This is the third book I’ve read in the series of novels by Marilyn Ross that are based on the Dark Shadows TV show. However, there are a few books between this one and the others I’ve read, and the gap might explain some of the changes that I encountered.
The setting of the book is 1968. (It was published in 1969.) The other books aren’t specific about their time.
In this book, the house is now known as “Collinwood,” which is almost certainly an attempt to match the television show, even though tho these books are not part of that universe.
No spoilers, but in this book Barnabas is living in a pub room (not in the Old House), and the story features a Spiritualist Medium which really adds a nice occult element. We also learn that Barnabas can only feed on females, which justifies the many romances interweaving through the series.
This time, I didn’t notice any Hitchockian references to “dark shadows” in the story, but I am beginning to think that a drinking game based on the author using “wan” would be killer.
You can find a copy of this book at Amazon, of course, but wouldn’t it be more fun to let fate decide if you’re fortunate enough to encounter it in a used bookstore?