The Gripping Beast

by Margot Wadley

When Isabel Garth, a young American woman, comes to the Scottish island of Orkney to illustrate her late father's notebooks, she finds herself warned to leave by the local witch, terrorized by two men who are apparently following her, plagued by a rash of "accidents," and confronted by the brutal murder of the woman who had warned her of danger. Winner of the 2000 SMP/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Contest.

Genres: Mystery

200 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2001

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was in college, I took a year abroad in London. For Thanksgiving vacation that year, some friends and I traveled to the Orkney Islands. To this day, it remains haunted in beauty in my memory. This book helped me to travel back to that place and time. The story was merely an incidental vehicle to get me there.

Ironically, while reading this book, I was traveling with my husband and son on a tour of college campuses. We hadn't planned on going to Ithaca, where I went to school, as Cornell wasn't of interest to our son. But as we passed closer and closer to the Finger Lakes region, the tug on my heart got greater and greater. We made a spur of the moment decision to alter our trip and drive through Ithaca. Oh how marvelous to be in those hills again! The town has prospered and grown, but I still could find my was around. We had lunch at the now famous Moosewood Restaurant, which had just opened when I was there. Still delicious. Then we did a quick drive through of Cornell to show the boy.

Sometimes, you can go home again....

Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka
hope the journey is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.
may there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbours seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind -
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey.
without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

-- Constantine Cavafy

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended this short novel very much and was disappointed to find this is the only novel written by this author. It's a good mystery, of sorts, set in the Orkney Islands, with well done characters and a believable plot.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun,well-written somewhat gothic/fantasy mystery that is also very descriptive of Digerness on the Orkney Islands in Scotland. I really enjoyed it,and the ending was totally unexpected.

[Alan Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're going on a trip to the Orkney Islands, off Scotland, as my wife and I are, this is a good book to read to get you acclimated. It gives you a picture of what the windswept, almost treeless, islands are like, with their cliffs and multitudes of birds. The sun is up most of the time at midsummer. In addition, some strange people live there, including a young woman who claims she is a witch. The Vikings may have left treasures with curses on them for those who dig them up. A suspenseful book with eerie goings-on.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book a few times now. I really enjoy the setting, the characters and Margot Wadley's writing. Please write some more like this Margot. Maybe in different interesting settings, a bit like Lyn Hamilton's books which are also great favourites. For me the mixture of archaeology or ancient ruins, interesting characters and settings and a touch of magic will keep me happy and be a permanent addition to the books I reread.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orkney Viking Hoard

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book to read on a quick travel on the plane. I really enjoyed reading this after it made it's made it's way in my library collection.