An immersive novel, Benighted easily captures the reader's attention with both psychological insight and dark humor. Forces of nature drive five travelers to a crumbling mansion to wait out a storm. The residents of the mansion are far from welcoming, and their manners are ominous. The stranded "guests" begin the long evening getting familiar with each other through conversational games, providing the reader with acute psychological perception. Discovering the thoughts running through each person's mind during the course of the evening adds empathy to a story that is leading into the shadows. This is a menacing dark house story rife with both fear and heart. ... (Janie C.)

About the author:

John Boynton Priestley OM (13 September 1894 - 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator.

His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in The Good Companions (1929), which first brought him to wide public notice. Many of his plays are structured around a time slip, and he went on to develop a new theory of time, with different dimensions that link past, present and future.

In 1940 he broadcast a series of short propaganda radio talks, which were credited with strengthening civilian morale during the Battle of Britain. In the following years his left-wing beliefs brought him into conflict with the government and influenced the development of the welfare state. (wikipedia.org)