Even when Whitney’s books aren’t great, her sense of setting and atmosphere never falter. This is true of The Stone Bull. The pacing is slow, but atmosphere abounds. She plays with timelines in the narrative – as if someone was writing a diary retrospectively, jumping between present and just-past events, then skipping ahead another day and looking back. It sounds like a disaster, but it worked and took me very little effort to get used to.

The characters are typical of Whitney; a bit shallow; capricious; prone to instant love and romance. What’s different here from the other books of hers I’ve read so far, is that this one starts where the rest usually end – after the wedding and in the throes of honeymoon giddiness. Of course the honeymoon isn’t going to last. Let’s just say the story feels progressive for a romantic Suspense novel written in 1977, by a woman who was 74 years old at the time of publishing and had lived the bulk of her life under a different set of social norms.

Definitely not her best, but still readable, if a little tedious. ( )

Jenny is grieving and also dealing with guilt over the death of her world- famous ballerina sister Ariel. Ariel is known to be a drama queen and loves basking in everyone's attention, and Jenny always having to live in the shadow. So when Ariel calls distraught, rambling about things that Jenny doesn't understand and threatening to kill herself and wants her sister to drop everything and fly to her aid, Jenny just blows it off, thinking this is another ploy for attention. The next day Jenny learns her sister was successful in her demise.

While trying to come to terms with all this, Jenny meets a man and falls head over heels in love and is quickly married to the man of her dreams. Slowly, she learns Brenden is not all she thought he was.
Brenden and his family own an old historic inn on a large piece of beautiful property, but mysterious deaths happen, and to Jenny's surprise, the first was involving her sister before her own death. Everyone in her new family wants to believe it was Ariel as the murderer to protect one of their own, but Jenny is determined to clear her sister's name and see justice done.

I enoyed this book with its supsense and wondering if her marriage with Brenden will work out, if she will find the real murderer, as well as making peace with herself about her sister. ( )

Jenny has lived all her life in the shadow of the older sister she resembles outwardly, but without the grace that Ariel, the late prima ballerina, had in all her movements. Their mother concentrated on Ariel. Ariel herself had a history of threatening suicide, calling Jenny to drop everything and come to her. The one time Jenny didn't come, Ariel carried out her threat. Or did she? Was she murdered?

Ever since she was old enough to be interested in the opposite sex, Jenny has had no chance because the boys, then men, always fell for Ariel. Now Jenny is married to handsome, arrogant Brendan McCain, after a whirlwind courtship. They didn't meet until after Ariel was dead, so Jenny has no fear that she'll lose Brendan to her sister.

How fortunate it is that Jenny loves nature because Brendan owns Laurel Mountain and lake, a gorgeous seven thousand-acre retreat in upper New York. The family hotel is wonderful. Brendan's mother, Irene, is ready to welcome her as a daughter. Sure, Brendan's stepfather, Loring Grant, wants to destroy the peace of Laurel Mountain by bulldozing a section, building cottages, and getting clients who'll spend lots of money instead of looking for a quiet retreat, but he has only Irene's shares to vote with. Brendan's maiden aunt, Naomi McCain, might be expected to welcome Jenny because they both love flowers, but Naomi is strangely hostile.

Keir, who looks after the grounds, is suspicious of Jenny. His son, Magnus Devin the magnificent sculpter, wants Jenny to pose for him. Magnus is a widower. His shrewish wife, Floris, died in a horrible accident that may not have been accidental at all.

Now Jenny must find out the truth about Floris and her sister -- truths no one else there seems to want to know. Scandal would also ruin the peace at Laurel Mountain. Jenny must know, no matter who tries to stop her, because she isn't willing to let a murderer go free.

The descriptions of the scenery made me wish I could be there. I didn't guess the killer. At the beginning of the book I found it hard to be patient with Jenny. She reminded me of a saying someone -- was it Ann Landers? -- had about some persons taking more care in selecting a winter coat than a mate. Jenny is wiser about love by the end, thank goodness.

Even though I often want to scream unwanted advice to Ms. Whitney's naive heroines, I still enjoy her books. ( )