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Shadows on the Water
Kate Verney left her home in London at Christmas time to travel to Buenos Aires to meet her first grandchild! On the voyage she makes friends with Lindy and Rex Barron, two young adults who lost their mother and are on their way to live with their father in Lisbon.
At first, Mrs. Verney liked her cabin-mate, Lindy Barron. The pretty widow reminded her of her own daughter, as she watched the young girl gaily strolling the decks with Neil Harper. And she was happy both were bound for Lisbon -- Lindy to see her father, Neil to work for him -- until she saw they were falling in love.
But ashore they arrived to a chilling reality. William Barron doesn't show up to meet his children when the ship arrives in Lisbon. Their father had vanished. There were evasive answers, threatening letters....and only Mrs. Verney -- and perhaps Neil -- to trust.
When Mrs. Verney realises that she can't leave Lindy and Rex with no one to turn to, so she chooses to stay. But, in staying by her new friend, Kate missed her boat, uncovered a shocking murder plot in the very best circles of Lisbon, and, in the end, maybe a new love for herself.
At first, Mrs. Verney liked her cabin-mate, Lindy Barron. The pretty widow reminded her of her own daughter, as she watched the young girl gaily strolling the decks with Neil Harper. And she was happy both were bound for Lisbon -- Lindy to see her father, Neil to work for him -- until she saw they were falling in love.
But ashore they arrived to a chilling reality. William Barron doesn't show up to meet his children when the ship arrives in Lisbon. Their father had vanished. There were evasive answers, threatening letters....and only Mrs. Verney -- and perhaps Neil -- to trust.
When Mrs. Verney realises that she can't leave Lindy and Rex with no one to turn to, so she chooses to stay. But, in staying by her new friend, Kate missed her boat, uncovered a shocking murder plot in the very best circles of Lisbon, and, in the end, maybe a new love for herself.
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1958
About the author
Elizabeth Cadell
102 books122 followersViolet Elizabeth Vandyke was born on 10 November 1903 in Calcutta, British Raj, daughter of British parents, Elizabeth Lynch and Frederick Reginald Vandyke, a colonial officer. During the Great War she studied music in London, but refused a musical career and returned to India where she married in 1928 Henry Dunlop Raymond Mallock Cadell, and they had a son and daughter. After she was widowed ten years later, she returned to England.
Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.
She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.
Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.
She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 28, 2023
Mrs. Verney is on her way to Buenos Aires to visit her daughter and newborn grandson. She is seen off at the train station by her brother.
I’ve never understood how two people as completely different as Henry and me could have been born of the same pair of parents. I don’t ponder, I rarely plan and if I do perform, it’s in a haphazard sort of way. We’ve only got, I think, one thing in common, and that’s a sense of duty—but our ideas of what constitutes duty are widely, wildly opposed.
On the ship she meets and befriends Lindy and Rex Barron, who are going to Lisbon to spend some time with their father after the death of their mother. They are both friendly and warm and Kate feels great affection for them.
Neil Harper, a colleague of their father's is also travelling to Lisbon. Lindy's first impressions of him aren't very favourable:
“You know what I think? He’s been reared on ice and rusks. He’s never had any nice, warm, gushing, mother’s milk. I bet he’s been an orphan from birth.”
“I don’t think so. A man saw him off—his father, I’m certain.”
“Well, this man’ll never be a father, unless he marries an iceberg and begets a lot of little ice cubes.
Kate Verney sees something else in him.
He might be aloof, he might sound laconic, but there was something in his eyes that I look for, almost unconsciously, in everybody I meet. If I find it, I feel on firm ground; if it isn’t there, I withdraw and seek it elsewhere. I don’t know whether it’s humour, or kindliness, or just plain humanity; I only know that this man had it.
Arriving in Lisbon, every employee of the firm is waiting at the docks, except for their father. Mr. Barron has disappeared, his servants have vanished after the police showed up to question them, and the colleagues seem to be lying about what had happened. On top of this, Mrs. Verney's passport disappears, and she can't continue on her journey to Buenos Aires.
