- Hardcover: 243 pages
- Publisher: Companion Book Club; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (1973)
- Language French
- ISBN-10: 0688001556
- ISBN-13: 978-0688001551
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.8 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 364,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Rainbird Pattern was Canning's best book and has been out of print far too long. He follows two narrative strands, a meticulous kidnap plot and the slightly dishonest inquiries by a spirit medium hoping to pass off her findings as communication with her control. Of course there will be a collision, but the way it happens and the cruel consequences are brilliantly worked out. Hitchcock filmed it as Family Plot, but tried to turn it into comedy. Canning's original is far better.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had forgotten just how good Victor Canning's "Rainbird Pattern" was. Almost 40 years after it was first published, it still offers a masterclass to would-be thriller writers in how to weave together disparate threads of plot and a fine cast of believable characters into a very satisfying novel. And it does so without car-chases, gunfights or serial killers! When the violence comes (and it does) it is low-key but utterly ruthless and chilling. Canning creates in 'Madame Blanche Tyler' - a blousy but genuine-hearted psychic medium - an unlikely champion of good over evil, reminiscent of 'Ida Arnold' in Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", but as in Greene's famous novel, Good doesn't always triumph over Evil.
Set mostly in the rural west of England, "Rainbird Pattern" stands out as possibly Canning's finest achievement and Alfred Hitchcock certainly saw the potential, sanpping up the rights to make what was to be his final film, "Family Plot" in 1976.
Set mostly in the rural west of England, "Rainbird Pattern" stands out as possibly Canning's finest achievement and Alfred Hitchcock certainly saw the potential, sanpping up the rights to make what was to be his final film, "Family Plot" in 1976.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The plot (without spoilers): important people are getting kidnapped, and those in pursuit seem powerless th stop, or even trace, the kidnappers. Chance intersection of paths of a psychic medium and her investigative sidekick with an old lady muddies the waters - or clears them?
The writer: Victor Canning wrote many noverls, often with a thriller plot in the 1950-1970s. This one is from 1972.
My opinion: Canning has a very distinct voic - I don't think you should read his books too close together! He can be a bit samey on the moral musings of his characters, and on their personal thoughts. On the other hand, he is very good wih nature; his plots are loose but gripping, his personalities well fleshed out... enjoyable, light-hearted romp (if violent in places), and a good puzzle-mystery!
The writer: Victor Canning wrote many noverls, often with a thriller plot in the 1950-1970s. This one is from 1972.
My opinion: Canning has a very distinct voic - I don't think you should read his books too close together! He can be a bit samey on the moral musings of his characters, and on their personal thoughts. On the other hand, he is very good wih nature; his plots are loose but gripping, his personalities well fleshed out... enjoyable, light-hearted romp (if violent in places), and a good puzzle-mystery!
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