The Stone Bull

by Phyllis A. Whitney

Jenny Vaughn had lived in the shadow of Ariel, a beautiful dancer whose art had become legend. But when Ariel vanished, Jenny was no longer needed and retreated to Laurel Mountain. Yet the happiness she sought was overshadowed by ominous voices whispering of guilt and danger....

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Gothic, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Gothic Romance, Suspense

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Phyllis Ayame Whitney (1903 – 2008) was an American mystery writer. Rare for her genre, she wrote mysteries for both the juvenile and the adult markets, many of which feature exotic locations. A review in The New York Times once dubbed her "The Queen of the American Gothics".

She was born in Japan to American parents and spent her early years in Asia. Whitney wrote more than seventy novels. In 1961, her book The Mystery of the Haunted Pool won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Juvenile novel, and she duplicated the honor in 1964, for The Mystery of the Hidden Hand. In 1988, the MWA gave her a Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. Whitney died of pneumonia on February 8, 2008, aged 104.

Reviews

[Peiman E iran · Rating 3 out of 5]

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب از 18 فصل و 412 صفحه تشکیل شده است و داستانِ آن در مورد دختری 26 ساله به نامِ <جنی> است که خواهری داشته 28 ساله به نامِ <آریل> که نابغه در رقص باله بوده و درکل <جنی> حسادت زیادی به او داشته است... این که از افعال گذشته استفاده میکنم به این دلیل است که <آریل> با خوردن قرص خودکشی کرده و مرده است... <جنی> خود را مقصر میداند، چراکه پیش از مرگ خواهرش با او تماس گرفته و او نزد خواهرش نرفته است
‎امّا داستان اصلی این است که <جنی> از طریق مردی به نامِ <مگنوس> که احتمالاً با خواهرش قصد ازدواج داشته است، متوجه میشود که <آریل> تخته سنگی بزرگ را به عمد هل داده و سنگ به رویِ زنی به نامِ <فلوریس> افتاده و او را به قتل رسانده است... <فلوریس> در اصل همسرِ <مگنوس> بوده و احتمالاً <آریل> او را از سرِ راهِ خود برداشته است... امّا <جنی> نه تنها نمیتواند این موضوع را باور کند، حتی باورش هم نمیشود که خواهرش با <مگنوس> که پیکر تراشی در دل کوه است، بوده باشد و خودش اینچنین میگوید که: <آریل> هرگز کسی را نکشته است، او هرچه را که می خواست بدست می آورد و نگران عواقبش نبود.. ولی او هیچوقت کسی را نمی کشت، چون او هیچکس و هیچ چیز را آنقدر زیاد نمی خواست تا مجبور به قتل شود... فکر میکنم عشقی شدید و خشمی وحشتناک و هوسی زیاد لازم است تا انسان کسی را بکشد
‎جریان زمانی پیچیده میشود که میفهمند <آریل> حامله بوده است! و بچه را سقط کرده.. امّا از چه کسی؟ از <مگنوس> و یا از <براندون> که اکنون شوهرِ<جنی> است... از کدامیک حامله بوده است؟
‎خلاصه آنکه این داستان آنقدر در هم پیچ میخورد که شما تا آخر داستان قاتل را نمیشناسید
‎قاتلِ <فلوریس> چه کسی بوده است؟!؟ .. <آریل> ؟ <مگنوس>؟ پدر مگنوس که <کیو> نام دارد و یا <براندون>!.... بهتر است خودتان این داستانِ پُر پیچ و خم را بخوانید و از سرانجامِ آن آگاه شوید
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‎امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ شناختِ این کتاب، مفید بوده باشه
‎<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what happened in this book was completely unexpected. It is going to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Saying anymore will spoil it.

Try and find a copy of this one. It’s good.

