Rating: 
Summary: Take me back to Manderly.....
Review: A few years ago someone suggested to me that I would enjoy the gothic writing style of Daphne DuMaurier. That, in itself, was a true statement, and Rebecca remains one of my favorite novels.Recently I chose Jamaica Inn, after carrying around the weighty Atlas Shrugged for two months. At a scant 240 pages, this novel has a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time. The death of Mary Yellan's mother, and a deathbed wish that she go to live with her Aunt Patience brings Mary to the much feared and maligned Jamaica Inn. Upon arrival Mary meets her Uncle Joss Merlyn, the landlord of Jamaica Inn, who lives up to every ugly scrap of reputation he has earned. A drunk; a bully; a spouse-abuser....Joss Merlyn is instantly disagreeable and unlikeable. But Mary finds that Joss is much more than just ugly words. Meryln heads up a band of 'Wreckers' who lure ships to their doom with a false beacon, then murders the passengers and crew, and plunders the ship and sells off the goods. Horrified by this discovery, Mary struggles with her urge to flee Jamaica Inn, and her duty to protect her Aunt. Mary also encounters Jem Merlyn, the n'er do well younger brother of Joss, and Francis Davey, the Vicar of Altarnun, in the near vicinity. Unsure of whether Jem is friend or foe, Mary finds herself drawn to him, and continually seeking out the aide of Vicar Davey. But in the end, Mary's trust seems ill-placed, as the real head of the band of smugglers is revealed, murders and imprisonments occur, and the truth comes to light about the goings-on at Jamaica Inn. Where this novel falls short, even without comparison to Rebecca; is in the brevity of the tale. With a sparse cast of characters; the end is in sight long before you turn the final page. The gloom of the moors is touched upon, with afternoon walks surrounded by mist and foreign noises...late night escapes from impending danger, and the threat of cut-throat smugglers ever present...but the suspense of all these situations is short lived, as the story moves on.... Perhaps a little further fleshing-out of the gloom and doom would have added more enjoyment to the story; at least for me, as I have a great deal of affection for DuMaurier's ability to delivery dark, gothic foreboding and trepidation. Nevertheless, the story moves along at an easy to follow rate, and is enjoyable. Though I cannot give it a five star rating, I do recommend it to fans of DuMaurier.
Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: A mysterious, thrilling , romantic novel. You can see one character's fear in his jumpy movement, hear another's anger in his dirty talk. You can also smell the moral decay of the Jamaica Inn.At first, the story is really scray.Although the story won't happen in our daily lives, it is so attractive that you can't put the book down at all.
Rating:
Summary: captivating!
Review: although lacking more character development, a wonderful example of du maurier's story-telling ability. a delightful read. mary's strength is admirable, and the romance is mostly left to the imagination. i think most would enjoy that
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Although not as deep emotionally as Rebecca, DuMurier did a nice job in changing the setting and time period to one that is totally different. I enjoyed the book because of the strength of the character and the dramatic scenes which carry along the reader into the world of the English moors. It is almost as though you are in the raininess of an English winter and can smell the Christmas Eve fair. Her character analysis of many of the different players in this novel are masterfully done.
