A young woman whose life is in chaos since the death of her beloved grandfather thinks she has found the perfect job when she’s hired as a secretary to an elderly author, only to become convinced the author is in danger from her antagonistic family.
It’s been five months since Louisa’s cherished grandfather died, and although she’s determined to live a life that honors his memory, she’s dropped out of college twice, and her refusal to play the corporate game has cost her three jobs. She thinks her new position—a live-in secretary to an elderly author, Marguerite Roberts—is perfect.
But the moment she arrives at the Roberts’s house, Louisa senses an undercurrent of menace. The wheelchair-bound Marguerite is confined to her room, and the family members can barely disguise their hostility toward one another. A series of threatening events soon makes Louisa question whether her growing affection for Marguerite is enough to keep her in a house in which she can trust no one—not even Marguerite’s grandson, with whom she is falling in love. As the danger escalates, Louisa is trapped. She can’t leave Marguerite alone and unprotected. But she may be risking her own life if she stays.
Professional Reviews
Bestthrillers.com
The Bottom Line: A wonderfully claustrophobic murder mystery with a razor-sharp amateur sleuth.
As long as there have been artists, there have been long-suffering personal assistants. But author Laura Stewart Schmidt, author of the deftly-written Until Proven Innocent, manages to deliver plenty of surprises in Don't Fear, My Darling. In 1987, twenty-two-year-old Louisa Berry is desperate for a job, leading her to apply for a position as a live-in secretary to elderly novelist Marguerite Roberts. As she begins her first day, she convinces herself that it can't be worse than the three jobs she has been fired from.
As she settles into the creepy home in a community outside Seattle, it doesn't take long for Louisa to discover that the needs of her employer will be the least of her worries. Marguerite's family is downright hostile, and one of them is a potential murderer. In Schmidt's capable hands, relatively minor but telling events - like when Marguerite's wheelchair goes missing - seem genuinely threatening. Once Louisa realizes that mortal danger lurks within those walls, the novel becomes impossible to put down.
Meanwhile, the novel's underlying storyline is Louisa's personal struggle to find her way in in the world. Born of Yakima heritage, and heavily influenced by her late grandfather, Louisa is a college dropout, and may or may not have attention deficit disorder. Nevertheless, her instincts are razor sharp. Set in a time before the Internet or affordable mobile phones delivered an easy pipeline for information or help, her plight in the Roberts home feels especially claustrophobic. This rich characterization sets Schmidt's novel apart from the pack.
Taylor Reigler moves to Indiana in order to reopen a campground she inherited. She finds decades of grime, waist high grass, and a few resident ghosts.