Eventually William Barron appears, and it comes to light that he has just survived an attempt to murder him...
William Barron is forceful and overbearing, and Kate dislikes him immediately.
“He’s your son, and he’s every bit as nice a boy as Lindy is charming a girl. If you think I’m going to watch you sitting there and looking adoringly at Lindy and looking straight through Rex because, as far as you’re concerned, he just isn’t there, you’re due for a surprise. I think you’re a—”
I paused.
“You think?” he prompted.
The half-sneer in his voice touched off the last of my self-control. I was tired—and on this subject, I had been bottled up too long. I stood up.
“I think,” I told him, “that you’re a selfish, self-indulgent man, and in my opinion, which nobody has asked, you’re not equipped to understand what a privilege it is merely to have produced two nice children like Lindy and Rex.
He, on the other hand, is irritated but also intrigued by Mrs. Vernon, who doesn't back down and puts him in his place repeatedly.
“I wish to the devil you weren’t going. I suppose I couldn’t induce you to stay?”
“No,” I said. “First, because this is a problem I can’t help to solve; second, because you’ve got to accept the full responsibility of fatherhood. If that sounds heavy, I’m glad; it’s a heavy responsibility.”
“You don’t approve of me much, do you?”
“I don’t know you—much.”
“Oh, I forgot; you haven’t spent three days on a liner with me and got to know me thoroughly. But you think that Lindy and Rex could have done better as regards a father?”
“There’s nothing the matter with you as a father—once you’ve realised that you are a father.”
There are further attempts on William's life, and it seems Neil and Lindy know who is behind it, they just don't have a motive. But the threads come neatly together and the mystery is solved at the end.
I’ve never understood how two people as completely different as Henry and me could have been born of the same pair of parents. I don’t ponder, I rarely plan and if I do perform, it’s in a haphazard sort of way. We’ve only got, I think, one thing in common, and that’s a sense of duty—but our ideas of what constitutes duty are widely, wildly opposed.
On the ship she meets and befriends Lindy and Rex Barron, who are going to Lisbon to spend some time with their father after the death of their mother. They are both friendly and warm and Kate feels great affection for them.
Neil Harper, a colleague of their father's is also travelling to Lisbon. Lindy's first impressions of him aren't very favourable:
“You know what I think? He’s been reared on ice and rusks. He’s never had any nice, warm, gushing, mother’s milk. I bet he’s been an orphan from birth.”
“I don’t think so. A man saw him off—his father, I’m certain.”
“Well, this man’ll never be a father, unless he marries an iceberg and begets a lot of little ice cubes.
Kate Verney sees something else in him.
He might be aloof, he might sound laconic, but there was something in his eyes that I look for, almost unconsciously, in everybody I meet. If I find it, I feel on firm ground; if it isn’t there, I withdraw and seek it elsewhere. I don’t know whether it’s humour, or kindliness, or just plain humanity; I only know that this man had it.
Arriving in Lisbon, every employee of the firm is waiting at the docks, except for their father. Mr. Barron has disappeared, his servants have vanished after the police showed up to question them, and the colleagues seem to be lying about what had happened. On top of this, Mrs. Verney's passport disappears, and she can't continue on her journey to Buenos Aires.
Eventually William Barron appears, and it comes to light that he has just survived an attempt to murder him...
William Barron is forceful and overbearing, and Kate dislikes him immediately.
“He’s your son, and he’s every bit as nice a boy as Lindy is charming a girl. If you think I’m going to watch you sitting there and looking adoringly at Lindy and looking straight through Rex because, as far as you’re concerned, he just isn’t there, you’re due for a surprise. I think you’re a—”
I paused.
“You think?” he prompted.
The half-sneer in his voice touched off the last of my self-control. I was tired—and on this subject, I had been bottled up too long. I stood up.
