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The Selkie
ISBN-13: 9780451122438
ISBN-10: 0451122437
Publication Date: 5/3/1983
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 10

3.6 stars, based on 10 ratings
Publisher: Signet
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Selkie on + 106 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book is well-written, with lots of interesting characters and a wonderful setting.

Jamie filled me with conflict, since his loyalty to the Elders came before everything else, even innocent human lives. In some ways I really liked him, but his uncaring murders of the women he used and pretended to love ruined what good he had in him unfortunately.

An interesting take on Selkie legends, and definitely not what I was expecting, but I still recommend it as good reading that will take you into an entirely different world.

Back Cover
Mary Willis comes from America to Scotland to join her husband, who is working on an engineering project in a rugged coastal village. It is here that she meets Jamie McPherson and is swept up in a love beyond imagination.

She knows little about him but she does not care, for he is the most spellbinding lover she has ever had - a seducer of erotic mystery and exquisute sexual genius.

Mary is sure she has known him through the depths of time, feels he is intoxicating her senses, commanding her will, consuming her body and soul. And she is always ready for him, this stranger cloaked in a beauty that is more than human... until, little by little, she uncovers the nature of his dark and terrible secret...
lindagwen avatar reviewed The Selkie on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
One of my all time favorites. There are no protagonists--all the main characters either give in to evil, are permanently damaged, or they were evil to begin with. The atmosphere is heady, sensual, and eerie.
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Tesstarosa avatar reviewed The Selkie on + 151 more book reviews
Mary Willis has come from the United States to a rugged coastal village in Scotland to join her husband, Don, and work on a book. Her husband is an engineer working on a project for a power company. His expertise on water flows is what has gotten him this job.

This expertise has lead him to believe there is something wrong with the water flow numbers the company is getting, but he isnt able to determine what is wrong just from the maps he has been given by the people working on the project. Exploring the caves is dangerous as they fill completely during high tide and if you get lost and trapped in the caves, youll never be seen again. A fate that many others have experienced.

Dons predecessor in his position died when he presumably got drunk one evening and fell off the cliffs. He left behind some very cryptic notes that Mary has found, but cannot understand. Don isnt interested in those scribbling and eventually Mary turns the notes over to the village minister, who is sure the devil is at work in the community.

It turns out that Mary is a descendant of the people in this village and she comes to love living here. She is making great progress on her writing for her book and theyve hired a local and experienced handyman, Jamie McPherson, to do much needed maintenance and upkeep on the home that they are living in.

Mary and Don dont have the strongest marriage but Don doesnt feel the need to worry too much about leaving Mary home alone when he needs to go back to the US for a couple weeks to attend a conference. While there, he stops by New York to drop what she has written for her book off to her publisher. Hes frustrated because he has not been able to reach her by phone during the entire trip despite many attempts. The locals tell him she is fine but wont take calls.

While away, Mary starts an affair with Jamie McPherson. She feels inexplicably drawn to him and looses all desire to do anything except dream of the time that she gets to spend with him.

The problem is that Jamie is not really human hes a Selkie, part sea-creature and part human. He is looking for an appropriate mate to continue his species because he is the last of the fertile men of his species.

I liked the story but dont let the description on the back of the book fool you. Mary doesnt do crap to uncover the nature of his dark and terrible secret. In fact, she is completely blind to the fact that Jamie transforms in front of her while they are making love.
reviewed The Selkie on + 25 more book reviews
Very good Book I reccomend reading it
reviewed The Selkie on + 59 more book reviews
Bodice-ripper, murder mystery & Celtic myth all wrapped up in one. Although I never thought Selkies would look as disgusting as the author made them to be, it's a good read.


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