Be Buried in the Rain

by Barbara Michaels, Barbara Rosenblat (Narrator)

Enter a world where forgotten secret never die...

The truth was waiting for Julie Newcomb. Waiting in the shadows of the decaying family plantation. In the cold, dark eyes of her bedridden grandmother. On the lonesome road to Maidenwood -- where the earth-browned skeletin of a mother and child were first discovered.

Genres: Mystery, Gothic, Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Barbara Michaels was a pen name of Barbara Mertz. She also wrote as Elizabeth Peters, as well as under her own name.

She was born in Canton, Illinois and has written over fifty books including some in Egyptology. Dr. Mertz also holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Egyptology.

Reviews

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

“The sun that warmed our stooping backs and withered the weed uprooted— We shall not feel it again. We shall die in darkness, and be buried in the rain.”

I read this for the TBRChallenge and Halloween Bingo, usually for TBRC, I talk about everything in the story but HB I try not to spoil too much in case a fellow player hasn't read it yet. I guess I'm saying, prepare for some small spoilers and some evading.

Deadman’s Hollow, the kids called it. Said it was haunted.

I didn't read the synopsis on the back of this, I saw it on the HB list of Southern Gothic recommends and trust my fellow HB players enough to just pick it up, so I went in with some wrong preconceptions. For some reason, Gothic automatically makes me think set in historical times, this takes place in the late '80s or early '90s (I'm 38, if you're Gen Z and thinking “That is historical!”, bah to you). The mausoleum on the cover also made me think Louisiana but the setting is the Tidewater area of Virginia. I was also ready for the story to have more of a focus on the ghostly or Gothic-y vibe, this was more centered on the characters. Sure, the beginning brings that creepy vibe with a man driving down a dark road at night and almost crashes as he swerves to avoid what later is found to be skeleton remains of an adult holding a baby. However, that moves to the side and we get more of a 'normal' vibe, with a granddaughter coming back to help take care of her granddmother who is laid up because of a stroke. It's a story that uses the characters to drive the story, instead of the story driving the characters.

He didn’t lust after my maidenhood; he lusted after Maidenwood. (It shows you how young I was, that I could get a grim relish out of that poor pun.) I never really understood why he was convinced that the discovery that would make his career lay hidden under the tangled brush and weedy clay of my family’s land. Like all old houses, Maidenwood had its share of legends; the buried pirate treasure was only one of them.

The story is told from Julie's point-of-view and she's a med student who gets called back to her ancestral home to help take care of her grandmother. When she was a pre-teen, she lived for four years with her grandmother and cousin Matt, who is now a Senator. Julie doesn't have a lot of memories from that time but it wasn't enjoyable for her. We get a good look at what kind of grandmother Martha was/is through Julie recalling when she brought home her boyfriend Alan, an archaeologist, and Martha prayed on Julie's insecurities (and Alan's, we later learn) of being ugly and not good enough. Alan's pushing desire to excavate Julie's land, it's been settled since pre-colonial and has rumors of a Blackbeard treasure on it, only adds to what Martha says about their relationship and Julie ends up breaking up with him. This shows the kind of power and sway Martha has over Julie and there was a great quote used in the story about how if you give someone a child before they are seven, they are theirs for life. Oof, what a quote to use and it honestly felt like the story was built around this idea.

With pitiless accuracy she described my failings, physical and emotional. How could I possibly imagine that a man like Alan—handsome, sophisticated, worldly—could be interested in a callow, homely girl like me? Flat-chested, with lusterless stick-straight brown hair, and the Carr features—“so unfortunate on a woman”—and, of course, no charm whatsoever.

