Even though I find Phyllis A. Whitney's books to be a little bit hit and miss, she's still my favorite author of old-school romantic suspense. Where Victoria Holt's romances feel instantaneous and contrived, and Mary Stewart's plotting is often (sorry mom) ludicrous, Whitney's stories have so far offered much more consistently crafted plots, vivid settings, and haunting atmosphere. Her romances don't always work for me (romances seldom do), but the characters do, at least, work up to HEA at a slower, sometimes more smouldering, pace.

Woman Without a Past almost got a pass from me at the bookstore because, geez, the title. And then there's the cover. Actually, it was mostly the cover, but the title screamed Amnesia story! and that's just a no from me on principle. But the back cover rescued the book; a woman is recognised at her editor's office as being the long lost identical twin, kidnapped as a baby, from an old and prominent Charleston (South Carolina) family. Strictly speaking, the title is not at all accurate.

This book drips Southern Gothic. From the prescient cat, to the rocking horse that rocks itself; from the old plantation house, to the slightly mad mother the family tries to keep locked away as much as possible and the cousin that believes she communes with the dead, this book honestly has it all. Except romance; there's a hint of it here and there and there's certainly talk of it, but no actual romance until the very, very end.

In general, the story is well-written, and it's a good story. But a couple of things worked against it; one is probably just a twist of timing, as I started it on the plane, and then struggled to finish it while jet-lag kicked my butt, leaving me with the feeling that it took forever to finish it; the second was my exasperation with the main character. Everyone thinks she's strong and independent, yet at no point in the book did she actually act strong or independent. She mostly just allowed everyone to roll over her. It wasn't enough to make me actively dislike her, but it was enough that I was often impatient with her.

As I said, not her best, but certainly not her worst. Fans of true gothic romance will recognise shades of certain classics in this book; definitely worth a look if you see it in your library or on the bargain rack.

I read this for the Southern Gothic square of Halloween Bingo 2018. ( )

If I had read this book when it was first published, in 1991, I may have liked it. However, I'd like to hope my literary taste has matured a little, because during the entire book I kept thinking,
Do any of these characters have any say in what they do or do not do? Do any of them have the word "no" in their vocabulary?
The story and characters seemed weak to me and in the beginning the author messes up on the location of the main characters birthmark, was it the left or the right wrist? And the time period of when the baby/child was kidnapped, was it one years old? Then why would the twins have a tutor?
There were a few other time periods that didn't make sense.
The twist at the end wasn't even that startling it was more of a finally I'm almost finished with the book now that the truth is out. And when it was out, the man that held the secret should be tried as an accomplice to murder. But maybe that's not the way it's done in the south?
I wouldn't recommend the book.
Afterthought: if you are a Christian this book is not for you. One of the characters becomes possessed by a deceased character and has a seance. Maybe these types of thins were popular again when the book was published? All the "new age" old age pagan demon possession that the character was said to have "higher powers". ( )

good story @ kidnapped twin
she writes quick, intriguing stories - get through quickly - good!

Successful New York mystery novelist Molly Hunt, learns that she is the kidnapped daughter of an aristocratic Southern family and has an identical twin sister. She journeys South to solve the puzzle of her background and, discovers secrets which could plunge her into danger.

I was a big fan of Phyllis A. Whitney when I was young -- first of her juveniles (still a good read!), then of her adult novels. I see from the book list inside that she wrote quite a few more after I switched to cozy and historical mysteries.

While I did figure out the killer and motive, I didn't guess the who or why the heroine was kidnapped when she was an infant and sold to her adoptive parents.

Molly Hunt doesn't have amnesia, the past she's missing is the one she would have had if she'd been left with her birth parents. Molly knew she was adopted, but had assumed she was given up. She writes mysteries with the kind of strong heroines she wishes she were. A chance meeting with a stranger at her publisher's is how she learns the truth.

Molly is not terribly keen on flying to South Carolina to meet her birth family, especially when she learns that not all of them want to meet her. She doesn't like her original first name. Her birth father is dead. Her sister is thrilled. Her birth mother had never recovered emotionally from losing her older daughter. Is Mrs. Mountfort just a little weird or is she insane? Ms. Whitney gives us plenty of reasons to wonder which answer is correct.

As is usual in this type of book, there are two potential romantic leads. If this book runs true to type, one of them is evil. Is it the one engaged to Molly's sister? Will her sister have to die so the heroine gets the man?

I've never been to Charleston, but I enjoyed the descriptions very much. I also enjoyed the touch of the supernatural and the endearing psychic cat. Molly's comment that she wasn't famous enough yet to have her name appear above the title of her latest book made me chuckle.

If you like romantic suspense, this is a nice example of the genre. It certainly had me turning the pages during the last chapters.

Scott Ordley is the artist for the cover with the impressionist-style landscape of water, trees with low hanging branches, and a little bridge curving over the water. The author's name is above the title and they are in equally large pale orange letters. ( )

A nice cosy gothic style mystery - undemanding but the right sort of read I needed right now! Although I guessed most of the plot but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of it - I haven't read a book like this in ages and it reminded me of the books I read years ago - authors like Barbara Michaels and Victoria Holt.

This arrived recently, a trade from BookMooch - my first mooched book! All the way from a moocher in the states - it's been on my wishlist for a while because it's set in beautiful Charleston, a town I was lucky enough to visit in April 2007 for the BookCrossing Convention, and where I met such wonderful people.

What I enjoyed most about this book was its setting - it did bring back memories of Charleston, a beautiful town and area ....and I do mean to visit again some day. ( )