“I think,” I told him, “that you’re a selfish, self-indulgent man, and in my opinion, which nobody has asked, you’re not equipped to understand what a privilege it is merely to have produced two nice children like Lindy and Rex.
He, on the other hand, is irritated but also intrigued by Mrs. Vernon, who doesn't back down and puts him in his place repeatedly.
“I wish to the devil you weren’t going. I suppose I couldn’t induce you to stay?”
“No,” I said. “First, because this is a problem I can’t help to solve; second, because you’ve got to accept the full responsibility of fatherhood. If that sounds heavy, I’m glad; it’s a heavy responsibility.”
“You don’t approve of me much, do you?”
“I don’t know you—much.”
“Oh, I forgot; you haven’t spent three days on a liner with me and got to know me thoroughly. But you think that Lindy and Rex could have done better as regards a father?”
“There’s nothing the matter with you as a father—once you’ve realised that you are a father.”
There are further attempts on William's life, and it seems Neil and Lindy know who is behind it, they just don't have a motive. But the threads come neatly together and the mystery is solved at the end.
November 7, 2016
Henry is seeing his sister Kate off on her voyage to visit her daughter and baby grandson in Buenos Aires.
“My brother Henry saw me off – with reproaches.
Why, he asked, couldn’t I have waited? Why dash off like that in the middle of December? Why not wait and enjoy a quiet Christmas at home?
‘He’s my first grandchild; I want to take a look at him,’ I said, and forebore to point out that last Christmas – the first since my two children had married and gone abroad – had been very quiet indeed, and I hadn’t enjoyed it at all.”
Henry is stuffy, staid, practical, and a little overpowering. He doesn’t mince words when it comes to his opinion of his empty-headed, impractical and impulsive sister Kate.
“That was Henry: ponder, plan and perform. I’ve never understood how two people as completely different as Henry and I could have been born of the same pair of parents. I don’t ponder, I rarely plan and if I do perform, it’s in a haphazard sort of way. We’ve only got, I think, one thing in common, and that’s a sense of duty, but our ideas of what constitutes duty are widely, wildly opposed.”
However, all is not lost, as the reader finds that Kate Verney actually does have a little backbone. Pushed to the limit, Kate finally tells Henry off, just before her train leaves.
But Kate’s life is about to change dramatically. In this fast-paced, entertaining book, Kate will never arrive (at least for the reader), in Buenos Aires. As she makes friends on the voyage with two young siblings, she finds herself needed, appreciated, and compelled to function in ways she had never dreamed of. We find that Kate Verney is *not* the brainless, thoughtless frump that her brother Henry likes to think her (and as Henry only appears in the initial chapter of this story, the reader is not sorry to see the last of him). Even when her passport is missing and she is reluctantly propelled into a murder mystery, we learn that the apologetic, unassuming Kate Verney will eventually surprise us all and come into her own.
However, Kate Verney is not the only character full of surprises in this light cosy read. Besides Kate’s two young friends, Rex and his sister Lindy, there is the arrogant Mr. Barron their father, his trusted friend Alec, the mysterious but capable Neil Harper, Athena, who takes Kate in hand to ‘improve’ her appearance, and the puzzling Fernando and Sylvana Cunha.
After a spate of reading classics and wartime fiction (much as I enjoyed them), I felt like I needed something light and entertaining to read, and Elizabeth Cadell fits the bill! I hadn’t read Cadell in quite some time, but this novel reminded me that her characters are witty, full of surprises, and fun.
Almost without the reader realizing it, the author ties up all the loose ends, solves the mystery, and gives a happy ending. What more could anyone ask for?
A clever, well-done mystery with plenty of intrigue,a little bit of romance, a dash of atmosphere, and some engaging characters.
“My brother Henry saw me off – with reproaches.
Why, he asked, couldn’t I have waited? Why dash off like that in the middle of December? Why not wait and enjoy a quiet Christmas at home?