So, Julie's back at Maidenwood and helping out the nurse Shirley there, there is also the Danners, the wife cooks and cleans and the husband is the handyman and also the one who found the bones. Julie has faint memories of them when she was there but Mr. Danner has found Jesus and is taciturn now, to say the least, and Mrs. Danner spends a lot of the time staring into space. There's also Julie's cousin Matt who flits in and out, he's trying to get power of attorney to run the estate, a Judge who is friends with Martha and visits occasionally, and then Alan. Yep, Julie's ex-boyfriend has been given permission to excavate some of the land, not by the house because Martha can't find out as she's violently opposed to the idea, and some of Alan's helpers on the dig. I was impressed with how just about all of the characters got their own, at least, little backgrounds. It at times gave a fuller view but at others was a bit too dissecting to the story. I did come mainly for some ghostly Gothic, so this disappointed at being distracted away could be a me thing.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not noble—you must have realized that, after reading some of the admissions in these pages.

There were two times of fourth wall breaking, this always kind of throws me and I thought the first time didn't fit but the second one, because it came at the end of the story, fit better. I just realized I'm not talking about the skeleton bones a lot and that is because of the more to the side they are, they are simultaneously the catalyst of the story and the background. The characterizations, how cousin Matt and the Danners are acting, Martha's deviousness, and Julie's traumatic memories coming back to her are the vehicle that carries the found skeleton thread; it leads to the revelations but isn't obvious about it. There's also some second chance romance between Julie and Alan. Alan's feelings follow the not obvious theme and his caring about Julie is read between the lines, which I'm a big fan of because I think it can sometimes hit harder; gruff people and their deep feelings gets me every time.

I enjoyed this story, even though it didn't always give me what I picked it up for but more than made up for it with all the little character additives that created such deep characters. I didn't personally like the witch Martha but her characterization was amazing, the ability to have a character control a room with just an eye, whew. The whole Maydon's Hundred (tied into the history and treasure folklore of Julie's home) was a thread that I felt had too much focus. Some threads felt necessary but at the same time, I wanted them clipped. I don't know, while reading I wanted things to move along more but when I was finished with the whole story, I had a greater appreciation for them all. I also want to make sure I mention the dog, Elvis, loved him, lol. If you're looking for a story to sink into characterization, this would be a great pick-up. The last part broke the fourth wall but I really enjoyed the last lines.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this Gothic suspense novel. I was afraid it might be cheesy, especially since it was published in the 1980s, but it wasn't. I also didn't know what I would think of a Gothic novel set in contemporary Virginia, but the old manor house, its occupants, and the surrounding woods were broken down, overgrown, and eerie enough for a mystery of old bones.

The atmosphere was all you could wish for in this kind of book. It reminded me of Susanna Kearsley without the dual time periods, except this was more creepy (I think it was the bones). It was creepy enough to disturb me in the dark the last couple of nights - not that that's saying much, since I am easily affected by such things and avoid horror like the plague.

Also, I really enjoyed the dog.

I'll definitely be reading more of this author's work. I'm glad to see there's plenty to choose from.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who knows me, will tell you I LOVE these 60's and 70's Gothic Romance/Mystery novels. Barbara Michaels in incomparable. However, this one, which was copyrighted in 1985, wasn't one of her best. The last 100 pages or so were where the action was. This story was set in Virginia, which gave this novel the feeling of Southern Gothic. Set in the requisite old mansion, Julie is manipulated into spending the summer with her 85 year old grandmother, who is recovering from a massive stroke. The Grandmother is bedridden. Julie's cousin, who is running for state senator and is the heir to the mansion, is too busy to help, but foots the bill for all expenses. Another fly in the ointment is Julie's ex-boyfriend is present on the grounds working on an excavation after old bones of a woman and child were found.
The story is painfully slow moving, and I was fairly certain what had happened. There was one small twist at the end. The romantic part of the book, was in the background for the most part, but still nice. A little disappointing,but not bad. I could never say Barbara Michaels wrote anything bad. I would still recommend it those who are fans of this genre.

[Rainz ❤️rainnbooks❤️(on a break) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Michaels is unparalleled in the Gothic suspense genre in the early 70's and 80's. It is a joy to read these thrillers that were published earlier. We have the best of the segment now with thrillers becoming more tauter and untangling the spider-web becoming more and more intricate and complex. So reading this work of Barbara Michaels may prove tiresome for many as there's not much brain electrocuting happening here. The suspense is not very intense, and the whole action of the story takes place only at he end by which time there's so much detailing of things around the mansion Maidenwood that makes it a bit tedious. But the book was exactly what I was looking for some lazy and relaxed reading.
Be Buried in the Rain may not be her best work but still a good and interesting read.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Back roads. Spanish moss dripping from old oak trees. And guilty secrets. Be Buried in the Rain mentioned food once too often and was top heavy with excessive family drama.

