"Please don't go making a mystery out of this."—Max Gale, chapter four

Let me start off by saying that I really wanted to like this book. I love Stewart's Merlin trilogy and since all she has written aside from the five Arthurian books are romantic suspense novels, I valiantly set forth to try this new genre, starting with This Rough Magic. After all, I love suspense films, not to mention Shakespeare, and a little romance on the side can't hurt too much. Besides, how bad could it be with Ms. Stewart at the helm? The answer is: worse than I expected. Her talent still shines through in odd places, as there are some stretches of wonderful description and dialogue, but in general the plot strikes me as cliché. Maybe this is simply because I'm unfamiliar with the genre, but take a gander at this summary I wrote of the first two chapters and see what you think:

Struggling actress Lucy Waring is invited to the Mediterranean island of Corfu by her rich sister, who informs her that the castle has been rented by a retired actor, Sir Julian Gale. Post-information dump, Lucy goes to beach and befriends a local dolphin (doesn't this just give you the warm fuzzies?)—who is then, mysteriously, shot at. The only creature in view is Max Gale, the veteran actor's son who also happens to be "well-built" and have "sensual lips." Lucy's encounter with him is quite stormy but I don't think we have any illusions about their future relationship, do we?

To be fair, it does improve afterward. The plot, it turns out, has to do with two murders, not "who tried to kill the poor wittle dolphin?" This, however, raises another question: what is the function of the dolphin in the story? He only shows up twice but this thread never really leads to anything. Ditto for Sir Julian's long speeches on why Corfu really is Prospero's island.

Then there's the love interest, which practically redefines the term "whirlwind romance." At first the heroine is deeply distrustful of the hero, but as soon as he kisses her passionately she becomes strangely placid and unquestioning, and both fall prey to the sudden use of "dear" and "darling."

Of course, nearly everyone on the island is unbelievably, irresistibly beautiful.

This is not to say that the book is all bad. Stewart does local color superbly; notice her wonderful description of St. Spiridion's parade: "The bands—there were four of them, all gorgeously uniformed—played solemnly and rather badly, each a different tune." And in spite of a few annoying points, I do like Lucy, particularly her concession that she wasn't ever going to be one of the top-tier actresses, and that she was content with this fact. Such honesty and self-knowledge are rare. Finally, the scenes in which she leads the villain on are beautifully done; indeed, I have to admit that chapter eighteen is a masterpiece of structure. Stewart employs a deus-ex-machina in her ending, but at least her heroine is intelligent enough to recognize it!

Overall, a disappointment, but the redeeming features may be enough to convince me that Stewart deserves one more try. ( )

As with so many Mary Stewarts what you get here is a romance/adventure story set in a slightly exotic location. This one is set in Corfu, and is themed around Shakespeare's The Tempest, which would perhaps be more effective if I'd ever actually see or read the play! Nevertheless it's an enjoyable tale, even if I find the romance aspect of this one even less convincing than usual. ( )

British stage actress Lucy Waring believes there is no finer place to be "at liberty" than the sun-drenched isle of Corfu, the alleged locale for Shakespeare's The Tempest. Even the suspicious actions of the handsome, arrogant son of a famous actor cannot dampen her enthusiasm for this wonderland in the Ionian Sea. In a the course of a morning swim, paradise transforms to a place of sinister doings: someone shoots at a tamed dolphin, a young Greek drowns off the coast of Albania, and a smuggler washes up dead in a nearby cove.

Told from Lucy's point-of-view, the reader is kept as taut as a wire as the tension mounts not only while Lucy attempts to determine the identity of the wrongdoer and the reason for his misdemeanors but as she inadvertently puts herself in harm's way.

Mary Stewart always tells a good tale and this is one of my favorites. All the characters are realistic. The scenic descriptions are poetic in their lushness and sensuality. ( )