Will I love The Moon-Spinners?

To be honest, I could have completed this list with just Mary Stewart titles alone!

No one does lush, atmospheric suspense like she does. I discovered her books as a lonely teenager dreaming of escape, and her rich, immersive writing has inspired me not only to follow in her footsteps as an author but also to travel on “book pilgrimages” to find the settings of her wonderful stories.

And I don’t just mean ticking off a tourist spot with an Instagram selfie—I mean hours building an itinerary with guidebooks, Google Maps, and her novels to find the exact beach in… show more.

I found The Moon-Spiners through a Disney movie of the same name (book was better). When I found out it was also a book, I went hunting at my local library and fell in love with the way Stewart immediately pulled me into her stories, evoking awe, fear, laughter ,and romance. She wafted me away to exotic places, and into exciting and romantic adventures with strong female characters. I went on to read all her books, even the Arthurian ones, but her romantic suspense books remain my favorites and the ones I turn to when I need a comfortable visit… show more.

Nicola’s working in Crete, and has arranged to meet her cousin Frances for a holiday at a little taverna in the White Mountains—except that on her way there she becomes involved with Mike. He was on holiday with his younger brother, Colin, until they witnessed a murder; now Mike’s lying injured in a shepherd’s hut, and Colin has disappeared. The plot is fast-moving, the characters and dialogue great, and the description of Crete makes you feel you’re there with Nicola as she takes a hand in bringing the murderers to justice. I’ve loved all Stewart’s books since my… show more.

I read this during my steamy adolescence. Written in the sixties, there are no love scenes, but when the plot forces heroine Nicola Ferris to curl up next to injured and extremely attractive Mark, pent-up eroticism bursts from the pages. The romance is magnified by the setting in the mountains of Crete, imbued with “the smell of the lemon-flowers, the clicking of the mill-sails and the sound of spilling water; the sunlight dappling through the leaves on the white anemones…all this seemed to rush together into a point of powerful magic, happiness striking like an arrow, with one of those… show more.