‘He’s my first grandchild; I want to take a look at him,’ I said, and forebore to point out that last Christmas – the first since my two children had married and gone abroad – had been very quiet indeed, and I hadn’t enjoyed it at all.”
Henry is stuffy, staid, practical, and a little overpowering. He doesn’t mince words when it comes to his opinion of his empty-headed, impractical and impulsive sister Kate.
“That was Henry: ponder, plan and perform. I’ve never understood how two people as completely different as Henry and I could have been born of the same pair of parents. I don’t ponder, I rarely plan and if I do perform, it’s in a haphazard sort of way. We’ve only got, I think, one thing in common, and that’s a sense of duty, but our ideas of what constitutes duty are widely, wildly opposed.”
However, all is not lost, as the reader finds that Kate Verney actually does have a little backbone. Pushed to the limit, Kate finally tells Henry off, just before her train leaves.
But Kate’s life is about to change dramatically. In this fast-paced, entertaining book, Kate will never arrive (at least for the reader), in Buenos Aires. As she makes friends on the voyage with two young siblings, she finds herself needed, appreciated, and compelled to function in ways she had never dreamed of. We find that Kate Verney is *not* the brainless, thoughtless frump that her brother Henry likes to think her (and as Henry only appears in the initial chapter of this story, the reader is not sorry to see the last of him). Even when her passport is missing and she is reluctantly propelled into a murder mystery, we learn that the apologetic, unassuming Kate Verney will eventually surprise us all and come into her own.
However, Kate Verney is not the only character full of surprises in this light cosy read. Besides Kate’s two young friends, Rex and his sister Lindy, there is the arrogant Mr. Barron their father, his trusted friend Alec, the mysterious but capable Neil Harper, Athena, who takes Kate in hand to ‘improve’ her appearance, and the puzzling Fernando and Sylvana Cunha.
After a spate of reading classics and wartime fiction (much as I enjoyed them), I felt like I needed something light and entertaining to read, and Elizabeth Cadell fits the bill! I hadn’t read Cadell in quite some time, but this novel reminded me that her characters are witty, full of surprises, and fun.
Almost without the reader realizing it, the author ties up all the loose ends, solves the mystery, and gives a happy ending. What more could anyone ask for?
A clever, well-done mystery with plenty of intrigue,a little bit of romance, a dash of atmosphere, and some engaging characters.
May 13, 2015
A romantic suspense novel from 1958. Kate Verney, a middle-aged widow, is taking a boat trip to Argentina to see her new grandchild. On board, she becomes friendly with Rex and Lindy Barron, two teenaged siblings who are on their way to meet their father in Lisbon. When Bill Barron doesn't show up to meet his children at the dock, it becomes clear that something is off. Kate Verney, taken ashore by Rex and Lindy, meets the various members of the firm headed by Bill Barron. It turns out that an attempt has been made on Barron's life, and amidst all this turmoil, Kate finds out her passport has been stolen. So she misses her boat and has to stay on a few extra days. While Bill Barron, a war hero, seems to take the idea that someone is trying to kill him in his stride, others in his entourage are distraught for various reasons- business and personal. Before Kate manages to catch the next boat to Argentina, there will be more murder attempts, more secrets and more plot twists.
This was an enjoyable book from a time when people traveled by ocean liner, women wore fur wraps for dinner, and girls got engaged at age 19. There are some stereotypes in the treatment of the Portuguese characters, and Bill Barron is a bit of a macho cliche, but still, this made for good entertainment.
This was an enjoyable book from a time when people traveled by ocean liner, women wore fur wraps for dinner, and girls got engaged at age 19. There are some stereotypes in the treatment of the Portuguese characters, and Bill Barron is a bit of a macho cliche, but still, this made for good entertainment.
January 16, 2013
Not the usual setting, this Cadell effort is set mostly in Lisbon. Not quite as "cozy" as some Cadell novels.
