Stitches in Time

Georgetown #3

by Barbara Michaels

When an antique bridal quilt appears under mysterious circumstances at the vintage clothing shop where Rachel Grant works, she is fascinated. She has never been able to resist handmade textiles from the past, for she believes that through the ages, women wove protective magic into their fabrics in order to mark the important events of their lives: birth, marriage, and death.

But there is more than good in the quilt's magic power. Day by day Rachel sees and feels the power growing, as she senses the quilt influencing her thoughts and actions. Much as Rachel's logical mind longs to deny the supernatural, the aura of evil coming from the quilt is terrifyingly real, and it seems to carry a sinister legacy into the lives of the people Rachel loves.

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

387 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

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

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!! This book has so much in it that I don't even know where to start.

There's a mystery surrounding the antique quilt that arrives at the vintage clothing store where main character Rachel works. There's smart and funny inter-play between the very different and interesting other people in the story. There's in-depth examinations of the superstitions and magical beliefs and practices of various cultures. There are restless spirits, and what appears to be a possession of one of the characters by one of these mysterious spirits from the past. There's also romance, with the required obstacles to same.

The story is very entertaining and engrossing. You find yourself leaning forward as you read because you're dying to know what happens. The supporting characters are very colourful and the way they all interact makes for some funny scenes.

I should mention that this is the second in what could "loosely" be termed a trilogy [the other books are Ammie Come Home" and "Shattered Silk"]. However, due to the talent of author Barbara Michaels, each book is a fully-developed story all on its own, with a complete and satisfying ending.

You can absolutely read and enjoy each book on its own without reading the others. But if you have read the earlier books, the references to the other books that Michaels gently and skillfully works in to the present story will add an extra element of enjoyment to the current book.

Something else I particularly enjoyed about this book was the ending. Often a mystery or suspense novel works up to a frothing head of fever and the ending has to be an explosive and over-the-top climax. It's almost a formula. This book has a very unusual and creative ending for this type of book. Don't misunderstand - it's a perfect ending to the story based on what's come before, but it's a unique approach and I loved it.

I definitely would recommend this book.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Many Spoilers throughout****
I closed Stitches in Time contemplating what I had finished and thought, “That was a great book.” I had remembered it being my least favorite of the so-called Georgetown trilogy, from my first, and, I think, only read more than 2 decades ago. I remembered being surprised and dismayed at Kara’s personality change and less than blissful marriage with Mark after the seemingly happy ending of Shattered Silk. But upon this reread, I thought it added depth and character development, especially since they seemed to be back in love and in good humor at the end.

I’m a little disconcerted by all the hate for Rachel and Kara in some of the other reviews. Some readers seem to ignore the fact that Rachel is being negatively influenced by the quilt through almost 90% of the book. At first I was confused by what was happening, so smoothly integrated are the times when Rachel is being influenced by the entity from the past. The grip gets stronger and stronger, until we both fear for our heroine, but also fear what she is up to. When all is made clear and resolved, shouldn’t the reader like and be sympathetic to her? She even admits, towards the end, that she has been sulky and immature with her mother,which was a separate issue from the quilt. And Kara. She is very abrasive at the beginning. But I think she senses something wrong and is reacting accordingly. I too was disappointed by her attitude towards her husband Mark at the beginning, but all is well at the end, and she comes through with flying colors once Rachel and she confide in each other and become comrades in arms. I loved the development of their relationship and the insights we get into her personality. It made for one of Michael's most satisfying and fully developed endings. (Sometimes her books end with just a hope and hint for the future and leave one wishing for an epilogue or at least one or two more pages.) I was also amazed and satisfied by the final reveal and the explanation for the whole mystery.

A word about Adam. Maybe I am forgetting some beloved appealing heroes, but Adam has got to be my favorite love interest in all of Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters. Maybe in one of my Top ten of all authors. What a beautifully described and realized character. I always love an unconventional hero, and Adam is the ultimate. And I love how their love story plays out at the conclusion, when we catch up with the 3 couples months later. Very satisfying to see him finally loved and appreciated as he deserves.

