3.5 Stars, rounded up.

If I did not love Mary Stewart’s style and descriptive abilities so much, perhaps The Stormy Petrel would have been a major disappointment for me. Ah, but I do love those things, so I find that I enjoyed this book despite its weak ending and under-developed characters.

Silence? The wash of waves on the pebbled beach, the crying and calling of the wheeling gulls, the silver chain of sound from a lark above the cliff-top, and a final coda, the distant breathy note of the ferry’s siren as she drew away towards the west. The last link gone. Solitude. Complete and unassailable solitude.

I feel as if I have just been put down for vacation, escaped the noise and clatter and found a haven of birds and sunshine.

Another plus in this novel, for me, is Mary Stewart’s reflections on what it is to create a book or poem.

From experience, I knew what to do. Write. Write anything. Bad sentences, meaningless sentences, anything to get the mind fixed again to that sheet of paper and oblivious of the “real” world. Write until the words begin to make sense, the cogs mesh, the wheels start to turn, the creaking movement quickens and becomes a smooth, oiled run, and then, with luck, exhaustion will be forgotten, and the real writing will begin.

All her hallmark assets are present here, they just don’t come together in the same way they did in her earlier books. I think one must consider that she is seventy-five writing this one, while her most successful novels were written when she was much younger and probably felt a stronger relationship to the young women she was portraying.

I wonder if I read this book back in 1991 when it was released. I was an avid fan. I find it hard to believe that I just passed it by. I can imagine that I would have been disappointed, if I did read it then, and subsequently forgotten it entirely. I’m a kinder reader now. I am older myself. I revel in her ability to transport me to the Hebrides and show me a broch and a petrel. I don’t think we have anyone writing today who can soothe and comfort as she did. Her writing is stylish and intelligent--I guess I miss her.

In the words of John Donne's Song:

Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

I believe Mary Stewart helps us to hear the song.


( )

Once again Mary Stewart has transported me to an isolated island in the Hebrides and has taught me new words like "broch" and "machair". I could feel the sea spray and I could hear the birds. It was a lovely mystery told by a master. And let's not forget the midges. ( )

Romantic suspense, thy author is Mary Stewart. One of the best parts of any Mary Stewart book is the description of the area; I feel you get a hint of why you should visit the location someday.

This book is lowkey on the suspense and romance departments, but it was the level I needed at the time. There are hints of it being one of her later books: there are subplots involving drugs and an overly aggressive land developer who didn't understand the draw of the Hebridean island of the Scottish Highlands.

What I liked most was the heroine was a writer. As Hugh Templer, she wrote lucrative science fiction while she was a struggling poet under her real name. I enjoyed her observations on writing.

In short, I would strongly recommend this book to those who enjoy a gentle romantic suspense novel. ( )

I saw this book on sale at Amazon and the description appealed to me. There is an old house, a cozy cottage and its on an isolated island off the Scottish coast. There is also a mystery and lots bird watching activity so this all appealed to me. Yeah, I am a nerd about stories featuring old houses or mentions of birds/wildlife.

Our main character is Rose Fenemore, a college professor of English and also a poet. She finds an advertisement for a rental on an isolated island off Scotland. It’s a perfect retreat for her to relax and work on her poetry without interruptions by students or campus life. Rose invites her brother, an avid bird watcher, to come along for the vacation. Sounds like a relaxing place with peace and quiet.

One evening after Rose is in bed she hears a door open downstairs and goes to investigate, thinking her brother finally arrived. There is a stranger in her kitchen who proceeds to tell her this used to be his childhood home. Right there I had to suspend disbelief as Rose’s reaction was more of annoyance rather than fear. Rose is 27 years old, not a big woman and she is suddenly alone in complete isolation with a stranger. She makes him a cup of coffee and they chat a bit. But then, even odder, another man turns up on this stormy night. He also coms in. Hmmmm...

What I liked about the book was the setting and descriptions of the island. The quieter and slow pace of life appeals to me very much. The birds, seals, old house on the hill and residents of the island were described well. The mystery regarding the two men is solved and there is a hint of romance on the horizon here.

Seems I read a book by Mary Stewart a long time ago but I can’t remember which one, just remembered I liked the style so this sounded like a good plot. Apparently from other reviews I am seeing this wasn’t her finest book. I would certainly try more by this author and start with recommendations from her avid fans. ( )

Most of the action in this book takes place on a remote Scottish island. It's not a long book, and set in the early 1990s, rather later than many of Mary Stewart's novels. The genre is her standard romantic thriller, but the romance is so low-key as to be almost non-existent, and while there's some tension, it's far less gripping than some of her earlier novels.

The characterisation is good, and the pace works well, other than a bit too much (for my tastes) about bird-watching. This is important for part of the storyline, but I skipped a few ornithological passages. As with books of this kind, everything felt real while I was reading, despite the story being somewhat unbelievable, and the ending rather too sanitised for reality, albeit entirely satisfying.

Suitable for teenagers - as most of this author's books are - as well as adults.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/10/stormy-petrel-by-mary-stewart.html ( )