A mysterious fire at a beach house two young women are staying at. One survives, horribly burned with amnesia to boot, the other is incinerated. Who is the survivor? Accident or murder? And if murder who dunnit and why: money, sapphic desires, both or neither? This 1962 French thriller published 2 years later in USA is a very good variant of the amnesia and/or impersonation variety with effective use of the unreliable narrator technique. SJ was one of those rare writers (JM Cain comes to mind) who can create extreme erotic tension and a steamy atmosphere with no explicit scenes, or any"scenes" at all. TPB

Share/Like this Review?