Customer Reviews
Tey's 8th and final mystery novel (1952) - By: Michele L. Worley, 26 May 2005 
"The beasts that talk,
the streams that stand,
the stones that walk,
the singing sand..."
- found on an unidentified corpse, herein
I enthusiasticallly recommend the unabridged audio recording by Stephen Thorne. He speaks beautifully; he voice-acted Aslan in the 1979 animated version of THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE.
As in THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, Grant isn't in the best of health, but this time he's on sick leave for work-related stress (in the form of claustrophobia) rather than physical injury. Unable to sleep on a train journey to Scotland, Grant has the honor of being present when the laziest railway employee in captivity discovers a corpse in a neighbouring compartment, taken at first to be dead drunk rather than merely dead - therefore not only escaping without tipping, but creating more work than 'old Yoghourt' has suffered in many a year. :)
That would have been the end of it - a dead man with an unusual face - except that Grant happened to pick up a half-written sonnet in the dead man's compartment: "The beasts that talk,/The streams that stand,/The stones that walk,/The singing sand..." *That* makes a change from Grant's daily round of investigation - what *was* the stranger up to? To Grant's eye for faces is coupled his hobby of analyzing character from handwriting style. (Hey, everybody has the right to be a bit quirky.)
Even without the mystery, I'd enjoy this as a novel; Grant is, of course, in Scotland to visit his married cousin Laura whom we heard about in THE DAUGHTER OF TIME. (Personallly, if I'd been Tey's editor, I'd have recommended that she make Grant's health-related trip to Scotland the same trip he was planning at the end of his hospital stay in THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, rather than coming up with an unrelated health issue in the very next book.) Grant simultaneously struggles to conquer & conceal his claustrophobia while poking into the open-and-shut case of accidental death his colleagues aren't interested in.
A Classic - By: , 18 Sep 2003 I received this book as a gift in my early teens & it sparked a life-long interest in classic British crime & mystery - particularly the highly covetable Penguin green back paperback editions.
The Singing Sands not only has a great storyline but a wonderful sense of atmosphere in its description of the beautiful Highlands. In this, Tey writes marvellously well - I could taste Grant's horrible hotel breakfast with its yellowy soda scones.
Well worth reading if you have an interest in this genre.
a brilliant read which sustains interest to the end - By: greghughes@blueyonder.co.uk, 02 May 2001 first read this 25 years ago, & have periodicallly re-read ever since. gripping, fine detail, strong ending (unlike some other Tey work, unfortunately). worth visiting the real singing sands. a more modern, less pompous, Buchan in style.
A lovely book, wonderful characters - By: , 04 Jun 1999 I read this first a very long time, & like other Tey fans, I am sorry to know that she wrote so few books.
I'm also sorry a younger Sean Connery didn't get given this book for a movie -- he'd have been perfect as Grant.
Memorable read - By: , 23 Mar 1999 Well written, interesting, fun. I highly recommend this book.
