Reviews

Moonspinners by Mary Stewart, Mary Stewart

thenovelbook's review against another edition

3.0

I think I may have been reading too many books in this genre recently... mid-20th century destination mysteries. I've recently enjoyed many of M.M. Kaye's books like that, and for me this one wasn't quite as good. Until the end, it felt a bit slow. And it wasn't terribly suspenseful, as it was immediately and correctly assumed who the baddies were. I also didn't feel like Nicola or Mark were very interesting personalities, and their romance was so very slight and rather generic.

bhnmt61's review against another edition

4.0

This is a fun read with a resourceful heroine, but the sixties were a simpler time, weren’t they? Nicola thinks she is heading to a small hotel on the coast of Crete for a quiet vacation away from the tourist crowds of Athens. But almost from the minute she arrives she is sucked into drama and intrigue. She is older and savvier than Hayley Mills in the movie version but the spectacular setting is the same.

gizandmurph's review against another edition

4.0

It took long enough to get to the action. But, still a good book.

shareen17's review against another edition

4.0

A fun, quick, suspense story. The main character is on vacation on a Greek Island. The descriptions of the people, landscape, and town made me ready for travel.

chris_of_mercia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

telemwill's review against another edition

adventurous

3.5

chris_of_mercia's review against another edition

Switched to another edition but unable to delete this edition.

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

3.0

Thoroughly enjoyed this light romantic thriller.

sophiarose1816's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Originally penned by one of the queens of romantic suspense in 1962, The Moon-Spinners was a fast favorite the first time I read it.  Mary Stewart spins out a tale of a British woman living in Athens taking her work holiday on the isle of Crete and instead of encountering lots of R&R at the little seaside village hotel, she gets a suspenseful and romantic adventure.

Nicola Ferris takes her Good Samaritan act to the extreme when she aids Mark, a fellow Englishman with basic first aid, but then helps him solve the mystery of his shooting and his teenage brother's ominous disappearance.  Mary Stewart brought the gorgeous, pastoral inland Crete isle to life as well as the village and fishing life as setting and laid out a well-paced suspense plot of danger drawing ever near as Nicola figures out who is involved and what is going on before they work out that she's on their trail.

Daphne Kouma is a new to me narrator and I thought her brilliant for the pairing with The Moon-Spinners, the voice of Nicola and her talented skill to voice the rest of the cast whether Brit or Greek.

All in all, this was a spendiforous revisit to a fabulous classic romantic suspense.

reedabook's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0