I may have appreciated the story more if I read it years ago. Instead, I can't say I liked anyone but Elvis. The dog.

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining read from Michaels that reminded me of the V.C Andrews tales I used to gobble up as a teen. You know, the big mansion occupied by an evil grandmother trying to bring misery to the young maiden shuddering under strict tortures. This time its young medical student named Julie Newcomb who caves in under family pressure to spend a summer with the mean old grandmother Martha, who is paralyzed after a heart attack in a huge mansion overlooking the Virginia plantation, she reluctantly agrees but her childhood memories are biting her heels. As a child she was always punished and shunned by Martha, and even as an adult her memory of bitter moments is coming back as the old lady of the house still holds strict discipline and who rules her servants and nurse with an iron fist. Then comes Alan, Julie's ex-lover who is on an archeological dig right behind her house, looking for glory and mysterious human remains, her cousin Matt who got her into this whole mess of watching Martha, using his cousin and grandmother to further up his political career, not to mention crazy cook Mrs. Danner who turned into a nun from a party girl under her husband and Martha's rule and other whacky characters who make the book so rich and interesting.

When skeletal remains of a woman holing an infant are found by Mr. Danner everyone wants to know who it was, but the body seems to be tangled up with the whole family and some members don't want the secrets to be out. Drama unfolds as bizarre events unfold and Julie proves to have some spunk with trying to figure out her grandmother and not to succumb to all her tyrannical commands. On top of that her slimy ex is digging on her territory and starts to confuse her with his vague plans and fake charms. When Julie starts to hear footsteps in the house and loud noises in the dark she gets a dog but even that plan seems to be getting sabotage by a mysterious foe. The delicious part of the story is figuring how everything ties in together. For once there are almost no loose ends; Mrs. Michaels does a fine job closing the story.

Fun, enjoyable and easy on the mind, this was a great book. The characters were so real that I felt like I knew them, and I was sad to see them cease to exist from my days when the book was done. I also loved reading about Martha and trying to figure out whether she was really evil or just misunderstood - the ending was well done in that department! I must also comment that Julie was one of my favorite female protagonists that this author writes so well. Somehow they are all different, that's why I keep coming back to her books.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

This was a very enjoyable Gothic Romance, and I found I liked this one more than the first Barbara Michaels book I read, Ammie, Come Home (link to my review).  Considering the fact that Be Buried in the Rain was written almost two decades after Ammie, Come Home, some of the actions and instances were a bit more easy to relate to for me.  On top of that, I liked the inclusion of archaeological elements at play in the somewhat mystery behind this book's story line.  I had been told by a friend that the author is actually an expert in this particular field with a degree, so we know the material presented in the book is solid.

To be honest, one of the only complaints I had about Be Buried in the Rain was the fact that, for a good twenty to thirty percent of the book, I really wasn't quite sure I knew what was going on; and that the main love interest, Alan Petranek was kind of an asshole.  Certainly the "Main Male Love Interest Is Kind of An Asshole" trope isn't uncommon in any kind of romance, specifically the Gothic Romance--particularly during earlier times and even so during present day.  But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book overall.  The characters, especially our main character, Julie, grow on you over time.  I would have liked for there to have been more supernatural elements, but the atmosphere and Julie's own overactive imagination seems to set the dark mood of the story quite well without the addition of deliberate ghostly happenings.

Finally, Elvis, the stray hound that Julie takes in is certainly an added bonus.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• 2016 Halloween Bingo

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read Here I Stay a couple of years ago(the first and only other book I've read by Michaels), I didn't expect much more than a similarly light little read with this one; but it was so much better. There was a lot more going on here... the story was more detailed and more interesting, as were the characters.

The book starts out on a very creepy note within the first 3-4 pages (I won't tell you what it is!). Then we switch to Julie, who is winding up her first year of med school when she is pressured into moving in with her grandmother for the summer in order to help out as caretaker for the mean old woman. She dutifully takes up residence in the old plantation in Virginia, called Maidenwood, which seems to be full of secrets.

I really liked Julie; she was witty, spunky, and funny! This is a great summertime read - perfect for a lazy afternoon (bonus points if it's stormy outside!).

[Laila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Gothic fun set in 1985 Virginia. Family secrets and unearthed skeletons. Feisty heroine and a dog named Elvis. I used to read these back in high school and wanted to revisit Michaels for the RIP Challenge. A fun Autumn read!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite Barbara Michaels. Will have to find it in storage and read again.

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this Southern Gothic suspense novel. It was very slow until the last 100 pages or so. It did get good at that point. This is a novel you have to have patience with. I considered not finishing it once or twice because I got bored in the middle of it but I stuck it out.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only now discovered Barbara Michaels through the booklike group I belong to. I am really enjoying her books, even if they are a wee bit dated.

[Genevieve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written well, reads fast but not the kind of fast-pace thriller that I like. Seemed like she was trying too hard. Left a bunch of loose ends, forced ending. Disappointed me.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspense, romance, a crumbling mansion, an evil Grandmother and ... a dog named Elvis.
My idea of a good time!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling story of a girl and her grandmother, a dysfunctional individual if there ever was one. I didn't know what to make of her until nearly the end, always trying to make excuses or find some saving grace about her. The romance, as is frequently the case for Barbara Michaels, is very low-key and one that was interrupted five years before by her grandmother. It takes a while to get started again, but there is plenty to the story and I really enjoyed the archeology portions and the dog.

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't all that spooky. In fact, there was little reason to care about the skeleton. Nothing else really happened except the dig, which was super interesting, but went nowhere. The end was meh. Too much left unanswered.

And I will never explain why books written under pen names say "So-and-So Writing as So-and-So." What's the point???

[Ygraine]

have come to the end of my stack, which i think will probably also be the end of my brief but tentatively fond relationship w barbara.

[Matthew Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly what I want when I experience a Barbara Michaels story -- a wry, real feeling main character, a bit of mystery, a bit of history/archaeology, a touch of the supernatural. I'm not sure there's much more to say beyond that. It's a complete pleasure, particularly as an audiobook with Barbara Rosenblat narrating.

[Kathy Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this book I did not expect to get so caught up in it that I needed to get it finished right away. I thought it would be a nice leisurely read over several days. I was wrong...again. Seems like I have to admit that a lot.

It is a sad tale of family violence all with the aim of keeping ones name in the right genteel circles and free of blemish. The plantation of Maidenwood sounded so beautiful - I would have restored it had I inherited such a lovely old Victorian. However it was falling down around the people who lived there and the repairs were out of the question.

Martha, the family patriarch, is a devil of a woman who loves to pit family against each other - even after her stroke. She is decietful, vengeful, and just plain mean. I had to like her. :-) The woman was hell on two feet though and terrorized Julie during the four years she had to live with her grandmother growing up. I had to hate her too. What a horrid little woman she was. Michaels does an excellent job of making you pity her but yet dispise her too.

Julie wants to have the strength to stand up to the woman but finds it difficult as memories of the things Martha did to her come flooding back a little at a time. Smart and successful, she is everything Martha hates. Women were to be ladies and not do menial labor - especially one from such a well-respected family.

I knew right away what was going on - who the mystery person was and what terrible secret they were hiding. Still, the book held me in its clutches. I finally managed to go to sleep earlier but it was on my mind so it influenced my dreams. When I did get up after four hours, I was determined to wait until later to finish it. However, I had a twenty minute wait between ordering Chinese food and being able to pick it up so what was I supposed to do?

The book was very good - I enjoyed it immensely and it totally makes up for the last one that I thought was up to Michaels standards. I give the book an A. Read it if you like stories of family tragedy, coverups, ghosts, and digging for the truth - it is worth it.

[ScholasticPerturbation · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is well written (as always with this author) but overall I desperately wanted it to just be over with after the first 40% or so. I powered through (mainly because of the Barbara Rosenblat narration, which is always superb) but still couldn't wait for it to end.

The set up was very unbelievable. How any adult could be coerced into going to care for person (even a relative) so thoroughly hated by all is beyond belief (or that her mother, who couldn't even call the old woman by anything other than her name and also wouldn't go- would try to make her daughter do it).

The two male characters central to the story were both absolutely loathesome and by the time the romantic love interest made a turn around to being human and sympathetic it was far too little too late. Even for an old woman so hated, the fact that both these men blatantly and unapologetically forced themselves into her life and on her property, doing things without her consent was one of the most gag-worthy plots I've ever read. Some people might say, "it was a different time" but Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters has written feminine power stories for decades before this and I just don't understand how we were supposed to care for either one of these horrible men. One was open about being after her money/estate and the other was an uncaring trespasser digging up her property as if he had the right. There were no redeeming qualities for either.

There were a lot of other issues that just made suspending belief impossible (like the MC being able to reconstruct the facial features of a skull on her first try with no training in the forensic sciences- see Iris Johanson's Eve series if you want to know just how complicated that process is). The idea of the MC having traumatic memory blocks about her childhood there was a decent idea but poorly executed and had none of the eerie/suspenseful feeling it was obviously meant to.

[SuperWendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of Michaels' as a teen and thought it would be fun to revisit some of her books on audio. I started with this one because I remembered liking it back then, and I still liked it 30 years later. There's a lot of character development here and a lot of setting the stage, so it's a slower paced book. But the way the author unfolds it all, and slow-builds the tension is really excellent. Also, I read Michaels' as a teen because I liked the creepy Gothic suspenseful storylines. The romances? Were incidental. But this book actually has a pretty strong romantic thread running through it. Highly enjoyable.

[Elizabeth Nesbit-comer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always a fan of Barbara Michaels. This one with the creepy old house and aging grandmother who she hates was just the gothic story that i needed. i also love how she adopted the limping dog and had the vet take pity on her cause she didn't know how to care for him. The romance was a bit rushed. They hated each other and then all of a sudden the pastw as forgotten and they were back together without any sort of talk seemed a bit unrealistic and predictable at the same time. But I dod love Barbara Michaels, so I tend to over look her faults.

[Laura Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the type of book I enjoy reading (or having it read to me by excellent Barbara Rosenblat), but might not stick with me. I enjoyed the creepy mystery and the archeological dig, but the ending was rushed, and the heroine was not memorable.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the genre, this was pretty good reading.  A lightweight distraction from everyday life.

It seems I can't get through a single Barbara Michaels book without being irritated by something-- this time it was mostly some characters cast from the "stereotypically ignorant, backward, religious Southerner" mold (or maybe more the protagonist's tiresome stereotyping of so many fellow characters)-- but perhaps a little irritation isn't such a bad thing in a book.  It keeps me on my toes.  Besides, if I don't have something to gripe about, what can I put in these book reviews?!  ;o)

But to return to seriousness-- Maybe I was just in the right mood, but I enjoyed the book.  Very readable.  The mystery's not the strongest.  I had most of it figured out and get the feeling that I should've guessed the rest, too.  This was an entertaining read that I'd happily recommend to fellow fans of modern(ish) gothic romance/mystery.


Specifics (with SPOILERS):
-- Published in 1985.  I wonder if younger readers of this book-- the ones who don't remember life without cell phones-- would have a different reading experience than someone my age... I was a kid in 1985.  I never experienced the 80s as a teen, much less as an adult, but I very clearly remember a time when cell phones were not ubiquitous-- before "Internet" was a household word.  I don't know that such a slight variance in age makes as much difference as countless other factors (gender, personality, etc.).  After all, I read and enjoy books published a century or two before I was born.  Still, my experience of those books must be very different from that of contemporary readers.  ...Just an interesting thing to ponder, every once in a while...

--  Joe Danner.  Should I find him an offensive stereotype (ignorant, not-very-bright, former wife-beater turned religious nut)?  I'm not sure if I should, but... I kinda do.  Not that there aren't people like that... (Everywhere, one might add.  Not just in Virginia or the South as a region.)

--  This author's typical heroine seems to have a chip on her shoulder about "women's rights".  This one wasn't the worst case I've seen, but it's still a whiny old song that grinds on my nerves with every chorus.  Julie doesn't want to take care of her horrible grandmother.  She resents the fact that she's expected to fall into line, while her cousin (who will inherit the whole shebang, apparently) is exempt from unpleasant family tasks because he's a man, and men don't have to do that sort of thing.  Well... Don't do it, then.  But no, she "has" to, because her mother will do it, if she doesn't... Ugh.  That's your mother's choice.  (Julie's mother isn't a particularly sympathetic character.  Let her take care of her awful mother, if she feels a female relative must be there.  Fairly heartless to send her daughter to do the job she herself can't stomach...)

--  Julie doesn't win any points by suggesting that the people in the area wouldn't be in favor of women's rights, because they're "rednecks".  *eyeroll*

--  You can count on Barbara Michaels to sneak a little Egyptology into the book.  (It had to be a little game she played with her most faithful readers.  There's something in every book!)  This time it was pathologists who "were able to perform histological sections" on Egyptian mummies.  (They found that the mummies had parasitic worms, back when they weren't quite so mummified. Yuck.)  Oh!  There was also something about someone at the age of eighty seeming "older than the Pyramids" to an eighteen-year-old.

--  "The decay of the house was something they couldn't blame on the damn Yankees.  It had survived the 'War Between the States', as they called it in these parts."  *more eyerolling*

--  When Julie's trying to figure out how she can get a ride home from town:  "Mrs Danner squeaked, 'There's Will Smith, Mr. Danner.  He obliges for some of the ladies.'  'Be quiet, woman.  Will's a drunk and a fornicator.  No decent female would get in that car of his.'"  Ha ha ha... I know "Will Smith" isn't that unusual of a name, but it still gave me a laugh.

--  Julie offers Alan a McDonald's french fry, but he declines.  "'That stuff is poison to your system.  I'd rather starve.'" Have some people always been obnoxious about fast food?  I guess so... 

--  I gather that despite the four years she spent on the old homestead, Julie's supposed to be a city girl.  She carries a stick to ward off rabid possums and rabbits.  Yes, Virginia is crawling with rabid possums, I'm sure.  Based on my own experience in the wilds of the American South, Julie needs to be more concerned about snakes than rabies, of all things.

--  People gave Alan trouble about working on Saturday and Sunday, because one or the other (depending on who's asked) is the Sabbath?  I find that doubtful.  Even if some people didn't exactly approve of people working on the Sabbath, how many would be kooky enough confront a stranger who was working in a field in the middle of nowhere?  Especially in the mid-1980s.  (Did Barbara Michaels have any actual experience in the South?  Did she believe all this crap?)

--  Someone sends Alan a letter: "'You are sinning against God's Holy Word when you dig up dead bodies.  If you don't stop you will be struck by His Rath.'"  *SIGH*  (Reading through my notes is making me wonder if I liked this book so much, after all... I wish the author would've eased up on the "religious nutcase" stereotyping!)

--  "I had wondered how a woman veterinarian could establish a practice in an area like this, where macho traditions prevailed and most of a vet's practice involved farm animals."  (Ouch!  I sprained an eye with all that rolling!)

--  For all her "pro-woman"/"ooh, I'm soooo enlightened" talk, Julie doesn't treat Mrs. Danner very kindly.  (After the incident with the attempted poisoning of the dog, I don't blame her, but this was before that.)  She talks down to her.  Mrs. Danner is not very intelligent.  She's also poor, low-class, bullied by her husband, and (because of that husband) estranged from her children.  Basically, she's not in a very good position, any way you look at it.  Taking all that into consideration, Julie's way of addressing her is not only insulting but at least bordering on cruel.  So much for Julie's being such an open-minded social radical, I guess!

