The Moonspinners

In the early 1960s, Nicola Ferris is vacationing in a remote area of the Greek island of Crete when she stumbles into unexpected trouble Hiking in the hills, she comes across two men, one of whom, Mark Langley, is critically injured She spends the night taking care of him while the other guy is off doing Other Stuff, and helps him fall asleep by telling him the story of the moon spinners Night after night, you can see the moon getting less and less, the ball of light waning, while it grows on th [...]

Thanks to GR friend Tadiana Night Owl, I was able to read this book with the Mary Stewart group I am fairly certain I had never read it before, or at least if I did I could not remember anything about it, even as the pages turned.I have read a couple other Stewart titles recently and was somewhat disappointed, but The Moon Spinners than made up for those Nicola Ferris is off for a vacation in Crete, to meet her cousin Frances, who has been delayed for a day or two This sort of thing seems to ha [...]

Mary Stewart always starts her adventure novels in the most delightful spots and then twists of fate lead her heroines and us into peril Nicola Ferris is on vacation from her job as a secretary at the British Embassy in Athens She s planning a week in a quiet spot on the south coast of Crete with her older cousin, Francis, a horticulturalist who runs a successful business specializing in rock gardens They ve found the perfect locale a new BB with a gourmet, London trained chef in an unspoiled vi [...]

This beautifully written, utterly charming romantic thriller kept my heart pounding in terrified suspense, even though my original copy of the book is falling apart because I ve read the story so many times When I was twelve or thirteen, Mary Stewart was a favorite author of everyone I knew who loved to read my mother, her friends, me, and eventually my younger sisters and of all Stewart s books it was The Moon Spinners that siren called me back to its pages again and again Nicola Ferris is on h [...]

on the darkest night, the maidens take their spindles down to the sea, to wash their wool And the wool slips from the spindles into the water, and unravels in long ripples of light from the shore to the horizon, and there is the moon again, rising above the sea.Only when all the wool is washed, and wound again into a white ball in the sky, can the moon spinners start their work once Can this woman write or what Nicola Ferris takes a vacation from her job at the British Embassy in Athens and pla [...]

You know those books that you are pretty sure you are really going to love, so you buy it and wait to read it because once you read it, you won t be able to look forward to reading it any This was one of those books for me I picked up a paperback copy of The Moonspinners donkeys ages ago, at either the UBS or a library sale, I ve been holding onto it since then I finally decided that life was too short to not read this book, and there were other Mary Stewarts for me to read, so I should just do [...]

When I was in high school, I discovered these Gothic romances, and they sustained me for several years After plowing through the ones that were already published, I watched for each new book to arrive My 5 stars reflect how much I loved them when I was 15 Eventually, Mary Stewart turned to the Arthur saga, about which she wrote some captivating and captivatingly long novels, but they couldn t capture my soul like the romances did.

I hate to give Stewart 2 stars but this is just not working for me Read over 250 pages and it is so tedious Stewart s powers of description are there in full force but we also have a lot of telling not showing going on here too There is lack of character development well not her strong suit anyway and a not too mysterious mystery It is all a bit discombobulated.

I don t know if my review of this book would be the same if I was just reading it for the first time This is one of my favorites from when I was younger, so I don t know if that s skewed my perception of it It does have a few slow parts and it may be a bit old fashioned, but it s just a fun read I think I originally read it after seeing the Disney movie version with Hayley Mills that was made in the 60s I generally liked Hayley Mills movies as a kid and I liked this movie okay, but frankly they [...]

Mary Stewart has combined mystery, suspense, and romance in this novel set in Greece Nicola, a secretary at the British Embassy at Athens, is meeting her cousin for a holiday in a small village in Crete As she is exploring the beautiful countryside on her way, she comes upon a man and his injured friend The men were exploring the trails and ruins, and had unintentionally witnessed a murder They are now in hiding from the violent man and his friends, and don t want Nicola to get involved in the s [...]

Nicola Ferris goes on vacation from her job at the British Embassy in Athens Her plan is to escape the Easter crowds of the big city and spend some quiet, peaceful time with her older cousin, Frances, on the island of Crete.This story starts off well from the beginning There is an exotic setting, the truly rugged hills of Crete, a wounded man in need of assistance and a boy of 15 in dire straits The descriptions of the Bay of Dolphins, the local flowers, the gardens and the windmills to irrigate [...]

I m wondering if I ever really say anything different about Mary Stewart s books They re fairly formulaic, really fairly independent young woman meets young man who may or may not be her cousin, there is some dramatic problem to be resolved, and they resolve it while falling in love, often improbably fast or due to some supernatural intervention as in Touch Not the Cat and Thornyhold They re better than they sound, though the atmosphere Stewart produces is amazing, and quite a lot of her female [...]

I ve read this book at least four times since I was about 12 which is alot for me because I love it I m a big fan of Mary Stewart She writes mysteries that also have great romance in them This particular book gets you interested very quickly I d recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries, but particularly for girls since it is written in the first person I warn you that there is a semi slow section in the middle, but it is worth it to get to the exciting ending If you have seen the Disney movi [...]

I found this in the New Books to be Shelved cart at my library It s not a new book at all it was originally published in 1964 but apparently it has been re published as a rediscovered classic I had never read the book, but loved the movie with Hayley Mills as a child So decided to give it a go The Moon Spinners is a mystery romance set in Crete It s one of those books written so lovingly about its location that you fall in love with the place The book is old fashioned but in a charming way It wa [...]

