I just finished reading The Master of Seacliff by Max Pierce – an enjoyable gay gothic mystery.

Many time-honored expected gothic cliches are included in this tale. The year is 1899 and Andrew Wyndham is twenty years old. When a friend arranges for him to work as tutor to the son of a wealthy patron of the arts, Andrew sees a chance to make his dream come true – earning enough money to study art in Paris.

While traveling in a coach pulled by two black stallions, Andrew “watched as the dense fog enveloped the carriage and the sunlight faded with rapidity. A chill skipped down Andrew’s spine, one not caused by the obvious drop in temperature”.

Seacliff is a large, dark and foreboding cliff-top mansion enshrouded in near-eternal fog, dark mystery, and suspicion – perhaps a reflection of the mansion’s handsome, hirsute master.

The Master of Seacliff is Duncan Stewart – a wealthy and powerful businessman. Duncan’s father, Gordon, and his father’s friend, Albert, were found shot to death at Seacliff eight years prior. Officially the deaths are considered a murder-suicide but the prevailing gossip holds Duncan responsible, wanting control of the family business.

This, however, is not the only mystery clouding the situation. Duncan’s protégé and secret lover, pianist Steven Charles, disappeared a year before Andrew’s arrival. The housekeeper’s daughter apparently committed suicide in a leap off the cliffs when she learned of her beloved’s suspicious death. Of course, we have the gothic butler, who is inordinately dour and suspicious, determined to drive Andrew from the mansion.

Previously resigned to a lonely life as a tutor and artist, Andrew soon attracts the attention of Duncan and another powerful man from the neighboring estate. One is a possible murderer and the other determined to prove it. Will the obvious attraction between Andrew and Duncan blossom into love – or as Andrew determinedly solves the mysteries surrounding Duncan, doom their relationship to failure?

The Master of Seacliff is an enjoyable thriller, telling a tale of forbidden love at the turn of the last century – and the conclusion was an unexpected surprise.