The version of this book has been updated from the 1970’s version. Duncan includes things such as laptops, cell phones, and she talks about texting. I honestly don’t recall reading this one as a kid and was pleasantly surprised to see a Lois Duncan I had not read. I really did enjoy Down a Dark Hall, and thought all of the characters were written well, but there were still some parts of the book that read as off to me and I realized that was probably some of the original text. For example, the main character Kit’s mother and stepfather take a cruise to England. I recall thinking why in the world didn’t they fly, but when this was written, of course this would make sense to do. There were also some parts about servants and whatnot that felt very old fashioned to me too. I also thought the ending was too abrupt. I wish that we had gotten to see what happened to all of the students at Blackwood Hall as well as the mistress Madame Duret, a professor, and piano teacher (the mistress of the place’s son Jules).
Down a Dark Hall follows teen Kit Gordy who is about to be dropped off by her mother and new stepfather at Blackwood Hall. Kit is upset and doesn’t want to go to the boarding school, but her mother and stepfather are insistent that she will stay there while they go off on their honeymoon touring Europe (another clue this was written in a different time and place, who has money these days to tour Europe for several months?). Kit feels apprehensive as soon as she sees Blackwood Hall and feels like there is something evil about the school. Meeting the head of the school does not make Kit feel much better and she feels worse when she realizes that only she and three other students (Sandy, Ruth, and Lynda) are going to be the only four students at the school. Kit starts to feel as if there is something wrong at Blackwood Hall and her new friends realize it too.
I really liked Kit, she didn’t give up through the whole book and I thought she was smart and brave. Duncan did a great job with developing Sandy and Ruth (man I didn’t like her) and Lynda too. There is a weird subplot with Kit having a crush on Jules which is weird since he’s very clearly just graduated from college and Kit is only 15 or so in this. Again, I chalk that up to when it was written.
The setting of Blackwood Hall felt ominous the whole time and I thought Duncan did a great job with the setting of this school hiding some dark secrets.
The reveal of what is going on in the school and what lies in the future for all of the girls does make you wonder at the fact that none of these girls parents seems to care that much they haven’t heard from them. Kit gets a phone call from her mother eventually, but again, I got to wonder how anyone was like oh well my kid must be having fun and didn’t reach out and demand to talk to them.
The ending felt a little rushed in my mind and as I said it also ended abruptly. I thought I missed a page or two, but nope it ended. The last part of this was a Q&A between Lois Duncan and Jenny Han (I have read her trilogy of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) which was interesting I thought. I felt for Duncan talking about the murder of her daughter which was still unsolved during this Q&A and is still now unsolved.
In the end I just gave this one 4 stars.
