Back when I was just starting to read adult books, my mother steered me to Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and other gothic romance authors. I devoured them. I wanted to read one again to see if they stand up to time. I can see why I loved them so much and did enjoy this one. ( )

The singing stones on a mountain top in Virginia's Blue Ridge country provide the eerie atmosphere of MWA Grand Master Whitney's 34th novel, after Rainbow in the Mist. Narrator Lynn McLeod, a child psychologist, comes here to help Jilly, the 10-year-old daughter of her ex-husband, architect Stephen Asch, and his second wife, exotic dancer Oriana. Having answered the plea of psychic Julian Forster and his wife Vivian, Lynn agrees to counsel Jilly, who is traumatized after witnessing a murder and the fall that crippled her father. Among the many members of the household, the Forsters are the child's only source of support. Stephen, sunken into apathy, ignores her; Oriana is off pursuing her career. When other murders follow, as well as attempts to kill Jilly and Lynn, Julian persuades the psychologist to ``regress'' into a former life under hypnotism, the key to detecting a killer among reincarnated souls. Implausible and confusing at best, the mystery ends on a blatant contrivance but will probably be as popular as its predecessors. Paperback rights to Fawcett. (Mar.)

very good

good mystery in Blue Ridge - therapist to help troubled daughter

It begins one momentous October day when an unexpected letter arrives, inviting Lynn McLeod to the Virginia Blue Ridge home of Stephen Asche, her former husband. Stephen's daughter-by another woman-is troubled and needs her help. Lynn is a clinical psychologist whose work with terminally ill children has brought her a compassion and understanding that may help this little girl.

Despite her misgivings, Lynn accepts the invitation. As she is drawn subtly into the lives of everyone in the secluded household, old passions are revived and new mysteries encountered-disturbing mysteries about a local murder. Deadly secrets haunt Stephen and his daughter. The "Singing Stones" sound from the cliffs above the house, calling to Lynn--soft, hypnotic, and menacing. Somehow Lynn must find the answer if she is to save both Stephen and the child.

My mother gave this to me because it takes place in Charlottesville, Virginia, where I used to live. I imagine she picked it up at a garage sale somewhere in Illinois.This was a very quick read. The characters are more or less believable, but I was terribly unimpressed with Stephen and therefore Lynn as well. I also thought the ending was kind of forced. I like to be surprised at the identity of the killer in a "wow, I never would have suspected him/her but it all makes sense now" kind of way instead of a "hey look, the author took the least likely person and made them act out of character in order to explain their motive" kind of way. Julian was pretty cool, at any rate.All the same, it kept my interest to the very end and brought back pleasant memories of the Charlottesville area. Strangely enough, the book set C'ville in Nelson County. Perhaps in the 14 years since it was written things have changed - today C'ville is in Albemarle County. ( )