Customer Reviews

The Gripping Beast

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What a fun read! Wadley takes us on a trip to faraway Orkney for a tradtional mystery. I really enjoy a cozy little mystery with a British flavor and this is one. She describes a place completely foreign to me without beating me over the head with flowery prose - yet well enough that I can see it and feel it in my mind's eye. Wadley also sprinkles the dialogue with localisms to keep us in the mood but not to the point it is tough to read. There's a bit of old fashioned gothic romance and a real Golden Age of mystery feeling. I liked the heroine and hope that the author writes about her again.

Isabel Garth grew up hearing her father's tales about his home on the Scottish Orkney Isles. When he died, Isabel decided to honor her beloved sire by traveling to his home to sketch drawings of the sites he described in his notebooks.

Isabel takes the ferry to reach her father's birthplace. Her first debarking step onto the land leads her to the witch Thora, who tells her to turn around because the isle is dangerous for her. Refusing to believe in witchcraft, Isabel insists on completing her odyssey, an homage to her father. Isabel merrily traces and sketches her father's home and listens to stories about legendary treasures. However, accidents begin to happen too frequently to Isabel and worse yet she finds Thora dead, an apparent homicide victim, leaving Isabel wondering if she is the next target.

Readers will quickly understand why THE GRIPPING BEAST is an award-winning novel. The story line is exciting, as Isabel inadvertently becomes an amateur sleuth. Still, what makes the plot so good is the secondary cast including the Orkney Isles that bring to life a place where the modern world and the Ancient legends comfortably exist together. Fans will want to accompany Isabel on this tour and any future excursion written by Margot Wadley.

Harriet Klausner

I wanted to enjoy this book, I really did. Unfortunately, I have been a fan and collector of the late novelist Elisabeth Ogilvie for many decades. This book bears a very strong resemblance Ogilvie's "The Silent Ones" which took place on the Isle of Skye. It was published in 1980, 21 years before The Gripping Beast. The main premise, many of the events, and even some of the character names are identical or very similar to The Silent Ones. In Ogilvie's book, heroine Alison Barbour hopes to trace her red-haired great-grandmother on this remote Scottish island, but she is drawn into an even greater mystery, a murder. In The Gripping Beast, heroine Isabel Garth hopes to discover more about her late father's heritage on this remote Scottish island but is drawn into solving a murder.

The dead person in Ogilvie's novel was found among standing stones, and had unseeing, open eyes that reflected the sky. In The Gripping Beast, we're told that the dead woman was found in a ruin near standing stones, and, "Her open eyes stared at nothing [...] their faded color seeming no more than a clouded reflection of the blue of the sky."

Many other scenes, from the heroine's arrival on the island, to social events there, are pretty faithful reproductions. This angers me. Just because The Silent Ones is out of print and over 20 years old, doesn't mean a new writer can plunder it for plot and details. It appears that Wadley has not written any more mysteries, even though the cover on my copy says, "Introducing Isabel Garth". Maybe this is why.

I feel like getting an airline ticket and travel to the enchanting Scottish Islands - The Orkney's. The author, Margot Wadley, demonstrated a unique feel for the characters and the location. The time frame is tremendous. There is the feel of a very ancient time intertwined with current quandries in the world today. The ancient vikings fit in very well and give us a feel of the ancient people of the Orkney's. As two examples of the modern problems - the lead character, named Isabel, is an unmarried expectant mother who wonders what the best path would be for her life. Secondly, a nuclear waste site is being proposed in this beautiful pristine area. The writer gives us many things to think about as well as a "darn good read." I'm looking forward to many more books by this author. It was interesting to note that the author also illustrated the book jacket.

This novel had the potential to have been an interesting mystery. The author has obviously spent time in the Orkney Islands and knows and appreciates their fascinating history. However, there are huge defects in the novel. One is the sloppy editing: there are so many typos and spelling errors that it is an annoying distraction for the reader. And, as someone who knows Orkney very well, the premise that Orcadians would kill each other over a secret hoard of Viking treasure is just too ludicrous. Natives of the islands have such a huge respect for their fascinating history and for each other that this is simply not believable. Why choose a venue for your novel that is so peaceful and unique and turn it into something so predictable and violent?

Although not a serious mystery reader I found this story to be very compelling from the first page and I eagerly look forward to a trip to the Orkneys next year. From the moment Isabel reaches Orkney she is set for a roller coaster ride of emotions and events not of her own choosing but ones she will endure to get to the bottom of the troubles. Not being able to trust anyone,like Isabel, the reader will be on the edge of their seats as she has one frightening encounter after another. The mythological elements are especially well done adding much to the story. Unlike other mysteries the tale is told with depth but there are no red herrings here to fool the reader, especially us inexperienced ones. The story moves along with well paced events, the writing is crisp with no filler to spoil the elements of surprise and the reader will care about what happens to Isabel. The characters especially Isabel and Ross are going to capture the readers attention but there are a few more such as Graham and Andrew who could have been developed more. Here is hoping that the author will return the reader to the Orkneys with more chilling tales involving this wonderful cast of characters in the very near future. A remarkable first book not to be missed by readers who love tales set in Scotland rich with mythical details.

How this book won any awards is a mystery to me... No attempt has been made to use the Islanders' distinctive accents and surnames. The descriptions within the book do not reflect Orkney's unique landscape and leave the reader with a view of the island as filled with paper thin characters and carboard cut-out landscapes. Additionally, the so-called 'heritage' which is mentioned throughout the book seems to be a diluted version of Scotland's with a few pieces of Norse mythology thrown in for good measure. In short, if you are interested in the islands do not read this book - come visit Orkney instead.