Product Description

Shining with intrigue, allure, and passionate suspense, Amethyst Dreams is Phyllis Whitney at her most spectacular--a story bejeweled with hypnotic prose and spellbinding secrets. . . .

Seeking shelter from her own broken dreams, Hallie Knight answers a cryptic plea for help from Nicholas Trench, the grandfather of her dearest friend. Susan mysteriously disappeared from home one night off North Carolina's historical Topsail Island--and Hallie is Nick's last hope of finding her.

But surrounding Nick is a family as headstrong as they are suspicious--for at the heart of the matter is a vast inheritance. And as Hallie is lured deeper into a mystery nestled in a quagmire of bitterness, dark betrayal, and subtle menace, she becomes certain of one thing: this sunny, seaside paradise harbors dangerous and profoundly shattering secrets. . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #629651 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-27
• Released on: 1998-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 304 pages

From Library Journal
The best-selling author of romantic suspense has a magical way with words, whether with a book's title, location, or colorful blend of character names. In her newest work, a missing granddaughter named Susan is the only shadow on a canvas of vibrant personalities like Mrs. Orion and Captain Nicholas. Susan's ailing grandfather has summoned former college roommate Hallie to their historic seaport town to help find his granddaughter, who has disappeared mysteriously from her bedroom. As Hallie puzzles over her friend's fate, at the same time contending with suspicious relatives, it feels as if Whitney is carefully putting into place all the loose threads of a handstitch tapestry. What matters here are the characters' wonderfully wrought temperatments?no sinners, no saints, but ultimately lots of forgiveness?and the subtle, little glimpses of fear that keep readers looking for answers right up to the satisfying conclusion. Suitable reading for any library.
-?M.E. Chitty, Narragansett, R.I.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
With a lengthy backlist to her credit and recognition as Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, Whitney returns with her thirty-eighth foray into the realm of romantic suspense. This latest is somewhat shy on thrills, but the author hasn't forgotten the fine nuances and descriptive prose that her devoted fans have come to expect. When Hallie Knight receives a summons to Topsail Island by the grandfather of her college roommate, she immediately responds. Knowing that Susan has disappeared without a trace piques her curiosity, but she's also glad of the opportunity to escape the pain caused by her husband's infidelity. She never expects to become the catalyst for unraveling the strange fate of her friend or find the courage to reexamine her own life. The languid pace is perfect for cozy, rainy-day reading, and the splendid backdrop, infused with local color and history, beckons. Predictably solid performance from an old hand with name-brand appeal. Stephanie Zvirin

From Kirkus Reviews
Whitney's 39th novel (Daughter of the Stars, 1994, etc.) is a confusing mishmash of plot and character, but the author's usual enthusiasm for setting and historical background will continue to please her fans. It's been two years since Susan Trench disappeared, and her wealthy, dying grandfather Nicholas can't bear to meet his maker without learning what happened to her. It's possible that the pretty, tempestuous, self-dramatizing Susan deliberately absented herself from the family manse on Topsail Island off the coast of North Carolina, but her gloomy father, her grandfather's housekeeper, and Susan's former lover, the housekeeper's son, are all convinced she's dead. When Nicholas sends for Susan's best friend from college, Hallie Knight, to reminisce about Susan, his family panics over rumors that Nicholas plans to leave to Hallie the fortune he'd intended for Susan. Hallie, a sensible young California native eager for a vacation from her troubled marriage, accepts the invitation, unaware of the hornet's nest she's stepping into. Once she arrives on Topsail Island, her sympathy for Susan's grandfather--and her own need to know what happened--prompts her to investigate the family's many secrets in the hope of solving the longstanding mystery. Meanwhile, a high-security missile project, a secret underground room, a pool of quicksand, a beautiful former circus performer, and a pair of amethyst geodes that invoke strange visions are stuffed willy-nilly into the mystery, Nancy Drew style. The characters' abrupt shifts in attitude and behavior, as well as the arbitrary unveiling of new clues, also make for a very bumpy ride. And the solution to the mystery is a disappointment. Still, Whitney's loving descriptions of (fictitious) historic homes provide more entertainment than Hallie's vague ruminations over what happened to her unfortunate friend. Not this eightysomething author's best, then, but her obvious relish for the romantic suspense genre is charming. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Not one of Phyllis whitney's better novels....
But I enjoyed it just the same. As someone else mentioned, i too had problems with some of the dialogue that ran throughout the novel. It read like the characters were reciting from a travel brochure. However, the story itself was interesting to me and read like a typical Phyllis A Whitney novel.

AMETHYST DREAMS is about the mystery behind a missing person, Susan Trench. An old college friend of hers, Hallie Knight, is summoned by Susan's grandfather Nicholas Trench, to help figure out who killed Susan, and from there the novel begins. We learn about the people that meant most to Susan, and what Susan was all about. Who wanted her dead? And why?

Among the sub plots are Hallie's troubled marraige, Nicholas's relationships with his wife Anne, who was a famous artist now living on her own, and other various persons that lived on Top Sail Island and were somehow connected to Susan.

I wouldnt' recommend this as a first novel for those who haven't read other books by Phyllis A Whitney. but as a fan, I would definitely recommend it. Ms Whitney has always been able to create characters that I like, and I find myself wanting to read more simply because she knows how to tell a good story.

Not one of her better books!
While it kept me interested enough to finish, I was disappointed in the ending. It's about a woman who is summoned by the grandfather of her college friend. The college friend has been missing for a couple years, and he wants her to find the girl before he dies. There were a lot of little sub-plots which kept the story interesting, but I have to say it wasn't one of Ms. Whitney's better books.

DREAMS, DREAMS,DREAMS
I thought this book was rather interesting. The storyline was one that kept you guessing what really happened to Susan Trench. This was Hallie Knight's assignment. Hallie was called into play by Susan"s grandfather. After uncovering many family secrets--she solves the puzzle.