Customer Reviews

Twilight Whispers

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

 

 

TWILIGHT WHISPERS by Barbara Delinsky
January 14, 2005

TWILIGHT WHISPERS by Barbara Delinsky is a reissue of a book that was originally published in 1987. It was also her first mainstream novel, after spending the first part of her career writing straight romance novels. I for one enjoy these mainstream novels, because I feel she's much better at them. Her romances don't seem to stand the test of time, but this book did.

TWILIGHT WHISPERS is the story of two powerful and wealthy families, told from various view points but for the most part, centering on the murder of two of their members, Mark Whyte and his wife Deborah Warren. An outsider, Robert Cavanaugh, is the one that starts the book off, as he is the investigator for the murders and he starts the case by researching the history of the two families.

While the murder plot line helped make the story move fast, what interested me the most was the family saga of the Whytes and the Warrens. Delinsky always does a good job with stories such as this, and I really liked the book. For those expecting a straight romance, this is not it. Look elsewhere. But for those who want more than just romance, read TWILIGHT WHISPERS. This book comes recommended by the Ratmammy.

This novel is part romance, part mystery, part family saga -- and while it lacks a clear categoric definition, I found all parts of story interesting. People are not always what they seem, and Delinsky does a very good job interweaving the tales of the various characters with the plot twists to a satisfying (if vaguely improbable) ending.

I got about 3 or 4 chapters into this book and had to quit. It had too many people in it and it was hard to remember who was who. I am a new Barbara Delinsky fan and have read about 6 of her other books. My favorite one so far is The Vineyard.

Dated, wordy and not one of her best. The focus is all over the place, although the book is written as mystery meets romance. Reminds me of the soap operas DALLAS and DYNASTY. Life is too short to re-read old books of this caliber, though Delinsky's more recent books are high on my list.

I prefer her "meatier" novels [More Than Friends, etc] as opposed to the "harlequin" style. This book falls right in between the two styles. Easy light reading thats more than a no-brainer.

I'm more of a straight romance fan so when I tried this fiction, I was shocked when the author went IN-DEPTH into the life histories of Katia, Katia's mother, Jordan, Jordan's parents, & Mrs. Warren. The story felt like a cross between 'Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous' and 'Dynasty' bec. those histories took up most of the book while the 'not-quite-on romance' could've fit into one chapter. Although not what I'm used to, the story was different yet unforgettable.

Detective Robert Cavanaugh feels an adrenalin rush, more drive than he's felt in years when he's assigned by his superior, John Ryan, to investigate a double murder case. Murder suicide would be the easy answer but he thinks not.

Now, this isn't just any pair of dead bodies - the bodies belong to Deborah Warren and Mark Whyte, offspring of two of the most influential families to be found. Not surprisingly with a healthy does of power also has come unscrupulous behavior, none of which can be proven at this point. But there's bad blood in both families with father and son vying for political position.

However, as Cavanaugh stands sweating in the July heat at grave side services for the deceased he watches intently as the Warrens and Whites unite in their grief. Was it real or a sham? If they were pretending they'd certainly had years to perfect their public personas.

All that Cavanaugh knew at this point was that the couple had been involved in some rather kinky activities. The question running through Cavanaugh's mind is whether or not someone would actually murder members of their own family in order to preserve the carefully tended family image.

Also important to the story is Cassie, the housekeeper who has tended to the family for a number of years. Her daughter, Katia, grew up with the Warren and Whyte offspring and is fond of all of them. As one might expect from Delinsky, Jordan Whyte and Katia provide a romantic interest.

However, far from merely a romance, this is a murder mystery and a saga tracing the generations of two families.

Kathy Garver, well remembered for her role as "Cissy" on television's Family Affair, is also an accomplished stage and film actress. Her performance of this story is graceful and well-paced.

- Gail Cooke

This is the first book I've read of Delinsky's and I enjoyed it very much. It's labeled as fiction but it was a romance and mystery all rolled into one. I especially enjoyed the interaction between all the family members. I will be reading more of Ms. Delinsky's work. If this book only rated an average of 3 stars from its readers, imagine what a 4 or 5 star book must be like!

I should start by saying that Barbara Delinsky's newer novels are very good and I highly recommend them, however this book is a reprint of an '87 release and not at all like her newer ones. I was very disappointed in it-- it has poor character development and it's just all over the place. I had a very hard time even getting through the first few chapters. It did get somewhat better but resorted to sex to keep you hooked, which of course did not work....
I recommend skip this book and check out one of her newer novels, like LAKE NEWS or COAST ROAD

This book would have been rated higher by me if there had not been repeated descriptions of explicit sexual scenes. It deserves an X rating for sexual content. I did enjoy the story line which I felt was a bit unusual. However with so so many different characters mentioned in the first few pages I almost gave up because it was difficult to keep them straight--which names belonged to which family, etc. I did decide to stick with it and gradually all the different names began to stack up for each family involved. I have read other more recent books by this author and don't remember such x rated scenes or I would not have picked this title up at my local library.