[Ana Lopes Miura · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I don’t know about you, fellow Gothic romance freaks, but Whitney is someone who I can consistently rely on when I need my kicks. Victoria Holt has a lot of hits and misses and Barbara Michaels annoys me to tears, but Whitney always manages to give me a nice, evocative experience, and she built the mystery aspect way better than her contemporaries.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the queen of gothic romance... Jenny is grieving and also dealing with guilt over the death of her world- famous ballerina sister Ariel. Ariel is known to be a drama queen and loves basking in everyone's attention, and Jenny always having to live in the shadow. So when Ariel calls distraught, rambling about things that Jenny doesn't understand and threatening to kill herself and wants her sister to drop everything and fly to her aid, Jenny just blows it off, thinking this is another ploy for attention. The next day Jenny learns her sister was successful in her demise.While trying to come to terms with all this, Jenny meets a man and falls head over heels in love and is quickly married to the man of her dreams. Slowly, she learns Brenden is not all she thought he was.Brenden and his family own an old historic inn on a large piece of beautiful property, but mysterious deaths happen, and to Jenny's surprise, the first was involving her sister before her own death. Everyone in her new family wants to believe it was Ariel as the murderer to protect one of their own, but Jenny is determined to clear her sister's name and see justice done.I enoyed this book with its supsense and wondering if her marriage with Brenden will work out, if she will find the real murderer, as well as making peace with herself about her sister.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the disappointing "Turquoise Mask" and "Spindrift," "The Stone Bull" continues the return to form that Whitney began with "The Golden Unicorn." Although dealing with the repercussions of a fatal accident at a Catskills resort, the novel is really about the collision of several families who have variously damaged their members. It explores whether anyone can truly move past their own baggage. Jenny Vaughn has grown up in the shadow of her older sister Ariel, a world-famous ballerina (who is world famously self-centered, selfish and destructive). She finds herself romanced and swept off her feet by Brendon McClain--when he brings her home to the family's resort, she finds that all is not what is seems...at the resort, in her marriage, and possibly within herself. Whitney experiments with a different narrative structure in this book, as well as more mature themes than she'd dealt with in a while. In fact, with its questions of moral ambiguity and personal growth, "The Stone Bull" hearkens back to her earliest historical novels in the the 1950s. In fact, at one point, Whitney seems to even condone a more relaxed attitude towards casual relationships—the novel was written in the mid 70s—and even fascinatingly suggests that perhaps Jenny might be best off without a relationship at all, through beginning to present a grown-up, platonic friendship between a man and a woman...only to retreat to conventional expectations. These variations in form, playing against the strictures of the contemporary gothic format, make "The Stone Bull" a compelling work.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is hard for me. I remember loving it so much in my teens. I had big issues with the hero. His past infidelities were excused very casually with, "well, his wife was a bitch" reasoning that never held him accountable. I also had issues with some of his past involvements. However, I loved how he treated Jenny, for the most part, seeing her as an individual, and not just as a paler version of her sister. Also, the book stayed in my thoughts for a while after finishing it, which always tells me that it was a good story.

Would I recommend it? I'm not sure. It does make me want to read more old Whitney's to see if there is one I like better – 'cause obviously my memory/past judgement isn't a very accurate guide.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book. I have read it 5 times now and each time I discover something new. Though perhaps as my life changes I better understand and see the points and plots of the story.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Whitney's better books. The odd time jumps were a bit of a bother but a superb story and mystery.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Old book, not a very good one. Couldn’t get it for my kindle so my mother loaned it to me. She loved it. Me, not so much. Girl tortured by living in her famous ballerina sister’s shadow, ends up unknowingly marrying the man who was infatuated with the sister and then having an affair with a man who also slept with her sister, gets to the bottom of a mystery of a death of a total stranger to “clear her sister’s name”. Too soap opera-like for me. Plus the writing style was awful. I didn’t like the Kitchen House and this author wrote in a similar style: “I don’t know what drew me down the path, but the next thing I knew…..”. So much like that. Give me a break. Is that supposed to build suspense? Meh.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is set at Mohonk Mountain House in the Hudson Valley. For all of us "locals" in New Paltz, NY and surrounding towns, the place names and locale will be of particular interest. (BTW, if you happen to come across a good copy of this book, Mohonk may be interested in purchasing it from you. They like to keep a few copies for sale in the gift shop.) I read it decades ago and plan to re-read it since I found a paperback copy not long ago. I'll also lend it out!

[Laury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was one of the book in English (Spanish is my native language) and it was very impress I remember it was a library free book day and I took this one and was really capture by it, the story is very sad and sucks you in the world of its characters you feel the pain, the mistery and even the love I want to read it again, I lost my copy and I read it 15 years ago, amazing work by Phyllis A. Whitney

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenny has long lived in the shadow of her sister Ariel, a beautiful dancer. Now Ariel is gone and Jenny is determined to start her own life apart from Ariel. She comes to live with her new husband on Laurel Mountain, only to find that even in this remote resort she isn't free from Ariel's influence. Now she has to face the truth about her husband, her sister, and herself. Another Whitney gem full of wonderfully dysfunctional homicidal lunatics - a counselor's dream come true.

[Cathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a Phyllis A. Whitney before, but I had this book and was in the mood for a nice gothic romance. This had all the right elements and it set the right mood, so I was hooked from the beginning. However, the ending was very stretched out and nothing was happening except one incident for the last 100 pages. I felt that the ending could have been a lot more surprising or mysterious.

[Laina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Phyllis Whitney book I've read, and I really did enjoy it. It was very emotional with lots of ups and downs. The mystery was really good I though with lots of intrigue and very well set up. I related to the main character and felt her pain throughout the story. I didn't want to put it down, so I guess that it was a pretty good book! :D

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very light reading, a guilty pleasure! A great story even so...

[B.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I remembered it being. But I was a teenager then. Back then, this was one of my favorites. Now? Meh.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically I read the Reader's Digest abridged version out at my grandmother's. Still, the story has always stuck with me. I should really try to hunt down the full version one of these days.

Update: Aha, Phyllis Whitney's catalog is starting to be digitized and I finally got to read the entire story.

Jenny has always lived in the shadow of her ballerina older sister, Ariel. Jenny thinks she's finally found true love, but what she's really found is a modest mystery concerning the death of another woman. Did Ariel possibly commit murder?

I'm still going to give this a three star rating even though my adult eyes now see some of the flaws. I have to acknowledge Jenny is a rather weak character. Considering how unappealing the other characters were, Jenny - after solving the mystery - should have hightailed it out of those mountains and away from these people. Naomi is a straight up mentally unstable obsessive fan. Brandon is trying to replace one sister with another. Magnus fully admitted he was a serial cheater during his marriage. Leopards don't change their spots, Jenny. Get away from him. Get away from all of them!

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Jenny marries Brendon and moves to his family's home on Laurel Mountain, she thinks she's finally escaped her sister's shadow. However, it's not so easy to get away from Ariel, who died abruptly (leaving Jenny with a lot of guilt about her inaction after an anguished phone call from Ariel). Jenny discovers that everyone at Laurel Mountain has something to hide, so naturally she tells everyone that she's going to investigate accusations about her sister and a mysterious someone starts threatening her life. There's a narrative conceit that most chapters begin with Jenny in a state of distress about events that previously occurred, and she then relates everything that happened. I would have appreciated it as a framing device once or twice, but it ended up feeling like an easy/artificial way to generate some tension/set a dark tone. I liked most of the characters, who reveal surprising depths throughout the story.

[Cricket Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a gothic romance: lead female protagonist with emotional issues; whirlwind romance with a dynamic, recalcitrant man; dysfunctional family hiding secrets; a setting manifesting both danger and beauty, and yes, there is even a mention of the residence being a castle.

Although bordering on the Rebecca trope of haunted husband hiding a secret about his idolized former lover (with a half-crazed woman who practically worshipped her stirring things up in the background), the plot had plenty of twists and turns, making for an almost addictive read. However, so much unrealistic drama!

Whitney novels with their emphasis on romantic suspense are fine fillers in between more serious books.

[Kim (magicsandwiches) Lawyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of those hugely depressing books about a girl who's always lived in the shadow of her ultra-talented sister. After that sister dies, she tries to make a life for herself. She gets married and moves to her husband's place, but guess what? Things aren't what they seem! Everyone has a secret and believe me, you don't want to know any of them. Buh-bye.

[Luckngrace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a hankerin' to read some of the authors that first shaped my love for reading back in the '50s and '60s. This was a nice book to relax with after 4 months of pushing to read for a reading challenge.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorite Phyllis A Whitney books.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

See Quicksilver Pool.

[Kina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not as impressed with this storyline and the characters are far too shallow. It was a sad little book and I wasn't impressed.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

g read

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this as I've vacationed at Mohunk Mtn House where this story took place.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love gothic romances with all of the mystery and the strong female characters. Phyllis A. Whitney is an amazing author incorporating an unforgettable story with amazing characters.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one appealed to a few of my interests...mystery of course...Gothic architecture set in the Catskills, art, dance, angst, slightly unhinged characters. Nothing too twisty, just a nice read!

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

48 years old but still engaging suspense

[Stephanie Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whitney is a great mystery writer. She kept me guessing "who done it" till the very end.