- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: UK General Books; 1 edition (Sep 6 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0007235542
- ISBN-13: 978-0007235544
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 259 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #339,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"For a good escapist read Victoria Holt never disappoints." Netta Martin, Annabel
Book Description
When Caroline Verlaine's sister, Roma, disappears, Caroline travels down to Lovat Stacy on a quest to uncover the truth. There, she finds herself caught up in the drama of that ancient house and the unusual members of the Stacy family. When Caroline Verlaine's sister, the archaeologist Roma, disappears, Caroline is forced down to Lovat Stacy in an attempt to discover what has happened. She finds herself caught up in the drama of the ancient house and with the unusual members of the Stacy family. But it is Napier Stacy, recently returned from years of banishment for apparently killing his brother, who she is especially drawn to. Napier is haunted by the tragedy, and Caroline becomes determined that he should put his past behind him and not allow, what she insists was an accident, to cloud his life for ever. At the same time, she becomes equally determined to solve the mystery of her own sister's disappearance. Why has Roma vanished? Was it an accident or has she been murdered? As the tension mounts Caroline soon realizes that this quest to uncover the truth is a dangerous one and is marking her out as the next victim.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very good Holt gothic, one of her best,
By
This review is from: THE SHIVERING SANDS (Paperback)
This is one of my favourite Holt novels. It is a classic, atmospheric gothic novel, but it also focuses on a heroine who is taking a peek at her own foibles, and actively taking a part in the hand she was dealt by destiny.Caroline Verlaine is a young widow. She put her musical career on the shelf to be married to Pietro Verlaine an extremely gifted pianist, only to be left to her own devices when he died prematurely. She visits her sister at Lovat Stacy's newly arranged archaelogical digs and is intrigued by the great house, and her second hand impressions of the people living there. Later when Caroline is back in London, she hears of her sister's disappearance and can't quite believe in the explanations that are given. The digs were not popular, and Caroline's sister, Roma as a single woman is an unusual figure as the head of such a project. When the opportunity presents itself, Caroline decides to go to Lovat Stacy without revealing she is Roma's sister to investigate the disappearance. In this novel, the plot centers on family relations and a rift that happened when an accident took the life of the cherished first son of the Stacy's. It makes the plot doubly interesting because it is rooted in long festered emotions. At the same time, those meanderings bring about a reflection of Caroline on her mourning of her late husband, and what the relationship meant. It is very well written that at the end, two avenues for Caroline's future have been explored and her choice ends up making perfect sense with a conclusion that seems almost inevitable because it is rooted in Caroline's personality. It is the author's clever work in characterisation that makes this happen. As always the setting imbues the atmosphere of the story and the relative proximity to a boat quagmire and Roman ruins gives the less active parts of the story a sort of mournful tone. Cleverly the same setting plays a role in the plot and this reinforces the gothic feel of the book. It is exploited as well as could be expected in the genre. The secondary characters provide the author with ways to show us the workings of the main characters' minds, and also kind of combine into the setting. This works so well that the denouement of the story does come as a shock even though it was foreshadowed consistently. A very good read for those who like the genre. And maybe also for those who are not fans, but who like a novel that does play with a bit of contemplative pacing and focuses on inner feelings, less than actual physical attraction.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews) 12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a mystery,
By Genevieve - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shivering Sands (Hardcover)
A couple years ago, I found this book in a box of other used books each selling for a couple quarters and decided I'd buy it for my mother's birthday. I guess I secretly wanted to read it myself, but it was lost in the shuffle of things before either of us was given the chance to read it. Recently, I went to New Hampshire, and found it in my family's cabin. If you're someone who, like me, does in fact judge a book by it's cover, you would have been drawn to this book immediately. The 1969 edition that I have (I guess my mother didn't want it after all) has a painting on the cover of a girl standing on a cliff over the waves smashing into the rocks below. This scene was what persuaded me into reading the first page. What a mystery. A widow works incognito as a piano teacher to solve the mystery of her sister's disappearance. The title may give it away, but throughout the book, the reader is given many chances to figure out who, how, and why before it is actually revealed. There is an eerie "haunted" mansion, lots of shocking secrets, desire, and many disturbing encounters. This was a perfect introduction to Victoria Holt. Read it, you'll like it. 4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Gothic,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shivering Sands (Hardcover)
Victoria Holt does it again in yet another spectcular Gothic romance, full of suspense and chilling atmosphere. A very good read for those cozy nights by the fire...
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
read this book!!!!!,
By Wendy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shivering Sands (Audio Cassette)
This is really a great book! I had to read it for school and now I read it several times a year. It's was my second Victoria Holt book and I have read about 20 of her books after Shivering sands, but I still think this is the best. When you start to read it you can't put the book away. And the plot is such a surprise, I was really shocked. It's mysterious and romantic, it'a absolutely my favorite book! You have to read it!
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