It’s _fun_!
There’s a revenge-in-business plot, altho oddly, this time it’s the woman driving that bus (altho I’m betting that he’s in it for the same reason as well). Often, the woman talks the man _out_ of the revenge in business plot. The Someone Is Plotting a Takeover But is Spotted in Time plot is here in a few sentences as background for Samantha’s business intel competency WRT the Thorndyke’s. The book starts in California, heads up to an island in the Puget Sound, but revolves around property in Phoenix (and there’s some backstory in Florida), so really all the standard locales are in play. Maybe they’ll go to Hawaii in the second half of the book. LOL.
I meant to read a chapter or two and stop, but I blew through the first half last night before going to sleep. I’m a little frustrated because my kindle keeps rebooting and I’m not sure why.