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wickedplutoswickedreading's review against another edition
3.0
At times overly dramatic and full of characters I strongly disliked. Still, twists and turns and beautiful descriptions.
easolinas's review against another edition
4.0
Phyllis A. Whitney's books tend to have certain repeating themes -- you'll have a young woman with a mysterious past, cryptic half-hints, family drama, some sinister relations, a murder or two, a beautiful setting, and a handsome guy.
Don't worry, you'll find all that floating around in "The Ebony Swan." But the focus in this romantic thriller is more on the young woman's grandmother and how the misdeeds of her youth have spread poison into the lives of everyone around her. The current-day romance feels a bit forced, but the rest is powerful and dramatic.
Twenty-five years ago, Susan Prentice's mother Dolores was killed in a fall down the stairs. Her angry father blamed her grandmother, Alex Montoro, and took his child far away.
But after a broken engagement and stalled career, Susan decides to visit her grandmother at long last. But Alex isn't entirely sure she can cope with the old emotions Susan's arrival will stir up -- particularly a painful secret that overshadowed Alex's entire marriage to the novelist Juan Gabriel.
Both Susan and Alex begin dwelling on the past -- Susan investigates the circumstances around her mother's might-have-been-murder, while Alex is forced to face the ugly misdeeds that may be connected to Dolores' death. But someone near them is determined to keep the past buried.
Unlike most of Phyllis A. Whitney's books, "The Ebony Swan" isn't really about the young woman with the mysterious past. Yes, Susan is an important character, but an eighty-something ex-ballerina ends up taking over most of the story -- her love affair, her tainted marriage and her regrets all feel richer and more vivid than any part of Susan's story.
The rest of the story is vintage Whitney, though. As usual, she loads down the story with elegant clothes, and lots of loving descriptions of the exotic location du jour (this time: North Virginia and Tangier Island). Whitney slathers the whole story with a feeling of dread, usually by having lots of people saying ominous things with little explanation.
The biggest problem is perhaps the character of Peter, who feels like he was included out of reflex rather than necessity. You could have cut this character completely, and the story would not have suffered.
But then, the most powerful relationships in this are between Alex and the people who have shaped her life, one of whom is already dead. We see her painfully moving forward to the point where she can reconnect with her granddaughter, and deal with the guilt she has toward her passionate late husband. The Peter/Susan relationship feels like it's tacked on by comparison.
"The Ebony Swan" has most of the tropes you'll find in a Phyllis A. Whitney novel, but with the unusual twist of having an old lady as the lead. The only problem is the awkward romantic subplot.
Don't worry, you'll find all that floating around in "The Ebony Swan." But the focus in this romantic thriller is more on the young woman's grandmother and how the misdeeds of her youth have spread poison into the lives of everyone around her. The current-day romance feels a bit forced, but the rest is powerful and dramatic.
Twenty-five years ago, Susan Prentice's mother Dolores was killed in a fall down the stairs. Her angry father blamed her grandmother, Alex Montoro, and took his child far away.
But after a broken engagement and stalled career, Susan decides to visit her grandmother at long last. But Alex isn't entirely sure she can cope with the old emotions Susan's arrival will stir up -- particularly a painful secret that overshadowed Alex's entire marriage to the novelist Juan Gabriel.
Both Susan and Alex begin dwelling on the past -- Susan investigates the circumstances around her mother's might-have-been-murder, while Alex is forced to face the ugly misdeeds that may be connected to Dolores' death. But someone near them is determined to keep the past buried.
Unlike most of Phyllis A. Whitney's books, "The Ebony Swan" isn't really about the young woman with the mysterious past. Yes, Susan is an important character, but an eighty-something ex-ballerina ends up taking over most of the story -- her love affair, her tainted marriage and her regrets all feel richer and more vivid than any part of Susan's story.
The rest of the story is vintage Whitney, though. As usual, she loads down the story with elegant clothes, and lots of loving descriptions of the exotic location du jour (this time: North Virginia and Tangier Island). Whitney slathers the whole story with a feeling of dread, usually by having lots of people saying ominous things with little explanation.
The biggest problem is perhaps the character of Peter, who feels like he was included out of reflex rather than necessity. You could have cut this character completely, and the story would not have suffered.
But then, the most powerful relationships in this are between Alex and the people who have shaped her life, one of whom is already dead. We see her painfully moving forward to the point where she can reconnect with her granddaughter, and deal with the guilt she has toward her passionate late husband. The Peter/Susan relationship feels like it's tacked on by comparison.
"The Ebony Swan" has most of the tropes you'll find in a Phyllis A. Whitney novel, but with the unusual twist of having an old lady as the lead. The only problem is the awkward romantic subplot.
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