Jennifer Silver is a twenty-two-year-old, somewhat reclusive Oxford-bred woman (daughter of a distinguished professor) looking forward to her trip to the Southwest of France. She looks forward to a nice holiday, but she is also there to visit her cousin Gillian, a woman who is about to take her religious vows at a convent. Of course, everything goes wrong. For one thing, Jennifer is told that Gillian is dead, buried within the convent's grounds. This strange and unexpected news doesn't feel right in more ways than one. Things just don't add up. Is Gillian even dead? She will not leave the haunting convent until she uncovers the truth. In the meantime, there's Stephen, a brooding former student of her father's, a brilliant musician with some unresolved issues of his own...
At first, I had my doubts about Thunder on the Right. After all, it is Stewart's first romantic suspense novel I read with a third-person narrative. Her first-person novels are very well written and it took me a while to get used to this new and unexpected format. To be honest, it had a somewhat slow beginning. However, the more I read, the more I couldn't put it down. Mary Stewart is a great writer, regardless of the narrative style, period. There are many surprises, many twists, and Stewart adds her signature flavor to it all. As with the other novels, there is some romance in this, but, like all other novels I've read, it is not the central storyline. Romance takes a back seat every time in her stories in favor of the suspense and gothic atmosphere, something I love about this author. I very much enjoyed Thunder on the Right. This is one of Stewart's more underrated efforts, a sad thing, for I found it just as intriguing as her other books. Well, maybe not as good as The Ivy Tree or Madam, Will You Talk?, but definitely worth getting into. If you're a fan of this author, do not make the mistake of overlooking this one. She is quickly becoming a must-read-all-of-her-backlist author, replacing the wonderful Daphne du Maurier, whose books I have devoured for the past couple of years or so.