Twisting the Rope [Paperback]

R. A. MacAvoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 1986

R.A. MacAvoy is a truly gifted author who has no need to rely on the conventions of the science fictioni genre in order to hold the reader's attention. Her highly original debut novel, Tea With the Black Dragon, combined elements of mystery and fantasy along with a fascination with computer technology, and was highly praised by critics, while her Lens of the World trilogy appeared on many "best of the year" lists in the national news media. In this sequel to Tea With the Black Dragon, Mayland Long is once again thrust into a maelstrom of mysterious happenings. The peaceful relationship he has established with Martha Macnamara is being threatened. A wild psychic force is loose in the world, while Martha's granddaughter has been kidnapped and one of her Celtic musician friends has been found dead, hangingby a rope of twisted grass. Now the Black Dragon must use his wits to hunt for the killer...even if it brings him to a horrifying realization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"MacAvoy supports her tale with a superbly drawn cast of characters...and her usual superior command of language." Booklist --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: e-reads.com; Oct-86 edition (December 19, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158586059X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585860593
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,093,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's a Dragon to Do?, April 11, 2002

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twisting the Rope (Paperback)

Mayland Long and Martha Macnamara are as unlikely a couple as you could hope to meet. Martha is a fiftyish musician, Mayland is-- well, Mayland is unusual, as people who have read the first book in this set, Tea With the Black Dragon, know. When the book opens Mayland, Martha, Martha's young granddaughter Marty, and an ill assorted group of egotistical musicians have been on tour for eight weeks, playing traditional (and not so traditional) Irish folk songs. At this point tempers are frayed while insults (and the occasional fist) are flying.

Then Marty disappears, a member of the band is found hanged by a twisted grass rope off a Pacific pier, and it up to Martha and Mayland to solve the mystery of where Marty is and who the murderer is.

Written in the mid 80's this book is a great favorite of mine, an urban fantasy mystery that mixes Celtic and Eastern lore with some solid detection. The scenes with the band seem very true to life and the fantasy elements are delightfully underplayed. The chapter titles, by the way, as well as the title Twisting the Rope are all titles of trad. Irish tunes.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel to Tea with the Black Dragon, August 29, 2000

By 

Kathleen Cobcroft (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twisting the Rope (Paperback)

With much of the charm of her first book, Tea with the Black Dragon, MacAvoy revisits Oolong and Martha - now on tour with a "traditional" Irish band. There is a mystery, a little supernatural activity, and the brilliant characterisations that you would expect from this author. To fully appreciate the story you should have read Tea, which is sadly out of print, but it stands alone as a good read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing sequel, February 19, 2007

By 

Robert Knight (Blue Hill, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twisting the Rope (Paperback)

Tea with the Black Dragon was a wonderfully subtle book. This sequel gets lost in it's own meanderings. A disappointing work from one of my favorite authors. (Actually the only book of her's that I have ever been disappointed with!)