The Evil in Pemberley House

Publishers Weekly

Set in Farmer's imaginative Wold Newton universe (the setting for Tarzan Alive; Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life; and other novels), in which an 18th-century meteor impact led to a genetic mutation that produced numerous superheroic characters of mystery and science fiction, Farmer and Eckert's struggling collaboration neglects the fantastic in favor of the violently erotic. American Patricia Wildman, obsessed with her father's body and incest fantasies, is abducted and sexually abused by another woman while traveling. Wildman manages to turn the tables on her kidnappers and escape, only to end up in a nest of intrigue at Pride and Prejudice's Pemberley House. Numerous familiar fictional characters, from Elizabeth Bennet to a descendant of Professor Moriarty's chief of staff, only add to the clutter and sense of overkill. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Patricia Wildman, the daughter of a famous adventurer, inherits the family estate in England, along with the family curse. As she tries to sort out the supernatural from the real and explain the irrational events around her by scientific means, Wildman also struggles with feelings about her recently deceased parents that border on unthinkable desires. Begun before Farmer's death in February 2009 and finished by Eckert (Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe), this dark, erotic novel mixes the gothic-horror format with pieces of Sherlockian mysteries as well as homages to Tarzan of Greystoke and the Doc Savage series. VERDICT This steeply priced ghost story/pulp thriller is strictly for mature readers and fans of Farmer's Wold Newton stories.