When Nicola Ferris arrives outside the Cretan village of Agios Georgios one day early to start her holiday, she hardly
expects to land in the middle of murder. Yet hardly any time at all passes between stashing her luggage by the bridge into the village and being confronted by the knife-wielding Lambis on the hill above the village Nicola soon discovers, however, that Lambis is not the cut-throat bandit she fears; rather he is protecting Mark Langley, an innocent British tourist who witnessed the murder of an unknown man, and who was injured when shot at by the killers. Mark is frantic to begin searching for his younger brother, Colin, whom he has not seen since the night of the murder, but cannot do so until he regains enough strength to move. Once he finds Colin, he will be content to return to Lambis’ boat and hand the entire affair over to the authorities. But where is Colin? Is he even alive? When Nicola finally makes her appearance at the hotel in Agios Georgios to meet her cousin Francis and resume her holiday, it is with firm instructions from Mark to forget the whole incident and enjoy her vacation. However, she soon learns that the mystery is centred on her hotel. Moreover, she could hardly be expected to forget that an adolescent boy is missing. In this mystery, Mary Stewart skillfully weaves in the Greek legend of the moon-spinners, who spin away the moon every month to provide a dark night of refuge for hunted things. She also vividly portrays the Cretan countryside which Mark and Lambis scour for signs of Colin, even as they are pursued by the killers. As usual her characters are realistically and sympathetically drawn so that even the villains have some claim on the reader’s respect, if not affection. An extra element of romance and descriptions of the village inhabitants and Greek customs make the tale more than an intellectual puzzle and the solution to the mystery is fast-paced and surprising, with a dash of humour. The Moon-spinners is a novel to satisfy romance and mystery lovers alike.
expects to land in the middle of murder. Yet hardly any time at all passes between stashing her luggage by the bridge into the village and being confronted by the knife-wielding Lambis on the hill above the village Nicola soon discovers, however, that Lambis is not the cut-throat bandit she fears; rather he is protecting Mark Langley, an innocent British tourist who witnessed the murder of an unknown man, and who was injured when shot at by the killers. Mark is frantic to begin searching for his younger brother, Colin, whom he has not seen since the night of the murder, but cannot do so until he regains enough strength to move. Once he finds Colin, he will be content to return to Lambis’ boat and hand the entire affair over to the authorities. But where is Colin? Is he even alive? When Nicola finally makes her appearance at the hotel in Agios Georgios to meet her cousin Francis and resume her holiday, it is with firm instructions from Mark to forget the whole incident and enjoy her vacation. However, she soon learns that the mystery is centred on her hotel. Moreover, she could hardly be expected to forget that an adolescent boy is missing. In this mystery, Mary Stewart skillfully weaves in the Greek legend of the moon-spinners, who spin away the moon every month to provide a dark night of refuge for hunted things. She also vividly portrays the Cretan countryside which Mark and Lambis scour for signs of Colin, even as they are pursued by the killers. As usual her characters are realistically and sympathetically drawn so that even the villains have some claim on the reader’s respect, if not affection. An extra element of romance and descriptions of the village inhabitants and Greek customs make the tale more than an intellectual puzzle and the solution to the mystery is fast-paced and surprising, with a dash of humour. The Moon-spinners is a novel to satisfy romance and mystery lovers alike.
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