Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #294510 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Over the years, Barbara Erskine has been able to build up a considerable following for her densely plotted, imaginative novels of romantic suspense. Her particular speciality is the vigorously created world she imagines for her characters. In Whispers in the Sand, her heroine Anna Fox undertakes a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, following the progress of a journey her great grandmother, Louisa, made in the 19th century. The details of the recently divorced Anna's odyssey are handled with dazzling authority, and even if the multiple love story at the centre of the narrative was not so adroitly handled, we would still be beguiled by the panoply of a powerfully drawn Egyptian journey.

Erskine never loses sight of the fact that the reader must be thoroughly engaged by the problems she sets for her characters. Anna takes on her trip two of Louisa's possessions (the latter was a famous artist): an Egyptian scent bottle from the distant past and a beautifully illustrated diary of the original cruise that no one has read for over a century. We are allowed to be caught up in a fascinating love story from the Victorian era as Anna reads the diary, and more sinister relics of the past (such as the glass bottle) give an edge to the romantic intrigue. As Anna's journey progresses, other members of the party seem to be interested in the mementoes, and there is a rivalry between two men for her attention.

However, the most compelling strand to Erskine's tale is the sinister haunting that Anna finds herself the victim of, as a mysterious presence begins to exert a grip over her. Readers nowadays are used to narratives that take place simultaneously in both the past and the present (such as AS Byatt's Possession, for instance), but the device is handled with particular skill here. In fact, those who have enjoyed such Barbara Erskine books as On the Edge of Darkness will probably be surprised at the sophisticated enjoyment on offer here: this is her most ambitious book yet, and her sensuous scene-setting is first-rate:

Louisa set down her pen and stared out of the window at the dark river outside. She had pulled over the lavish shutters to allow the smell of it, the warmth of the night air, the occasional breath of chill wind from the desert to enter her cabin. It all captivated her. She listened carefully. Above, the stars were violent sparks against the blue-black sky. There was a slight movement behind her, and she turned...

Synopsis
The gripping new suspense story by the bestselling author of LADY OF HAY and ON THE EDGE OF DARKNESS, is set in richly mysterious Egypt, where past and present elide. Recently divorced, Anna Coburn decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great-grandmother, Louisa, a renowned artist, made in the mid-nineteenth century -- a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions -- an ancient Egyptian scent bottle, and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for a hundred years. As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past, and the chilling, more distant secret of the little glass bottle. Meanwhile, two men from the tour party are showing a disturbing interest in these mementos, and developing an unfriendly rivalry for Anna's attention. And, most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a haunting, a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax.

Customer Reviews

For Die-Hard Erskine Fans
Barbara Erskine re-explores her favorite themes of obsession, romance, and the supernatural in this 500+-page novel told against the exotic backdrop of the lush Nile banks and the fascinating monuments of Egypt's ancient kings.

In 1866, famous artist Louisa Shelley, newly widowed cruises down from Luxor to Ashram. She recounts her travel adventures through her paintings/sketches and in her diary. In particular she revels in the telling of a newfound love and his gift of an ancient scent bottle.

Now in modern times, Louisa's great-great-granddaughter, Anna, at odds with her own life, returns to the scene of her ancestor's adventure, bringing the diary and the scent bottle back to Egypt where their return initiates a chain of events which threaten Anna's very life. Feelings of greed, obsession,and jealousy stir amongst the passengers on-board Anna's cruise, but the main force unleashed whirls from the hub of the scent bottle, the contents of which is protected by two malevolent priests who drain the lifeforce of all those who come within the bottle's sphere of influence.

This particular foray into the supernatural is written very much in the more hurried style Ms Erskine employs in "On The Edge of Darkness". The characters are not as finely drawn as in her earlier successes, "Lady of Hay" and "Child of the Phoenix", nor does it contain the mind-chilling fear generated so frightfully well in "House of Echoes". Here, the frenetic state of the cruise passengers due from "exposure" to the priests and the bottle seems trite and a little too indignant to be considered realistic. There is a lot of angry repetitive conversation and a lot of toe-treading right from the start which in a normal holiday environment would not exist and could only be thought of as contrived by the author to suggest the dark behind-the-scenes workings of the priests. Even so, the events flow quickly and remain somewhat interesting due to the technique of interspercing Louisa's diary entries with corresponding moments during Anna's tour. One final problem---As the story runs on, accruing one catastrophe after another, it dies abruptly with no apparent ending or resolution other than an afterward by the author where we are told we like the characters must acknowledge the priests' evil and decide that some form of semi-unification amongst the book's persona will eventually and successfully combat it. While this ending may seem "real", it is nonetheless not a satisfacatory literary ending. The priests may or may not be subdued, nothing is rectified concretely and consequently,the reader feels taken for a ride with an appropriate destination in sight, but, alas, disappointingly never quite reaches the goal.

Hopefully, Ms Erskine's next endeavor will render a more satisfactory conclusion and rekindle that fresh interest in the unknown/occult that her earier works evoke.

Compelling, yet highly disappointing
I must say I immensely enjoyed reading this book. It was a lovely holiday read full of mystery, romance, ancient (and not so ancient) history, and above all, full of Egypt!
The plot is quite original, and I absolutely loved the magical bits! They're most convincing and breath-taking... I really couldn't put this book down while I was reading it.
The ending, however, was extremely disappointing. The author doesn't solve the plot at all, she only complicates the situation and leaves it as it is right there. So the reader can but guess about what's to happen. Quite inappropriate in my opinion.
My final thought would be: Read this book if you really really love Ancient Egypt, but don't expect a satisfying ending.

An excellent and gripping read
For anyone with any interest in Ancient and Modern Egypt, this book is wonderful. The plot is fast moving, complex and varied yet easy to follow. Barbara Erskine has a way of subtly scaring her readers. The characters are well portrayed, believable and surprising. Together with the plot, the descriptions of the Egyptian temples, Nile scenery and way of life are vividly displayed. Alongside the main modern setting of the story, there is a Victorian story told in diary form. The parallels of the two similar experiences are interesting. All Barbara Erskines books have the excitement, detail, slight historical slant, and twists which make the reader look over their shoulder and wonder just wonder if -----