This is another trip into the world of Rosamunde Pilcher, one rich in family ties, unsurpassed local color of her beloved Scotland, and characters that will long be in your memory. If you're looking for an engrossing book to curl up with, one you will be hard-put to set aside, this is the book for you.

I doubt that anyone who reads "The Shell Seekers" will ever forget Penelope Keeling and her three children---Nancy, Olivia, and Noel. Nor will they be likely to forget Sophie, Lawrence, Danus, Antonia, Richard, and the other characters that move through this spell-binding, heart-enriching novel.

Mrs. Pilcher sets out to explore the disastrous effects that the prospect of an inheritance can have on a normal family. She also combines the lifestyle of upper-class Bohemians and the days before, during, and after World War II to tell a story that will be forever fresh.

From the beautiful beaches of Cornwall to the idyllic setting of Ibiza to the bustling life in London, Rosamunde Pilcher transports readers to a world as satisfying as a cup of tea with a plate of warm scones.

You will see Penelope grow up in the sheltering world of her artist father and young, French mother. You will share her first love with Ambrose, her true love with Richard, her most wonderful joys and her deepest heartbreaks. You will see her anguish with her three adult children as she struggles to give them independence and feels their venom. You will see her come to terms with her life and her beloved painting of "The Shell Seekers."

I first read this book several years ago and only yesterday finished a second reading of it. I found it even more warm and heartfelt than ever. I will make it a point to savor this most marvelous book every few years just for the pure joy it gives.

This is truly a book that makes you sad to finish because you want it to go on forever and never leave these characters you have formed a bond with. I would rate it right up there with her masterpieces, The Shell Seekers and September.

As always with Rosamunde Pilcher books, a most satisfying read and one that leaves you dreaming of the beach at Cornwall and sitting down to tea with scones and lemon curd.

Although I would recommend that any fan of Rosamunde Pilcher read this book, I have to say it is perhaps my least favorite of all of hers. Selina, the heroine, is naive and impulsive and does not come across as the strong female character we get in Mrs. Pilcher's later works. Selina sets off from England to find the father she never knew and was told was dead. Because of a photo on a book jacket, she thinks her father is a writer living in Spain. When she arrives unannounced he tells her in no uncertain terms that he is not her father and she needs to go back to London. Selina cannot seem to leave this man and even hides her passport when he forces her to go to the airport. I was shocked when I learned what the real connection between this young girl and this man was. Because it is not set in England or Scotland as most of her novels are, we miss the wonderful descriptive setting Mrs. Pilcher is noted for. This was Mrs. Pilcher's first novel under her own name and was first published in 1967. Although nowhere near the standards she set with "The Shell Seekers," "September," and "Coming Home," it is a short and worthwhile read for her legions of fans, of which I am most definitely a part.

Rebecca Bayliss is a young London woman working in a book shop. As her mother is dying, she tells Rebecca about the family in Cornwall that she has never known. Rebecca travels to the estate of her grandfather, a once-famous artist, to inform him of the death of his only daughter. Rebecca is a thorougly likeable heroine and is surrounded by a cast of well-defined secondary characters from the cousins to the aunt to the butler. Although written before her more famous novel, "The Shell Seekers," many of the enticing elements of that book are found here---the description of the beach at Cornwall, the artist's studio, and the enigmatic young man who has a profound influence on the main character. This is a most satisfying read for all and a definite must for those of us who can never get enough of Rosamunde Pilcher.