December 13, 2012
Two romances in one, the young man and the young girl, Neil and Lindy, and the older widowers, Mrs. Verney and Lindy's father, Mr. Barron, which isn't quite clear until later in the book as Mrs. Verney has no difficulty in speaking her mind to Mr. Barron on numerous occasions. He is described as a lover of young, beautiful women, which throws you even more off the scent, since Mrs. Verney is neither. Add several murder attempts and you have a book that is hard to put down, so I read it straight through in a couple of hours.
September 22, 2023
My second read and I'm changing my rating from 3 stars to 4. This book deserves a more slow, deliberate read than I gave it the first time.
July 20, 2025
I've been interested in mid-century authors for a while and Elizabeth Cadell is one of my faves! With mysteries and romances, often a combo of the two, Cadell managed to make her books suspenseful and heartwarming at the same time. I loved meeting Kate Ferney and the rest of the cast in this outing and am sad to part company. Shadow on the Water is a treat; highly recommended.
November 3, 2016
Still a favorite.
I read this year's ago and since then I have read romantic suspense, paranormal, bikers, futuristic - just about every genre with instant, intense love and slow building layered relationships. Many of my older favorites have not stood the test of time, but Elizabeth Cadell stands right up there with Mary Stewart among all my new favorite authors and Shadow on the Water is one of my all time favorites. I reflected on Kate Verney and Bill Barron and I could easily see Deborah Kerr and some sort of English John Wayne playing the parts. It's still well worth your time to read this book.
I read this year's ago and since then I have read romantic suspense, paranormal, bikers, futuristic - just about every genre with instant, intense love and slow building layered relationships. Many of my older favorites have not stood the test of time, but Elizabeth Cadell stands right up there with Mary Stewart among all my new favorite authors and Shadow on the Water is one of my all time favorites. I reflected on Kate Verney and Bill Barron and I could easily see Deborah Kerr and some sort of English John Wayne playing the parts. It's still well worth your time to read this book.
July 21, 2008
Kate Verney is on her way to Buenos Aires to see her brand new grandson when she is befriended by Lindy and Rex Barron, on their way to Portugal to visit their father. When the boat docks in Lisbon, William Barron is mysteriously missing, and somehow Kate finds herself abandoning her trip to provide emotional support for the siblings she has quickly become fond of - as they are pulled deeper into the mystery surrounding their father's disappearance.
December 27, 2016
Frothy fun
From our very first meeting Kate we are entranced. She is stubborn, sensitive, humorous and loyal. As the tale unfolds, we don't care that the mystery is improbable, that we can tell the murderer a mile off, or even that we expect the "surprise" ending. We just lean back and enjoy. This is one of the few books of Cadell's where all the characters are sympathetic. I found myself smiling throughout.
From our very first meeting Kate we are entranced. She is stubborn, sensitive, humorous and loyal. As the tale unfolds, we don't care that the mystery is improbable, that we can tell the murderer a mile off, or even that we expect the "surprise" ending. We just lean back and enjoy. This is one of the few books of Cadell's where all the characters are sympathetic. I found myself smiling throughout.
August 9, 2018
Mrs Verney liked her cabin-mate, Lindy Barron. She watched the young girl gaily stroll the deck with Neil Harper who are all sailing to Lisbon. Neil plans to work for Lindy's father.
But ashore, Lindy arrives to find her father vanished, and no one who will answer questions. There are evasive answers, threatening letters and only Mrs. Verney to trust. In staying with her new friend, Mrs. Verney misses her boat and uncovers a shocking murder plot.
...from the book jacket
But ashore, Lindy arrives to find her father vanished, and no one who will answer questions. There are evasive answers, threatening letters and only Mrs. Verney to trust. In staying with her new friend, Mrs. Verney misses her boat and uncovers a shocking murder plot.
...from the book jacket
July 15, 2010
Written in first person, which is a bit of a switch-up for Cadell. At first, I didn't really like it, but it grew on me. Fun story.
April 18, 2016
Story is very much better than the previous one.
July 13, 2022
This wasn’t the best written book, but it definitely wasn’t the poorest.
