Mary Grey finds herself in the north of England, working as a waitress, when one day she decides to go for a walk along Hadrian’s Wall. While there, Mary is accosted by Con Winslow, who mistakenly thinks she is Annabel, his cousin who disappeared to America eight years ago. He and his sister Lisa convince Mary to engage in a act of deception: to impersonate Annabel Winslow so that Con might inherit her grandfather’s estate, Whitescar.

It’s a short novel, and like Nine Coaches Waiting, The Ivy Tree is very plot-driven. Stewart’s novels are tinged with a bit of magic, and in most of them, she chooses to give her characters rather romantic names (Annabel, Connor, Crystal). On the surface, it’s a deliciously wonderful story of deception, but not all is as it appears.

The Ivy Tree is an emotionally-charged novel; and though Stewart doesn’t do very much in terms of character development, this book contains the right amount of romance, danger, suspense, and fantasy, with a little bit of Roman history sprinkled in. Stewart also does a great job of unfolding the mystery, such as there is, choosing not to give it all away until it’s almost too late. This is one of those stories where it isn’t until after you’ve learned the solution that you go back and think, “now why didn’t I figure that out?” And then you realize that all the clues were there all along. I’m very glad that Mary Stewart’s novels have been re-released; another of her novels, Thornyhold, is on my TBR pile. ( )

Really old one, but it stands up well, if you like gothics. Good twists in this. ( )

May 25, 1999
The Ivy Tree
Mary Stewart

Fascinating premise. Annabel, a young American woman, travels to England and is mistaken for the long-lost heir to a wealthy family. She agrees to pose as the heiress to the old, dying grandfather for a time, long enough to help the handsome estate manager gain his inheritance.

Can't give away the very strange twist, which really surprised me. It seemed almost dishonest. Still pretty good, though. Gothic overtones. ( )

An excellent book of its genre: romantic suspense. I really was kept guessing as to how this would all turn out. Well written, smart, the perfect brain candy for the intelligent reader. ( )

Canadian Mary Grey is admiring Hadrian's Wall when she is accosted by a stranger - a man who mistakes her for his long-lost cousin. He and his sister convince her to take the place of the presumed dead Annabel to gain an inheritance. At Whitescar, the family home, things don't go as smoothly as the siblings had planned, as secrets that Annabel was hiding from her supposedly beloved cousin are revealed.
Probably my favourite of Stewart's romantic suspense.