Customer Reviews

The Singing Stones: A Novel

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

This is a well written story. A little different than anything I'd read before. Sad because of the story of the young girl who doesn't seem to have parents who love her enough to spend time with her. Is also a murder mystery, although that isn't obvious at the first of the book.

I finished this book about an hour ago, and I am left with a feeling of numbness. The book seemed shallow, the characters uninteresting, and I feel that so much potential available to the storyline was left untouched. Most of the book was rather predictable, and where it wasn't predictable, it certainly wasn't surprising.

I'm glad that I didn't buy this book; it was given to me by someone else. I don't feel it's really worth the money. The book wasn't exactly a waste of time, but I could have spent that time reading a more valuable piece of literature.

If you like Phyllis Whitney books, you'll love this one. Simply a great read!

I read this book many years ago and was very pleased to run across it again.Very well written with some romance, mystery and a gothic flair. I highly recommend this book ro anyone who misses the old gothic mysteries. You can't go wrong with a Phyllis Whitney book!!!