I really enjoy reading Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense novels, this was no exception and makes you want to take a holiday in Greece ( )

I think I may have been reading too many books in this genre recently... mid-20th century destination mysteries. I've recently enjoyed many of M.M. Kaye's books like that, and for me this one wasn't quite as good. Until the end, it felt a bit slow. And it wasn't terribly suspenseful, as it was immediately and correctly assumed who the baddies were. I also didn't feel like Nicola or Mark were very interesting personalities, and their romance was so very slight and rather generic. ( )

Mary Stewart always brings out the wanna-be traveler in me. I cannot think how anyone could read her gorgeous descriptions of the White Mountains of Crete and not be wishing to board the next plane out for Greece. Of course, one would hope not to encounter any of the diabolical characters she plants in the way of her heroine, but then it wouldn’t be a Mary Stewart novel if they weren’t there, would it?

I knew I was going to be in love with this novel when I read the opening paragraph.

I saw it straight away as the conventional herald of adventure, the white stag of the fairytale, which, bounding from the enchanted thicket, entices the prince away from his followers, and loses him in the forest where danger threatens with the dusk.

My mind threw back immediately to Arthur pursuing the white stag to find Excalibur in her masterpiece Merlin trilogy, and I settled down to love every word yet to come.

Who can resist a man in trouble? No Nicola Ferris, evidently, for despite the imminent danger, she links her fate with a wounded stranger she finds in the remote mountains of a Cretan village. Perhaps I have always loved Stewart so much because she paints the kind of witty, fearless, adventurous women that all young girls secretly long to be. I certainly did. Nancy Drew for a slightly older crowd? Whatever it is, I seem to sink into her world and never wish to exit until I have reached the last page, and I find them just as much fun at my advanced age as I did when I was in my teens and devouring them for the first time.

Lest you think Mary Stewart a simple, unsophisticated romance writer, allow me to assure you that she writes with wit, and with a knowledge base that shows at every turn. She brings her settings to life, she stirs in some mythology and classical references, and she gives you a bit of classic poetry to start off every chapter head.

They’re not fates, or anything terrible; they don’t affect the lives of men; all they have to do is see that the world gets its hours of darkness, and they do this by spinning the moon down out of the sky. Night after night, you can see the moon getting less and less, the ball of light waning, while it grows on the spidles of the maidens. Then, at length, the moon is gone, and the world has darkness, and rest, and the creatures of the hillsides are safe from the hunter and the tides are still...Then in 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, rising above the sea, just a thin curved thread, reappearing in the sky.

I’m not sure I will ever look at the full or waning moon in the same light again. If that image doesn’t grab you, you have no romance in your soul, and this isn’t the author for you. If, like me, you would like to exercise your ability to suspend your disbelief and stroll in a land you might never see in reality and come away feeling you have been there and walked its streets...well, dive in...Mary Stewart and Crete are waiting.
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I learned about this book through a review or article in May 2022. I wish I could recall what brought it to my attention. It appealed to me, so I looked it up.

This is one of the rare Disney films that I have not seen, so I will be watching it soon. I am a fan of Hayley Mills, too.

The book was lovely; evoking a time and place. The characters who should be likeable were likeable. The mystery was just right. ( )

One of my mom's all time favourites, and I've finally read it. I don't know what it is about Mary Stewart's books but they always start off a bit slow for me - or maybe I'm just impatient for the suspense to start? Either way, they usually pick up pretty quickly and this was no exception. The further along I got into the book, the harder it was to put down.

Still, these are very plot-driven books, so even though I enjoy the heck out of them, I always feel there's a little something lacking because there's not a lot of time spent on character building. The Moonspinners probably had the best characterisations of all Stewart's books I've read to date. Definitely a lot of fun; even if you don't care for the plot or the characters, it's almost worth it for the scenery of Crete alone. ( )