Rating:
Summary: Although not her best, still enchanting
Review: Although the plot is not always intriging, the plots twists the DuMarier throws in every so often kept me reading. A distorted mirrior image of Rebecca, but still shows that the author is the misteress of mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Jamaica Inn
Review: An account of the dark reality of life and human nature. A grim way of life in crime, murder, and abuses. The characters are caught in the horrid crimes of the times. Of smuggling, luring and purposely wrecking ships, murdering passengers and crew, and retrieving the contraband for a wide spread and voracious black market. The story takes place on the English Coast, in the 18th century, when this was a regular and almost accepted practice back then. Those who profitted from the greed and the darkness' of the crimes, were people from high standing in thier communities, to the lowest riff raff of society. While I value the book as a source of awareness, and for a good history lesson, of this time in history, I found it dark, sinister and depressing. Maybe that was the whole point to the book. The heroine Mary, was even hard for me to like very much. She did show some strength of character and high morals, surrounded by wholly immoral sinister and weak people. But she just seemed too naive, too simple, and too much the victim. I thought the book was predictable in the outcome and rather slow going, almost boring. I didn't like the message of this book for women. Maybe I am getting too critical or am just bored of reading night after night after night, I don't know. That is why I chose a Classic this time. There is just so much trash out there, I thought a good classic would be a safe bet. I should love this book for being a classic, shouldn't I? Maybe I was expecting too much. Sometimes when I finish a book, as I am putting it down, I think to myself, "dumb" or "stupid" or "stupid ending" or "waste of time". I want to read books, that I don't want to end, that I can learn a little bit from, that are thought provoking and inspirational, and that I can't wait to turn the page because I want to find out what happens next, not because I can't wait to finish it. This book was almost in the latter category, for me. I am glad it was not long. I give it a guilty 2.5 stars. I suppose expecting every book I read to be riveting is just too much to expect, I suppose good books are like good movies, far and few between. Kathy Struewing
Rating: 
Summary: WOW -- fabulous story, great suspense!
Review: As this story opens, Mary Yellan's mother dies leaving this young adult on her own in a dangerous time. On her deathbed her mother tells her to go live with her Aunt Patience at an inn called Jamaica Inn near the Cornish coast (Corwall, England). Immediately upon arrival at Jamaica Inn she knows something is wrong since her once colorful Aunt Patience has turned into a simpering wimp and her Uncle Joss Merlyn is a towering cruel character with dubious past and present. Soon Mary learns about criminal activities surrounding Jamaica Inn and it's inhabitants. She is drawn into a mystery so intense and frightening that she'll brave the trecherous moors to escape.
This is one Daphne Du Maurier's best books. Don't miss this tale of twisted greed and terrible peril -- this is an EXCELLENT book that'll keep you up past your bedtime as you won't be able to put this book down! Buy it! This book earned itself a permanent place on my shelf!
Rating:
Summary: Not the best DuMaurier but enjoyable nonetheless
Review: Even if it is not as good as Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, or The Scapegoat (but better than the House on the Strand), it is still a page turner, vivid and descriptive and, in the best DuMaurier tradition, very very dark. That said, my rating would actually be closer to 3 1/2 stars. Mary Yellan is an appealingly scrappy heroine, if somewhat prone to foolhardy actions. I liked that she had guts and that she could be honest about her feelings about a man she had no business loving. Another plus for this book: I bought her falling in love with the roguish horse thief Jem Merlyn. I myself found him sexy (wish there had been more of him in the book). Their chemistry was a nice reflection of the less benign pairing of Mary's poor Aunt Patience and the brutish Joss Merlyn. Perhaps my favorite line because it spoke volumes in few words is "Now Mary understood why she hated her uncle." Or something to that effect. DuMaurier goes a little overboard in the description of the moor and the tors, although I admit it is necessary to establish the setting. A big reason I do love DuMaurier books is the strong sense of place and time. I suppose that this particular setting was not as interesting as - say - the estate in Rebecca. I knew so because my eye would dart down the page and the next for quotation marks in the hopes that a conversation would break up the lengthy descriptions. In short one could do a lot worse than this book in the general realm of fiction but as far as DuMaurier fiction is concerned, one could do somewhat better.
Rating: 
Summary: HELLO?
Review: Excuse me miss 17-year-old from the Netherlands but you just gave away the entire plot of the book. Nice going. Thanks. To anyone who wants to read it (luckily I already have) do NOT read the review from the girl from the Netherlands. It will ruin it for you.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Rebecca
Review: Expecting a story similiar in style to Rebecca, I was disappointed. Although it was not what I expected, I was surprised I enjoyed it, even though the romance element was definitely hard to find. In various books the history of smuggling on the English coast has been mentioned and this story centers around these crimes explaining in much more detail. Therefore, it is an interesting history lesson.
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