What I really liked was the voice of the MC. She was a great character with a wonderful personality.
I feel so much more could have done with this story.
The book held my interest, which is a feat I feel should be praised.
I hated the abrupt ending. I never like those.
Otherwise, it was a simple, mostly entertaining, cozy mystery.
What I really liked was the voice of the MC. She was a great character with a wonderful personality.
I feel so much more could have done with this story.
The book held my interest, which is a feat I feel should be praised.
I hated the abrupt ending. I never like those.
Otherwise, it was a simple, mostly entertaining, cozy mystery.
November 30, 2020
Charming, slight novel
Elizabeth Cadell 's Shadow on the Water has characters from another time, late 1940s or 1950s. They are clearly drawn, and fun to watch. The mystery is confusing and the plot resolution is a slight disappointment, but the time spent with the story was well- enjoyed.
Elizabeth Cadell 's Shadow on the Water has characters from another time, late 1940s or 1950s. They are clearly drawn, and fun to watch. The mystery is confusing and the plot resolution is a slight disappointment, but the time spent with the story was well- enjoyed.
May 8, 2023
I'm a sucker for happy endings!
The story gets a bit all over the place and confusing at times. Love the main character, how she is unapologetically original. Her brother, although he's merely referred to sounds like a condescending chauvinist. I felt like I was watching an old black and white movie from the 40's. light and entirely enjoyable.
The story gets a bit all over the place and confusing at times. Love the main character, how she is unapologetically original. Her brother, although he's merely referred to sounds like a condescending chauvinist. I felt like I was watching an old black and white movie from the 40's. light and entirely enjoyable.
September 17, 2022
I read this on the suggestion of my grandmother Mimi, who also guided me towards Georgette Heyer, LM Montgomery, Mary Stewart, and Golden Age detective fiction, and other tales where “nothing is ever too stressful.” Great tips for pre-bed reading.
March 25, 2026
Great elements, but could have been much better. The mystery was contrived and the solution was wildly unrealistic. And there was far too much use of interrupted sentences, scenes, and thoughts. I'm so tired of plots that rely on "if only they had communicated."
October 28, 2018
Nice little mystery with good characterization especially the protagonist Mrs Verney. The ending was unexpected but lovely
February 19, 2025
Written in the first person. Really liked the heroine, a middle aged widow who finds herself embroiled in the affairs of a young brother and sister she meets on a sea voyage. Set in Lisbon.
June 18, 2025
Found this a bit dull and am not so keen on novels written in the first person.
February 10, 2026
This was delightful for a mystery. Classic, lovely and just the sort of read I was looking for.
October 31, 2023
Having discovered Cadell's "detective fiction," it is full speed ahead for this reader; apt, as the story begins on a ship. (No, I lied. It begins on a train on the way to a ship. However, since all the characters on the train ended up on the ship, I used my literary license.) Kate is on her way to Argentina to meet her first grandchild, but when the father of the two youngsters with whom she is traveling fails to meet them in Lisbon, she stays with them to offer comfort and solace. Is someone trying to murder the father? Will Kate ever get to see her grandchild? It says romance in the description of the book. Who, what, why, when, and where?
March 23, 2017
Attempted murder with a twist at the end!
A good mystery with some introduction to Lisbon and to a little Portuguese history. I enjoyed it and plan to read more by this author.
A good mystery with some introduction to Lisbon and to a little Portuguese history. I enjoyed it and plan to read more by this author.
August 20, 2023
The story is narrated by Kate, a widow who is on her way to visit her daughter in South America and finds herself stranded in Lisbon with two teenagers she met on the ship. It seems someone is trying to kill their father. I found this one a bit disappointing, it hasn’t got any of the humour that enlivens most of her other books, and Kate is not a very interesting heroine.
February 20, 2025
Audiobook reread - not my favorite narrator, but she was fine for this book
May 14, 2026
Nice on the suspense and subtle on the romance.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews