Rating: 
Summary: Her heart wasn't in it
Review: I am also a big fan of Barbara Vine. I loved both A Dark-Adapted Eye and A Fatal Inversion. I almost didn't finish this one, but ploughed through only out of a sense of loyalty to the author. There is a description of one of Gerald Candless' novels, something to the effect of "his heart wasn't in it, or maybe the heat got to him." I feel that way about The Chimney Sweeper's Boy. None of the characters really came alive for me and, as others have said, the plot was predictable. The only thing I really found intriguing was the relationship between Sarah and Adam. I hope that others will give Vine's other books a try - there's so much more that she's capable of.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding...
Review: I don't think this was a perfect novel -- but it was fascinating and very well written. I agree with previous reviewers that the was the plot was wrapped up was not completely satisfying -- but I also think this is not a thriller and deserves to be read as a novel with an unexplained mystery at the center. Vine also tells the story in a ingenious yet careful way and her writing style is as good as I've ever encountered. Recommended for anyone who likes literary suspense novels.
Rating: 
Summary: More than a mystery
Review: I have a very high opinion of Rendell/Vine and enjoyed every single book I read. This one was one of the best with fully developed characters, a strong story and the spicy unexpected turns.What distinguishes this author's mysteries from the rest out there is a depth in exploring what motivates people's behavior and acts, no matter whether these are acts of love and loyalty or hatered and shalowness.
Rating:
Summary: More than a mystery
Review: I have a very high opinion of Rendell/Vine and enjoyed every single book I read. This one was one of the best with fully developed characters, a strong story and the spicy unexpected turns. What distinguishes this author's mysteries from the rest out there is a depth in exploring what motivates people's behavior and acts, no matter whether these are acts of love and loyalty or hatered and shalowness.
Rating:
Summary: Great sense of location
Review: I liked the book a lot, and agree with many other reader comments: plot a little predictable, but a great ride along the way. I spend a lot of time in the area in which the book is set & think that Vine has done an excellent job in depicting the scenery & atmosphere. Her descriptions of the sea mist are particularly evocative - and I know because I've camped nearby many times. It may interest readers from outside the UK to know that most of the locations mentioned are real - Ilfracombe, Barnstaple etc. The main place, Graunton, is fictional but very similar to Saunton Sands combined, perhaps, with Braunton Burrows. The actual hotel there is the "Saunton Sands Hotel" and is a huge art deco edifice, in a similar clifftop position. In the novel "The Dunes" is architecturally much more like the neo-edwardian "Woolacombe Bay Hotel" a few miles down the coast.
Rating: 
Summary: Great but not my kind of ending......
Review: I love Rendell/Vine books and this one was incredible! I couldn't wait to see how it ended..... and then it ended in a way that wasn't really appealing to me. Although the ending wasn't my style, I don't feel that I wasted my time in reading it. I couldn't wait to read the next chapter to see what happened to these sad characters and hoped that they would find some happiness at some point before the end. I can't say that the ending was to my liking however, isn't that what makes the world go round...? Rendell/Vine is still one of my favorite authors.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best by Barbara Vine.
Review: I'm a big fan of Barbara Vine's psychological novels. The quality of these books can vary widely, (Gallowglass and King Solomon's Carpet are especially weak), but when they're good, they're great. The Chimmney Sweeper's Boy belongs firmly in the second camp.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely well-written novel by one of my favorite authors
Review: I'm a big fan of Ruth Rendell/ Barbara Vine. Thats why I had high expectations for The Chimney Sweeper's boy when I picked it up last week. This book, for the most part, did not disappoint. Running in the same detective/ horror/ I-don't know-how to describe it vein as the Blood Doctor and others, this book follows the life of the acclaimed author Gerald Candless- after his death. His daughter Sarah is given the task of writing a memoir on the life of her famous father- and in the process runs into a few closet skeletons, so to speak.
This is a perfectly-written novel; its a shame that the author isn't quite as well known in the US as she is in other parts of the world.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment-
Review: I've been an ardent fan of Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell) for years now, and this is the first of her books that I've been disappointed in. The ending you could see coming a mile away. I felt like the whole book was an exercise in pushing a liberal agenda on sexual mores rather than a good mystery-mainly because there was no mystery-it was all quite clear what the outcome was to be, and I'm usually not good at seeing the end coming! It is the last of her books I will read. I think she's run out of ideas.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific novel
Review: It is evident that people have strong reactions to this book. I liked it more than any other Rendell/Vine book, with the possible exception of "Dark Adapted Eye." One of the most fascinating features of the book is the way in which forms of sexual pathology get repeated, with variations, through three generations of a family. Gerald's mother's relationship with her second husband gets echoed in Gerald's relationship with his wife, and Gerald's two daughters act it out in their own peculiar ways, until the very end, when one of them wakes up. There's great insight into what might be called the erotic lives of families, and the writing is first rate.
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