DNF somewhere around pg 120 This is by far the worst of the Stewarts I ve tried It combined all the worst tendencies of Wildfire at Midnight stupidly plucky heroine, talky talk dialogue, 1960s era chick mystery threw them together with small town Crete Even by the clean standards of the era, this felt like a tepid vintage YA than adult romantic suspense It s dated and not charmingly dated, like some romantic suspense, but an eye rollingly are you serious kind of way While the visuals mysterious [...]

Bought for a bit of silly light reading It took me dreadfully long to get round to it, despite that, because I had such a long period where I didn t feel like reading at all I think it s well broken now, though I ate up The Moonspinners in less than a day It s a ridiculous story, really I think I said of one of Mary Stewart s other books, Touch Not the Cat, or maybe The Gabriel Hounds, or both, that it s really The Famous Five for adults, with a dash of romance and some exotic scenery Since I kn [...]

This is one of my favorite books of all time I read everything by Mary Stewart and love them all, but this book is the one I reach for every summer It is set in Greece, and it always makes me desire to hop on a plane and fly to Greece, even though the setting adds to the fearfulness in this book By the way, the old movie has absolutely nothing to do with the book, even though it says it does If I were Mary Stewart, I would have been appalled at what the movie makers did to her wonderful story.

I m pretty sure this was the first Mary Stewart novel I read And although Stewart did everything well, what she did particularly well or what made me idolize her as a young and aspiring writer was her vivid and evocative use of setting AND very witty, very amusing dialog Yes, people are dying and mysterious things are happening, but Stewart s characters handle it all with panache and a refreshing sense of humor.

I thought this book would be old fashioned and staid, but it couldn t be further The heroine is plucky and smart, easy to relate to as she adventures in Greece and meets handsome rogues and benighted heroes A fantastic read, best with iced tea or lemonade and a nice warm spot in the sun.

Delightful plucky heroine Mary Stewart at one of her finest in Romance Mystery.

Originally posted here.I ve always wanted to go to Greece It seems like such a lovely place, rich in culture and I would love to try authentic Greek food I have no idea when I ll be able to go though so I have to content myself with reading books with Greek settings The Moonspinners is set in Crete and is the second Mary Stewart romantic suspense novel that I ve read I m slowly enjoying going through her entire backlist.I love that Mary Stewart s books have different settings I may not be able t [...]

The ending What an ending For those of you who have see the movie, I think it should be said that they are Completely Different Other than Mark and Nicola having the same personalities in the movie as in the book, everything else is off I still like them both though, movie verses book and the tale of The Moonspinners is one of my favorite parts in the book, that and the stunning scenery That s what this book abounds in, descriptions Eloquent, sparkling descriptions I came near to a corner and sa [...]

I m wavering between 3 and 4 stars on this one The premise A young woman named Nicola, who works in a low level position at the British Embassy in Athens, plans to meet up with her older cousin Frances at a seaside village in Crete for the Easter holiday But Nicola gets there early, and before her cousin even arrives, she finds herself mixed up with a couple of strange men who are on the run Soon both she and Frances find themselves in grave danger Is there any other kind This is my third Mary S [...]

This was my first Mary Stewart novel and I loved it For me, the biggest fun was being transported to such a magical time and place Call me old fashioned but I love a heroine that is spunky and sweet at the same time Nicola is just that girl.She arrives in Crete for a holiday and is unintentionally pulled into a dramatic mystery murder kidnapping that is being played out in the island Prior to her arrival, two brothers have a run in with local trouble and are being hunted kidnapped by some really [...]

This book was a bit of a chore to get through I read it after seeing the old disney movie, and to preview it for my daughter First of all it was written in a very old style, that made it difficult to wade through, lots of scenery descriptions, etc Plus the voice of the book, Niccola, was a weak narrator The mystery itself was interesting, but not gripping Definitely a book that you can put down and leave for a few days then finish.

I have always loved Mary Stewarts writing and the spell that she weaves throughout though didn t enjoy this as much as Touch Not the Cat This one did very little to empower women and tells the story of Nicola Ferris who is working and holidaying on the island of Crete and runs into a dangerous situation I loved the Cretan countryside, the Greek words, the fragrant flowers and the unstable group of characters.

I love this book.absolutely wonderful readNTENT the main girl swims out to a boat full of male characters clad only in her undergarments The main girl spends the night with the main guy they re huddled together for warmth There s a few comments regarding both of the scenarios above There s some swearing and action and peril.

I love the work of Mary Stewart and The Moonspinners is no exception to the norm It is a bit dated but to my mind that just adds to the overall charm of the story Loved the descriptions of the countryside in Crete and all of the wildflowers Nicely sinister characters and a strong minded heroine A joy to read.

I loved, and continue to love, this exciting tale that gives one such a detailed and lovely glimpse of the Greek Isles, which you can tell Stewart loved The sense of history was exciting to me as a kid, as well as later.I liked the Disney version because of the folk song sung in the middle, which later inspired a novel.

Meh This is my second Mary Stewart novel The first Mary Stewart book that I read, Nine Coaches Waiting , was filled with delicious Gothic suspense and compelled me to keep turning pages until 3 00 in the morning Unfortunately, there was nothing Gothic or suspenseful about this book, but the writing is still delicious and beautiful, so I don t have the heart to give it less than 3 stars Halfway through the book, the narrator tells the reader who murderer is, so I spent the second half of the book [...]