Stormy Petrel

By: Mary Stewart

Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton

A classic tale of love, intrigue, adventure and the natural world, set on a beautiful isolated Hebridean island, by beloved novelist Mary Stewart.

When Rose Fenemore takes a desperately needed holiday to an isolated cottage on the Scottish island of Moila she doesn't expect much in the way of adventure - just a few quiet weeks of writing, walking and bird-watching. And then, late one night during a wild storm, two young men appear in her doorway, seeking shelter from the wind and rain. Neither man is quite who he claims, and the question of whom to trust will put Rose in grave peril....

The stormy petrels. The fragile, tiny black birds, nocturnal and solitary, that come ashore to nest but spend most of the lives flying close above the sea waves, come storm or shine.

©1991 Mary Stewart (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

"A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors." (Harriet Evans)

Simply brilliant

Another thoroughly charming tale from her beloved country and people from a genius of weaving the cosy yarn

Not the usual intense Mary Stewart

Story: 5 stars

As far as cozy mysteries go, this is a wonderful one. If you are used to Mary Stewart’s more intense novels, this almost won’t feel like the same author. But I feel that this actually qualifies as a different genre from her older books.

That said, it’s well-written and an interesting glimpse into English life pre-cell phones. Some of the colloquial language had me thinking that it is set in the 1960’s or 70’s?

Mary Stewart’s power of description certainly is as enviable as ever. You can visualize the islands easily.

The characters are fully-fleshed out and likable (even the villain!).

Narrator: 5 stars

Ms. Beaton seems, to this admittedly American ear, to do justice the soft accent of the Gaelic people on the island. Her British accent also sounded fine to me. Her male voices are actually quite deep and believable, especially given that her female lead has a higher pitched voice. All the voices, high or low, are well acted and have good expression!

*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special

Not my favorite Mary Stewart

Mary Stewart's stand alone books are favorites. I like Wildings and Rose Cottage better than this title. This story wasn't as fun to read.

A Gentle Tale

A very lovely story, beautifully read by Eilidh Beaton, with very nice descriptions of the places and animals in the Hebrides. I always love how Mary Stewart talks bout the animals. There is adventure and mystery here but not much suspense or intensity compared to Mary Stewart’s other stories. Compared to her other Scottish tale, “Wildfire at Midnight” it’s quite calm indeed. Just so you know if this is your first Mary Stewart book that you read. “Wildfire at Midnight” was in the same key as Agatha Christie’s books. This story was more like “The Secret Garden”, full of mystery but not much violence. A very gentle story - I also loved the Cambridge element too! Enjoy!

Hallmark TV movie material

Mostly nice people inhabit this gentle story levened with the tiniest bit of tension. It would make a nice Hallmark TV or Lifetime Channel movie.

I did make me want to learn more about the Stormy Petrel of the title. It is also known as Wilson's Storm Petrel; Wikipedia concurs with the habits of these remarkable aviators but not that they are rare.