Victoria Holt Does it Again

I have to admit when Allyssa first introduced me to Victoria Holt I was not very impressed. It took me almost six months to get through The Captive. Okay, I took a three month break halfway through. But you get the point, it didn't hold my interest. However, the twist at the ending totally rocked my socks. The cliche, overdone, love triangle had a surprise ending so I decided I would give Holt another chance--and am glad I did.

One of my favorite things about Holt's books is I hardly ever guess the ending correctly. She always surprises me. And The Shivering Sands did not disappoint in that area. 

Alice was the murderer = Mind Blown!

Holt is so good at misdirection and suspense and despite the number of books she has penned, I have yet to come across cookie-cutter characters. One of the things that really intrigued me about this book was Caroline's back story. She is shrouded in this haunted past and just can't seem to break away from Pierto. His presence is so strong, that even after death, he still controls her. That feeling is so true. There are people that so consume our lives, we stop living for ourselves. That aspect really helped me feel a connection to Caroline.

Okay, was I the only one that equated Caroline and Napier's relationship to Elizabeth and Darcy? I couldn't help it. The way they interacted just keep me coming back to Pride and Prejudice. The dialogue, quips, tense romantic situations, I enjoyed them all and was very happy that Napier and Caroline ended up together. Because, honestly, they had the most in common and both of them understood how it felt to have another life overshadow their own. 

Now, my favorite part of the book was the murder weapon. As soon as we were told about the shivering sands a light bulb of awesome went off in my head! What a brilliantly evil and sadistically slow way to kill people. I loved it. Thanks for not disappointing, Holt!

So, if you guys enjoyed this foray into the world of Victoria Holt, I would like to recommend some more of her books.

The Road to Paradise Island - My Favorite book by her so far and I would also include it in my top 15 favorite books ever (yes, I loved it that much). We are talking murder, secret diaries, treasure maps, past and present colliding--it has it all!

The Mistress of Mellyn - Allyssa mentioned this in her post, and believe me, it deserves a second mention. Talk about an ending with a twist!

The India Fan - This book spans at least two decades in the life of Druscilla Delaney and I desperately want someone to do a mini-series.

The Shivering Sands

This book hooked me right off the bat.  At the beginning Caroline starts off with mentioning that her sister is missing and then proceeds to tell her back story. So I was immediately hooked but I also enjoyed Caroline's history.  I thought Holt did a great job with the Caroline's narrative in that it flowed easily and kept my attention. There was a part in the middle of the book where I thought the story was slowing down and then Holt hit me with the surprise when Edith also disappeared.

I thought Caroline was a well rounded character and I loved that she was determined to find her sister.  While it seems that her and Roma are not close, in times of need they are there for each other.  When Caroline's husband dies, Roma invites her sister to her dig.  Then when Roma disappears and Caroline puts herself in danger to find the truth.

I also enjoyed Caroline's relationship with Napier.  He is portrayed as the "bad guy" by all the other characters in the book but with Caroline we get to slowly see the true Napier. I am also glad she choose Napier over Godfrey.  While Godfrey wasn't a bad guy, her and Napier had passion and a connection she didn't have with Godfrey.

I did not foresee that Alice was the murderer.  I honestly didn't think of any of the girls as suspects because I felt the adult characters had more motive.  I really should have known better. I've seen enough episodes of Criminal Minds to know children are capable of murder.  It also showed that no matter the upbringing, Alice became like her father.

This was the first novel I've read by Victoria Holt and I look forward to reading more by her. Thanks for introducing me to a wonderful author Amanda!