--  I found it amusing that Julie turned out to be so great at "reconstruction" (think Bones), without any serious training or experience.  Maybe we're supposed to gather that her success was really just Melissa's spirit guiding her hands...

--  Martha has people reading to her for hours every day.  It's the mid-1980s.  Why not get her a TV-- a radio-- a set of books-on-tape?!  I'm sure it was addressed early on, but I don't recall.  Probably Martha just doesn't want those things.  Well, I'm a meanie, because if I was cursed with an evil witch who hated me instead of normal, affectionate grandmothers, I'd probably just refuse to read to her every day.  She could make do with TV, radio, etc.  ~shrug~  I must be an awful person.

--  "It's funny how defenseless you feel in your bare feet."  So true!

--  Ok.  My credulity is stretched.  Not by the ghosty parts of the book.  (Well, ok, those aren't realistic, either, of course...)  Julie's mother is too proud to have Julie live with her while she's getting back on her feet after Julie's father leaves them.  Instead, she sends Julie home to the mother she herself can't stand.  Julie is emotionally and physically abused.  Julie blocks out most of those memories-- four years of her youth!-- and it only comes back (in chunks) once she's back in the old house.  Is it possible?  I guess.  But what kind of mother would send her daughter to a place she must have known was awful?  I find it unlikely that Julie would've blocked out all those memories, too.  But whatever...

--  Similarly, Alan is a grown man by the time he meets Martha-- completely in love with Julie (and in a physical relationship with her, no less)-- and yet Martha somehow convinces him that he's essentially worthless and that Julie doesn't really want anything to do with him because of his lowly origins.  ...Yeah.  I'm skeptical.  Martha must've had magical powers...

--  I have to admit that I'd kind of forgotten who Melissa was, until the "exciting conclusion".  The part of the story where she was mentioned didn't make much of an impression, I guess.

--  I'd figured out that Matt was the one intent on destroying the reconstruction.  That was pretty obvious, from the way he reacted to it-- plus it was clear from the beginning that something was up with him.  What I was wrong about, though, was the identity of the skeleton.  I was sure it would turn out to be either the Danner girl or some other girl that Matt had fooled around with and gotten pregnant.  She would've been imprisoned in that little room and eventually she and the infant would've been murdered-- either by Matt or by Martha.  Martha was clearly in on the secret, too.  Well, it wasn't that far off, I guess.

--  The explanation of how Ms. Hornbeak found the Maydon's Hundred graveyard because she was so dim-witted-- just like Julie's ancestor, which meant they were on the same wavelength-- while Alan was just so darned brilliant that he over-complicated things... Hm.

--  The twist at the end is creeeeeepy!  Martha's been going out, burning the clothes and reburying the bodies/skeletal remains every year, on the anniversary of the murders-- every since she killed her sister and niece/nephew?  And the only reason they were found at all, this time, was that Martha had suffered her stroke and as a consequence was unable to go and put them back out of sight before someone else stumbled across them?  Oooooooooh... ~shiver~

--  So, for the sake of that ending... and Elvis the dog... and Alan (whom I liked better than many of the author's romantic heroes)... I guess I can forgive the annoying stereotypes.

[Patricia Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn’t the most awful book I’ve ever read or even this year. I think the author is a good writer and the narrator is an excellent reader. I don’t know why I didn’t especially enjoy it.

I’m not sure if I think the story is silly or shallow. It could have been really good. So no. I think the reason is the over the top stereotypical, cartoonish characters.

I don’t like any of the characters- especially our main character Julie. She doesn’t seem very smart even though she’s in medical school (or just beginning). She talks tough but is not really brave and she’s a bully to those less powerful than she is. Even so, she’s only a step above the frail southern lady who becomes dizzy and faint in viewing a dead body or pile of bones.

The novel’s romance is predictable even from the first chapter. However, it did take a minute before (insert soft music here) the lovers fall into each other’s arms.

Absolutely EVERYONE is freaked out over the plaster skull except the archeologist. Cheez… That IS silly!

It seems there’s something for everyone in this novel- evil grandmother (She could have been a step-grandmother. Wouldn’t that have been perfectly delicious?!), chivalrous southern gentlemen, religious cult members, shady politicians, an old rundown mansion, back roads, chiggers and mosquitoes, unmarked graves, romance, a psychic, a dog, and lots more.

