I stumbled upon this author, not knowing much about her style or her books. Just picked up one of hers one day because I liked the cover. I don't remember much about that book, only that I liked it and decided to get more on PBS. This recent one-although took me longer to finish than most other books, was amazing. Mystery, Romance, History...all of it. I admit I have overlooked this author, but I plans to check out more of her work. If you are a first time reader of Carol Goodman-this book should have you wanting more. Amazing!

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This was my second book by Goodman and I found it as engrossing as the first. It was hard to put down and I hid away to finish it.

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I read this book after reading her previous novel, The Lake of Dead Languages. I found this one even more of a page turner, good complex mystery story with some mythical elements mixed in.

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Very fast, intriguing read. I only wish that I could read the mother's stories, too!

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A compelling story about the roles stories play in our lives. A great read!

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Carol Goodman is making a name for herself in the mystery/fiction/romance genre. Like all of her other books, this one takes place in a school. There are many layers of mystery among students, teachers and teachers who are former students. The story moves back and forth between present and past events. The setting, the winter season and the lure of the water contribute to the atmosphere.

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Iris Greenfeder is driven to write a novel based on her mother's life and a mysterious Irish folk tale that her mother used to tell as a bedtime story. Iris returns to the resort hotel where she grew up in order to learn more about her mother. As she begins to investigate the circumstances surrounding her mother's life and death, "accidents" begin to happen that don't appear to be "accidents".

A great book!!! Awesome mystery story weaving the past, the present, and a haunting Irish folk tale of the "selkies".

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This book did not enthrall me at all. REading other reviews, it seems that a lot of people think Goodman's other books are better. If so, it's too bad I read this one first, as I'm not sure if I will give anything else by her a try or not.

Some of the reviews of this book (on the cover and in publication stuff) call this book a "thriller." That is most certainly is not - whoever uses that description does not know the difference between a thriller and a mystery. This is a mystery....but for me, one that I cared less and less about as time went on. It started out okay, but it was hard to care much about any of the characters (including the protaganist) except for Aidan. After about 200 pages, to be honest I really didn't care at all about the "mystery," what happened to Iris' mother or any of the other plot lines. Everything moved SO slowly and painfully that honestly, I had to force myself to even finish this book.

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This is a great book. It's intelligent, is well written and beautiful. I love Carol Goodman and look forward to more from her.

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it's no surprise that i couldn't put this book down.

the characters were lively, the plot interesting (one of those books you finally put down between chapters and find yourself still wondering what's going on, what's going to happen...). not my favorite of her books, but that's either because; a- nothing could beat 'lake of dead languages' (which i HIGHLY recommend you read) or possibly, b- i've read too many of her books in too short a time and have grown bored with something in them.

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