Joanne Whalley Books

I bought the book in an airport, wanting to be entertained for the whole flight. It took me months to finish because it was NOT a page turner. The whole plot was an interesting concept. B-U-T it was S--L--O--W. The characters jumped from modern day, to 1477, to 1940's, character to character, and hard to figure out whose story you were reading at the time. I really like this type of story, but it is not a book that I kept after reading it, and didn't recommend it to any of my friends.

This book had the potential to be a terrific read. It had its moments, but getting to those moments was hard. If I wanted a Fodor's tavel book with dry, detailed descriptions, I would have got one. It also read at times like a thesis. It should have been edited down more.

I loved this book! Great pace, kept me going and I couldn't get to the ending soon enough!

Even if you have no interest in Dracula or are not a fan of Bram Stoker this book will enthrall you the entire time you are reading and will call you back when you put it down. Just to read of the majesty of the old monasteries and the mystery of travelling through communist countries before and after the war will astound, confuse and intrigue even the most timid of readers. This author weaves a tale between generations and holds you in an intense grip of fear and anticipation until you fall back in relief when the story is finished - but wish you could wait to conclude - and then she hits you with a final fear on the last page. This is a wonderful read and I am so glad to be the owner of this collectible. One word of warning is that the binding on the book is severely bad and has a tendency to pull apart. The pages have a rip-torn appearance and the book itself is not a pleasure to hold - but a dear pleasure to read.

This book is amazing. I bought this book for a friend after having listened to it on audio. You will find yourself captivated by the story and wondering if the "history" of it is actually taken from true events. If you listen to this story on audio there are numerous readers and the voices are spellbinding. I normally read "light" fun mystery books and this is not something I would normally have been interested in. However, This is now one of my favorite books of all time. Please do yourself a favor and either read it or listen to it. You will not want to put it down for a second.