Customer Reviews

Shadow of the Lynx

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased a copy of Shadow of the Lynx in England some 30 years ago. I really enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately I misplaced my copy. Years later I purchased a copy of it at a flea market in Australia. Unfortunately I was disapointed as this copy was the original version. The version I enjoyed was the rewritten version and is a far superior story than the original. I purchased a copy in Canada second hand and again it was the original version also. If you every chance upon the rewritten version and have read the original buy it as it is really worth the read.

I have red many of VH books (not all yet) but this one stands out! I was positively surprised - the characters were complex and interesting, turn of events surprising and not very traditional for VH books... I liked the sparkling dialogs and main heroine Nora. Some people in their reviews was critical, especially because of complicated love relations in the book, the comments was that it was unconvincing. But I find that on contrary - more close to the real life were very rarely true love comes as "I met, I fell in love and lived happily ever after..." I enjoyed the book very much.

Thomas Tamasin spends his life chasing rainbows and leaves his daughter Nora firmly ensconced at school as he chases the biggest one of all and heads for the gold fields of Australia. He soon dies and leaves Nora in the care partner/employer Charles Herrick - also known as The Lynx for his dominating personality. Charles's son Stirling arrives in England to escort Nora to Australia, but they make a curious stop at a country estate called The Whiteladies (named for the nunnery it had been at one time) and Stirling seems to have a strange interest in the estate and it's inhabitants. Stranger still, when Nora arrives in Australia the Herrick home is a copy of Whiteladies.

Nora soon discovers that The Lynx has a mysterious past of his own, falsely accused of theft in England and deported to Australia as a criminal. As the Herrick family's fortune increases it leads them ever closer to the obsession of Charles - enacting financial havoc on those he blames for his false conviction. Nora and Stirling return to England with Stirling bent on completing his father's plans for revenge. They soon insert themselves into the lives of the residents of Whiteladies as Nora fights to stop Stirling before his lust for revenge destroys all their lives.

Whew, that's more plot description than I care to give but there's not much on the product page. I found this book a bit slow paced at times and a tad too predictable, especially the murder attempts on Minta. I also found the alternating POV's between Sara and Minta in the latter part of the book quite distracting. A nice comfort read for a rainy day - it's a good book, just not a great one. 3/5 stars.

When I first started reading this book, I was bored, but by the time I finished it, I loved it! Nora's mother abandoned her, and her father died mysteriously in search of gold in the Outback of Australia. Her guardian, the Lynx, sends his son, Stirling to fetch her and bring her back to Australia. On their way out of England, they "accidentally" stop by Whiteladies, and old castle inhabited by a young lady, Minta (isn't that at pretty name?), her parents, and her governess. From there, they go to Australia. Once there, Nora meets Lynx, seemingly half-man, half-god. She also finds strange coincidences between the estate in Australia and Whiteladies, including the name. Nora finds herself in the middle of a feud. If her life isn't already mixed up, she must also choose between Stirling or Lynx.

A man is falsely accused of a crime and is convicted and sent to Australia. When is is freed he becomes obsessed with plotting revenge.

Hard to describe this one. I can't really put my finger on it, but this book is a bit too out there for me.

Ms. Holt takes us through a journey with a young lady who has been orphaned. She finds herself being taken from the country she has grown up in and taken to a foreign land. She falls in love with the man that her father worked for but not before she makes him a fortune and not before she falls in love with the same man's son.

It doesn't hurt that the family is very rich and she has come from a very poor background.

I thought The Shadow of the Lynx was a very good book. It had me captivated the whole time and made me feel as though I was there.

Or worse. Well first of all she manages to add in at the end the usual whodunnit, with the criminal being the person most trusted. Then there is the whole being in love with the Lynx. I just didn't think that was realistic at all. We didn't even have the comfort of a happy ever after end. But I'm sure plenty of readers will disagree with me and think it was a fantastic story.