The Singing Stones: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Phyllis A. Whitney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2004

Despite her misgivings, child psychologist Lynn McLeod returns to Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains to help ten-year-old Jilly, her ex-husband Stephen's child. But what she finds at the secluded household are more questions. And the danger that threatens both Stephen and Jilly soon closes tightly around Lynn. And all the while, the soft, hypnotic sound in the wind--the eerie yet beautiful music of the Singing Stones--lures Lynn into a realm of mystery, murder, and dormant passion. And, perhaps, to the key to her own destiny....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The singing stones on a mountain top in Virginia's Blue Ridge country provide the eerie atmosphere of MWA Grand Master Whitney's 34th novel, after Rainbow in the Mist. Narrator Lynn McLeod, a child psychologist, comes here to help Jilly, the 10-year-old daughter of her ex-husband, architect Stephen Asch, and his second wife, exotic dancer Oriana. Having answered the plea of psychic Julian Forster and his wife Vivian, Lynn agrees to counsel Jilly, who is traumatized after witnessing a murder and the fall that crippled her father. Among the many members of the household, the Forsters are the child's only source of support. Stephen, sunken into apathy, ignores her; Oriana is off pursuing her career. When other murders follow, as well as attempts to kill Jilly and Lynn, Julian persuades the psychologist to "regress" into a former life under hypnotism, the key to detecting a killer among reincarnated souls. Implausible and confusing at best, the mystery ends on a blatant contrivance but will probably be as popular as its predecessors. Paperback rights to Fawcett.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Lynn McLeod, a child psychologist, is awaiting the start of a much-needed vacation when a letter arrives altering her plans. She is invited to the home of her ex-husband, Stephen Asche, to help his troubled daughter, Jilly. Upon her arrival, Lynn finds herself drawn into a series of unexplicable events. Jilly is being secretive to protect her father; her mother and father have withdrawn from Jilly's life into worlds of their own. The plot thickens, of course, and mystery fans will applaud this addition to any collection. --Lindsey Wilson, Edison High School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345480341
• ISBN-13: 978-0345480347
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not of Whitney's usual quality, June 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Singing Stones (Thorndike Press Large Print Paperback Series) (Paperback)

For some reason this book was not as enjoyable as Whitney's others. I found several aspects of the ending too easy to predict. And no child talks the way Jilly does. If you haven't read Whitney, start with The Turquoise Mask, Dream of Orchids, or Rainbows in the Mist first. If you prefer historical rather than contemporary novels, try Sea Jade or The Trembling Hills. Fun!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I expected more from this book., December 18, 2009

By 

Old Latin teacher (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Singing Stones: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Long ago and far away, as a young girl, I devoured romantic suspense novels by Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney. But maybe you can never go home again. I came across this 1990 book by Whitney this year (2009) in the library and decided to kinda go down memory lane. But this book was a big disappointment and I'm not sure if it's because it is a more recently written one by the author and the quality is not the same as her earlier work or if I just require more in a book than I did back in the day. The characters in this are cardboard, the plot is silly and contrived, with New Age crystals and looks back into past lives, the romance is annoying and the suspense not suspenseful. Guess I need to go check out one of Whitney's earlier works to see if it's just this particular book I find objectionable.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The healing gift of an important storyteller, May 19, 2004

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Singing Stones (Hardcover)

The SINGING STONES stand in the Blue Ridge Mountains liek old men, shrieking through the night. A troubled young girl, Jilly, ignored by her wheelchair bound father, Stephen, and her movie star mother, Oriana Devi. A pair of amateur psychics, Julian and Vivian, deeply into reincarnation, attempt to aid little Jilly with their strange, eerie advice. Meanwhile on a nearby horse farm a lovely chatelaine, Neryl, is married to the unapproachable and nasty Everett, but she's having an affair with a handyman a la Constance Chatterley. Into this mix of personalities comes our heroine, Lynn MacLeod, once married to Stephen long ago, before Jilly's birth or even the arrival of the alluring dancer, Oriana. Lynn has a lot of lessons to learn about growing up and also who she was in a past life. Can she save Jilly before the curse of the singing stones sets in?

If you have a heart for romantic suspense, you've probably already read a dozen or more by America's answer to Daphne du Maurier, Phyllis A. Whitney. In "The SINGING STONES" we learn that a simple thing like a tiny slab of rose quartz is good for a broken heart. This advice has probably saved many lives, I know it has helped mine. I go to sleep with a smile on my face and "The SINGING STONES" turned over on its side by the night stand. Whitney is one of America's greatest treasures.