There is no graphic sex or profanity. The story isn’t better or worse without them. They’re just not there. I’m letting you know in case that helps you determine whether or not to read something.

I finished the book. Yay for me! That might not have been possible without all the eye rolls. Although I didn’t especially like the book, I’m rounding my two and a half stars to three.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Mertz/Michales/Peters will always be one of my absolute favorite authors. Her wit, her mysteries, her way of having me do deep dives into lesser known subjects/periods are just some of the things I love.
Having said that, this wasn’t one of her best. For the first time ever, I figured out the mystery just a little more than halfway through. In all my years of reading her novels (I only have six left), that has NEVER happened. I honestly don’t think it’s because I’ve gotten so much better since Agatha Christie still gets me, I think she made it too obvious with the hints.
This novel also brings out more of Ms. Mertz’ tendencies towards misandry, which got tiresome for me after age twenty. I feel like the poor woman was stuck in a quandary as she couldn’t make up her mind about men. She portrays them as oblivious to feelings yet usually more aware of dangers than the women. She mocks them even as she sets up their happy endings with women. She despises the male faction even as she tends to make them extremely good looking/hot/muscled as apparently that’s what her fictional women deserved. I think there’s only one instance where the man was fat and balding.
To be fair, her women tend to be whiny and petty like Julie. I don’t mind a prickly heroine but Julie was just cruel at times and even reveled in it.

[Marybeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this story was interesting and enjoyable. Historical buried "treasure" and family secrets usually make for an explosive story. The characters were rather a mixed bag, though. I liked the way Julie matured and finally came into her own over the course of the book, but other characters were too one-dimensional. How much I disliked Alan surprised me. Usually I like this author's male characters but Alan was extremely unlikable until almost the very end, and then suddenly we're supposed to believe that his past with Julie is all better again, just like that. I couldn't buy into it but I did like the supernatural-lite elements. It wasn't heavy or obvious, but it was there enough to add an extra layer to the story. The climax in this one is tense and satisfying enough, so I appreciated that. If you like Barbara Michaels in general, you might want to give this one a try. To each his or her own.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this novel. In fact, I reread it every summer.

Julie Newcomb, the narrator, is a medical student spending the summer in Virginia, caring for her unpleasant grandmother, who has suffered a stroke. Julie is a smart, funny, and honest narrator. Raised mostly in the north by her single mother, she brings an outsider's critical eye to life in Carrsville.

As is usual with Barbara Michaels, the supernatural elements are very reluctantly embraced by her realist main characters, who bring readers along with them in a gradual realization that there really is something ghostly and mysterious going on.

If you're looking for a summer read that will keep your attention, give you a few laugh-out-loud moments, and just enough atmosphere to engage your mind but not make you feel that you have to sleep with the lights on, I recommend this charming novel.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rates so high not because of the story (which is very good) but because it properly introduced me to Edna St Vincent Millay. I often planned to send Barbara Michaels a letter - not a traditional fan letter. After all, Michaels was a writer, it was her job and she did it very very well. I bought her books, recommended them, extolled them. That was the end of it! What the letter would have contained was thanks for that introduction, to the woman who penned the brutally honest and moving Dirge Without Music, and Justice Denied in Massachusetts, the elegiac and beautifully angry reaction to the trial and verdict on Sacco and Vanzetti.

So very belatedly but with great sincerity, thank you Dr Mertz

[Sep · Rating 5 out of 5]

An early Barbara Michaels that fits into one of three categories of her writing: books that look like they might have magic but don't, books that don't look like magic but do, and books where you're not quite sure.

Julie comes home to her grandmother's decrepit plantation to take care of her as the old woman has had a stroke. Julie was left for four miserable years with this abusive waste of skin, so she knew the summer would be a challenge. This is a book about breaking free from a terrible past, recovering lost memories, finding a lost love, and maybe, just maybe identifying a skeleton that might be an important ancestress.

Is there magic? Let me know what you think.