The Old Battle-Ax / Dark Power

  THE OLD BATTLE-AX   It all starts with a lie.  Mrs. Herriott’s sister Madge has come back from Europe for a visit, but is found dead on the sidewalk outside the gate the next morning.  Mrs. Herriott is only trying to protect her sister’s reputation when she tells the police that she has no idea who the dead woman is.  But one lie leads to another.  Silas, her chauffeur, aids her in the lie.  Her niece Carla even dresses up like her sister to continue the deception.  But why is everyone trying to keep Madge’s death such a secret? Before long Mrs. Herriott is caught up in a web of deception that seems to have no end. In this world of lies, is there anyone who can be trusted?  And more importantly, is there anyone who should be trusted?        DARK POWER    'The Châlet was a house easy to get into, but not so easy to leave. . .' Diana Leonard comes to the Châlet at the invitation of her long-lost uncle, but soon finds that her visions of a family reunion are shattered by feelings of dread and suspicion. Her Aunt Emma is a stern, domineering woman, a professor of psychology who conducts experiments on two cretin children who live with her.  Uncle Peter himself is either a fool or a sadist, and Di can’t figure out which.  Their son, her cousin Miles, is a guilt-ridden alcoholic, his confidence long ago destroyed by his manipulating mother.  And then there’s her grandfather Rufus, a rich eccentric who comes to stay but who spends every moment in fear for his life from the rest of the family.  It will take every ounce of Diana’s courage to survive her stay in the Châlet—and an even greater act of will to survive her family. 3