The cover of the book I read led me to think this was a romance book. It was but so much more about friendships, relationships, and suspense during last quarter of book. ( )

I felt engaged with parts of the story, but on the whole I found it bland, repetitive, predictable, and unbelievable. The early scenes set in England are particularly slow paced.

In most Holt/Carr novels, the narrating heroine will refer to one specific male character by both names. In this one, it’s Clinton Shaw. It’s dropped to just Clinton later in the story, but for a long period, it becomes irritating to read, "Clinton Shaw did this", "Clinton Shaw said that", etc.

As usual with this author, there’s too much *telling*, as opposed to *showing*. The reader is often told what happened, when the author could’ve dramatized scenes to show what happened. We get reported speech where dialogue would’ve painted a much more vivid scene.

The suspense elements are good, but we have another typical Holt trait in that dangerous situations are resolved too quick and easy.

I didn’t dislike the characters, but none stood out as larger than life.

As someone who’s read most of this author’s novels, few events surprised me in this one. Not a terrible read, but a very average one. ( )

When Sarah Ashington's actress mother dies after a devastating scandal, Sarah is left at her long-lost father's rambling, ancestral estate to face the disturbing questions of her own past. Then her father's death draws her to his Ceylon plantation -- and into the shadows of a legend from which their may be no return . . .

Sarah's mother was a famous actress. When it's revealed that she was having an affair with a married man she ends up leaving London due to the scandal. They go to live with Sarah's aunts. The aunts on her father's side of the family. Sarah's mother had left her father in Ceylon when she was little. While at The Grange, Sarah's mother takes a turn for the worse and dies. In the mean time Sarah had begun corresponding with her father. She is hoping to meet him and eventually go see his plantation in Ceylon. The book has mystery, intrigue and of course romance. Sarah ends up married to a man that takes her to Ceylon where strange things begin to happen. I love books like this where there is just enough suspense to keep you reading. And you wonder if it is something supernatural or will the mystery be solved. ( )

One of Victoria Holt's finest, this novel is painfully romantic and full of twists. The locale is lovely, and as usual, she has given us a heroine who is spirited and not perfect - you have to love her!