Near the climax of the action, Rachel contemplates

“there was no such thing a coincidence or accident. Every event, however random in appearance formed part of a design too vast and too alien to be comprehended by limited human understanding. Events that were, on the surface, unimportant and meaningless-Rachel’s choice of thesis topic, Tony’s decision to respond to a call he should never have answered-these and a dozen other strands in the web led inexorably toward a nexus in time when the invisible hands of the weaver would draw the threads tight and complete the pattern. It had been predestined and foreordained…."

I find this pretty powerful stuff. There is a suggestion that the quilt and it’s maker are still influencing the 3 couples still, only now in a good way. For example, Mark's loving concern regarding Kara’s pregnancy, causes him to look with suspicion upon Mrs. Grossmuller(from Shattered Silk! Hi, Mrs. Grossmuller!), who uncannily included beautiful vintage baby clothes in her last delivery. Kara wonders if her friends had told Mark about the “quilt business.” Since the normally super-rational and skeptical Mark had said something about the "evil eye". Several other happy circumstances are discussed, and Kara mentions the hair which was part of forensic evidence to convict Rocky. “Hair again,” Kara murmured. “Ironic these coincidences…”It's like justice on the family is still being fashioned by the unseen entity. Finally the last line in the novel describing the plot where they laid the quilt to rest: “ Out in the garden purple and golden crocuses and the small blue flowers called “glory-of-the-snow” covered a certain spot like living patchwork.” All is now right with the world. A fitting and lovely conclusion to the Georgetown trilogy and people that live there.

[Nancy Bolduc Chabot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago. But the story has always stayed in my mind. When I think of a favorite book, it certainly is among the ones I preferred reading.

[Hyzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the previous book in the "trilogy" stood alone just fine, this one really requires you to read it after Ammie, Come Home and Shattered Silk to not spoil the story lines of both of those novels. Thus:

Spoilers for the previous books in the series will follow.

This was a decent read. It was more to form for Barbara Michaels in that it included all sorts of paranormal activity and weird magic, and it did bring back Ruth and Pat, whom I missed quite a bit in the previous book.

This takes up a few years after Shattered Silk ends, with the couples from the end of that book now married and, in Cheryl's case, with children. Karen is almost unrecognizable in her current state, however, and has changed what she goes by as well, so I almost didn't recognize her. I know I whined a bit about her being too much of a pushover, but wow, did she go a little too far in the other direction here. Her discomfort in her marriage appears immediately and is horrible to read about. I like my couples to be at least mostly happily-ever-after if I have to see them again, thank you. The solution to their marital problems is sort of steam-rolling and awkward as well, and I really don't like it. It doesn't seem to be a real solution and it doesn't bode well for the future of their relationship, personally.

At any rate, for all that Karen and Cheryl are definitely important characters, this is Rachel's story in the end. Her weird crush on a married man gets stranger and stranger due to the paranormal activity in the house, and it is the sort of thing that is very uncomfortable to read about.

I enjoyed tracking the whole story about the quilt, and the idea behind what caused the problem was fascinating and creepy.

The romance didn't really work for me. I certainly liked

Adam

himself quite a bit, but he and Rachel just had no chemistry at all and I can't even imagine how things were going to work out between them.

Probably the most interesting character is the one we never truly see on-screen:

the woman who is shadowing Rachel. I would love to have heard more about her and what she actually went through; while I feel like I got a handle on Ammie from Ammie, Come Home, I never really understood this woman.

The denouement was a little underwhelming as well. I was expecting more than I got, there.

Overall, this was a decent book, but not one of my favorites. It is a quick read and certainly worth it if you read the previous two, if only to see how things end up for some of our favorite characters (and to see more Pat! There can never be enough Pat!). It's a little bit "fluffy," but there is nothing wrong with that. It was a sick read for me, and I require fluffy in my sick reads, so I enjoyed re-visiting these characters quite a bit.

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every now and then I like to pull out one of my Barbara Michaels novels for a reread. Many of them stand up well, but this one did...not.

Stitches in Time is third in a trilogy that includes Ammie, Come Home and Shattered Silk, both of which are eerie reads that I enjoyed. The leads from those two books play important roles in this novel so if you haven't read them, you might want to treat yourself.

This novel came out in the 90s, so we're about 10 years beyond the main plot action of the 2nd book. Ruth is well-settled into her marriage with Pat MacDougal, and Kara (from Shattered Silk) has established her business and is doing quite well. This novel focuses on Rachel Grant, a young graduate student working at Kara's boutique. Rachel has recently come out of a bad relationship and since she needs a place to go, she ends up housesitting for Kara's business partner.

The setup of the book is actually pretty interesting. Rachel is studying women's needlework and art, and 3 fascinating quilts show up on the doorstep of the shop. Two are museum quality works of art, while the 3rd is a touch more disturbing. It shows some unsettling scenes and no matter how Rachel cleans it, it keeps getting dirty again. And after being wrapped in the quilt, Rachel herself starts showing some disturbing symptoms.

What unfolds is an eerie paranormal mystery. At times I was able to get into it, but too much of the basis for the mystery gets saved for the final chapter so it sometimes feels like events are happening in a bit of a vacuum. Also, I have to admit that I was very disappointed to see what had happened to interesting characters from previous books. Ruth is still very much herself, but Pat has gone from being a strong character to almost a caricature of himself. Often described as "roaring" at people, I kept picturing him standing outside wearing black socks with sandals and yelling at kids to get off his lawn. It just didn't work for me.

And while Kara has definitely grown in confidence over the past 10 years, some of the better parts of her character from Shattered Silk were missing. She is often downright nasty to Rachel, and it made for uncomfortable reading.

And then there's the romance. Rachel is a very bland character so while the mystery is interesting, she herself is hard to figure out. I realized as I read that while the things that happened to her held my interest, Rachel herself really didn't. She has gotten out of a bad relationship and as she enters a new one, I wasn't convinced that she was ready to be a partner yet.

Barbara Michaels has a lot of goodies in her backlist (I actually prefer her novels to the Amelia Peabody series), but this is not one of her best.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one always kind of creeped me out--I can handle ghosts just fine, but witchcraft/voodoo/dark magic type stuff really freaks me out for some reason. But I keep rereading it anyway, because Adam is just such an interesting character to me. He's big and quiet and has a beard and a child-like innocence that really kind of set him apart from your typical love interest in books like this. I just like him. That's all. I wish there were more dudes like him in romancy books--all those violent, long-haired, leather wearing guys with giant muscles totally gross me out, but the slightly nerdy ones get me every time!

[Karen Hogan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mysterious quilt with evil powers, transforms those around it. I know this author, Barbara Michaels, was very popular in the 90's, but she just didn't speak to me. This was the second book of hers I tried back then, but I found the storyline a trifle boring, and too slow for my tastes.

[Lyssa Sue Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trio that tempts the mind & heart

From "Ammie, Come Home" to "Shattered Silk" to "Stitches in Time": these books represent masterworks of paranormal mysteries & refined delights of humor blended with the best of "women's studies".

305+ years ago I read the first book, "Ammie Come Home" with its gentle yet terrifying exploration of ghost stories & quiet introduction to the concept of cultural anthropology. I found this delight in one of my mother's Reader's Digest Condensed Books. It would be literally decades before I stumbled across "Shattered Silk" a return to a shivery tradition that was NOT the paranormal book I expected.

And therein is the delight I find in Ms Michaels' works.. I NEVER know from book to book whether I'm holding a traditional mystery or a paranormal delight. Each book must be explored & relished for its' singular self even when it stands in a trilogy. There are never guarantees about genre when you see Barbara Michaels name on the cover.

I cannot speak highly enough in praise of her work. She has introduced me to arts & sciences that I never imagined exploring, all while delighting me with a tapestry of tales filled with humor, suspense, intrigue and, best of all, realities of wonder. She is never formulaic, you will never know whether the book in your hand is a mystery, a Gothic romance or a horror novel.. she is mistress of all three. For me, this trilogy, is the best of the best; be welcome, be entertained and most of all be prepared to think outside the box.

[Aya · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a bit of confusion initially, as Karen from the previous book has been renamed Kara and has undergone a personality transplant, but other than that, the other characters are consistent. Cheryl, Tony, and Mark from the previous book have more than bit parts, as well as Ruth and Pat from the first book. The main character in this one, Rachael, is thoroughly unlikable. She has a selfish personality, even before outside influences, so it was totally unbelievable for Adam (who she insults from the start), much less Tom, to fall in love with her. After the initial excitement midway through the book, the plot dragged until almost the end. Ugh, so much exasperation with this book. Characters appear and disappear - the boy who supposedly started the whole mess (and no definite explanation for what his involvement was), Phil, the bad excuse, and Tom, the mostly absent point on the love quadrilateral. Inconsistent pacing, unrealistic romance, and plot holes galore. The ending is anti-climatic and the wrap-up is mostly speculation. Most unsatisfying.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Re-read of an old favorite. I'm happy the book is as good as I remember.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. The quilting theme was interesting and the story line, as well. Main character an annoying bitch - but hey.

[Ninna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a handful of Barbara Michael books in the 90's and really remember enjoying them. This is part of a trilogy that starts with Aimee Come Home which was the first book of hers that I read and really loved. It has been a long time so I didn't really remember much about it except that it had a great gothic creepiness to it and sucked me in. Sadly, this did not do the same. I felt like the supernatural elements were not brought to life but rather discussed like a dissertation. It removed me from the action and bogged down the pacing. There was also a lot of talk about feminism while at the same time detailing lots of chauvinistic remarks and behaviors. That bothered me a lot and had me trying to remember if all her books were like this or just this one in particular. But I enjoyed it enough that I will try another Barbara Michaels book, as well as an occasional Amelia Peabody, in the future.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel is finishing up her doctoral dissertation when she is drawn in to helping out at a vintage clothing shop - and is perhaps possessed by the spirit of a long-dead woman whose unparalleled skill at quilting conceals a darker history. This book is a conundrum- on the one hand, it's a reasonable creepy mystery and has Michaels' interesting academic conversations and likable characters, and I've remembered the plot vividly since my first reading, but on the other hand Rachel herself isn't very likable, the plot sometimes stumbles over what feels like missing exposition, and the discussion of feminism reveals a bit of ambivalence I'm not used to from the author. Barbara Rosenblat is, as usual, stellar, with a few misses in tone for Kara particularly. Maybe she found some bits missing from the plot too.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUTHOR Michaels, Barbara
TITLE Stitches in Time
DATE READ 03/14/21
RATING 4.5/B+
FIRST SENTENCE She cursed the needle, the cloth and the thread, fixing each stitch in place with a word of power.
GENRE/ PUB DATE/FORMAT/LENGTH Gothic Suspense/1998/LP library/456 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE #3 VA/.DC
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2020 Reading Goal 29/120
GROUP READ Gothic Supspense
TIME/PLACE 1990's VA
CHARACTERS Rachel, student studing for her doctrate; Cheryl and Kara co-owners of a vintage clothing/quilt shop
COMMENTS This book really held up for me. I have probably read all to most of the Barbara Michaels books over the years and really enjoyed this one with the paranormal and historic ties.

[Kat Lebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stitches In Time, Georgetown Trilogy Book #3
by Barbara Michaels

Note: The first few paragraphs are of a personal nature, so you might want to skip to paragraph 5!

If you follow my reviews, you already know that this summer I decided I would read/re-read the novels written by the late Barbara Mertz, whether written as Barbara Michaels or as Elizabeth Peters. I started with books wasting away on my "to-read" bookshelf. then decided I'd read the Barbara Michaels works first. The first novel of Michaels' I'd ever read was "Ammie, Come Home," the first in this trilogy. I didn`t know it was a trilogy at the time, 1968 0r 69, and maybe Michaels didn`t, either. The second in the trilogy wasn`t written until almost two decades later, in 1986 ("Shattered Silk") and the third, this book, almost a decade after that, in 1995. I`d read them all, never realizing there was a connection.

Because the books are older, so perhaps not as popular as newer books in related genres, the main branch of my local library had none of these three books. I got the first through interlibrary loan, ordering it in mid-August. Only then did I realize that August of 2016 was exactly 3 years since the author`s death. That was the first of a few coincidences surrounding my renewed interest in her books. It came in from the Lake County library and I read it from September 3rd through the 7th. The second in the series came from the IVY Tech branch of my local library, and I read it September 11th through the 13th. I ordered this novel, the third and last in the series, again through interlibrary loan about the same time I was reading the second. It came in, this time from the John F. Kennedy library in Muncie, and I read it from September 30th to today, October 4, 2016.

This last novel had, personally for me, the oddest of the coincidences. Inside the book, about midway through, was the library receipt of, I assume, the last time the book was checked out, bearing a due date of September 13, 2013 -- one month after the death of the author and about exactly three years prior to my ordering it from interlibrary loan. All just coincidence -- right?

In any event, I feel my re-reading of these three books was meant to be, and given their gothic genre, that seems appropriate! Now on to my review!

The element that ties the three of these novels together consists of the main characters of the second two having a connection to two of the main characters of the first, Ruth and Pat MacDougal, who appear in all three. There is no connection plot-wise, as each stands firmly on its own story. Lots of research into women's myths and customs of the pre-Civil War South, as well as research into the history of textiles and magic beliefs. Plotting is exceptional, pacing flows flawlessly, and the characterizations are fully fleshed out and consistent. Excellent proofing and editing. The only three things I noted were references that delighted me. On page 176, a reference to the old Reader`s Digest condensed books, which were a regular feature in my childhood home. On page 191, the entire 4th paragraph, which included this: "...That's the trouble with life. It`s so untidy. The characters in novels hardly ever seem to worry about eating and sleeping and earning a living--much less putting the investigation on hold while they wait for the plumber to come and unstop the toilet, or cope with rejected lovers." And, at pages 238 and 268, reference to a minor character working from home in a desktop publishing business. 1995—ah, the early years of internet access!

In this book, the author returns to the true gothic feel, with a story that includes a true paranormal element. Kara (Karen from the second novel, and sister to Sarah from the first), a niece of Ruth's, is happily running her vintage clothing store with her best friend and sister-in-law, Cheryl. While Kara and her husband, Mark, live in the house from the first two novels, the shop is located elsewhere, and Cheryl and her husband, Tony (Mark`s BFF), live in the same house that is home to the shop. There is one employee, Rachel, who is the main character in this book.

The storyline dovetails with Rachel`s dissertation subject: the idea of women literally sewing magic into textiles they produced. As traditional "women's work" would have very little written history surviving in patriarchal societies, much of her research involved personal diaries of, or works studying the same, the woman who produced the clothing and household textiles. When three valuable antique quilts are found on the shop's front porch following a failed robbery, the plot begins to weave itself into the lives of the characters. One of the quilts, an album quilt, is of exceptional talent, although it seems impervious to standard cleaning techniques. It's beautiful and Rachel is somehow drawn to it. When Cheryl and Tony travel to Ohio for the holidays, Rachel moves in to housesit the shop and the family pets, and a friend of Mark`s and former student of Pat's, Adam, also arrives to help. The players are all in place, and the drama has already begun. Does the old quilt carry a curse forward? Who is in danger and can the group find the answers they need in time?

All in all, this was a wonderful read and a satisfying end to a trilogy four decades in the making.

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book probably doesn't really deserve 5 stars, but I've read it so many times and it's such an old favorite. The original mystery of theft and the mix with the possession story wrap up almost too neatly, but it's such a page-turner and the characters are so much fun that I can overlook some of the neatness of how Michaels tied it together.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

After all my Elizabeth Peters reading, I thought I'd try her Barbara Michaels books. This was engaging, good main characters and intriguing historical background.

[Kathy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book expecting for it to go to the middle of my reading list to read during the summer “sometime”. However, the description kept coming back to me until I could no longer resist reading it. The whole premise of a quilt being handed down from generation to generation plus how it takes so many hours that a women feel they have sewn their soul into the quilt fascinated me. My younger sister is making a quilt for her bed and each square required a lot of embroidering as well as sewing and quilting. I wonder if she feels like a big part of herself is left in the threads that make up the quilt?

I have to say, this book did not disappoint me in the least as I remained fascinated through the entire 300 page! Michaels descriptions, her knowledge of quilts and vintage clothing, the time period of when the quilt was originally made, etc., left me unable to put it down. The main character started out rather self-centered and bitchy but we see the epiphany that changes her into the woman at the end.

I absolutely loved Adam – where are men like him? I know, only in fictional books. What a great character!! He made me laugh and contributed to my dislike of Rachel in the beginning. She was so rude and condescending to him at first that I wanted to smack her. LOL.

This book is well worth the time and the read. I have to say the only small thing that disappointed me was the lack of involvement of the quilt itself. Once the spell is cast, the quilt becomes virtually unimportant – it makes appearances here and there but I would have liked it to have more than one spell to cast. However, this is a minor disappointment that wasn’t even noticed by me until towards the end because everything else kept me so interested. I have read several of Michael’s books and this is usually the case – one minor thing might disappointment but overall the rest of the book makes up for it.

I give the book a raving A+ and can not wait to read more.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel, since the author is new to me and I haven't read any others in this series- but I actually really enjoyed it. It surprised me in several ways. First, it was its own contained novel. The characters seemed to be recurring, but that didn't prevent me from grasping each personality and how they interacted with one another. I didn't care for Cheryl or Pat at all. Thankfully the former bowed out about one third into the book and didn't reappear- she was too sweet, too kind, too doting, too saccherinely sweet for me to even handle. The latter was so self-absorbed and thought so highly of himself that I just wanted to give him a high five in the face with a chair. Rachel was non-committal and wishy-washy. The characters I really enjoyed were Adam, Kara, and the girl that was possessing Rachel. I was disappointed that we didn't get to see more of her life, her experiences, her passions. Clearly she was an amazing person- she made the quilt- which incidentally, became its own character of sorts. I wish this was more of a split-screen novel- half about Rachel and half about the quilt-maker. Seeing it from one side made it feel sometimes as if I were looking through foggy glass with only two eyeholes wiped out.
The author gave us a glimpse at the vintage fabric world- but I really would have liked more. Perhaps there is more in her other novels. Some cozy novels give us hints, tips, and recipes throughout the book. I'm not suggesting something so cookie-cutter cheese, but perhaps just a little more information about how to clean, treat, and restore certain fabrics would be nice. Throw me a bone, here, Barbara.
It was a fast read, and for some reason, I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen next with the quilt. I'd recommend this to anyone who would like to get their feet wet in the paranormal mystery world, or anyone who is interested in the realm of vintage fabrics. Not too shabby.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me awhile to 'get into' this book, but eventually it captured my interest. Not a genre I typically read, and my first exposure to 'Barbara Michaels' (I hadn't realized she was also Elizabeth Peters - author of the Amelia Peabody series which I gave up on after book 2).
A very interesting concept, and I especially liked the character of Adam. Maybe it was me, but I felt alot of the underlying story was 'implied' and I found myself feeling as if I had missed something. There was also some pretentious language which didn't really fit the era or characters.
It was all wrapped up rather 'quickly ' and not altogether satisfyingly.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished up the Georgetown trilogy of Barbara Michaels books. Of the three, I think I like this one best; it's got the most complex set of characterizations, and some unusual manifestations of creepiness. There's good followup appearances of Pat and Ruth from Ammie Come Home as well as three of the four principals from Shattered Silk, Tony, Cheryl, and Karen--though now she's Kara, having changed her name as a symbol of breaking away from her old life. (She's a strikingly different character here, 8-9 years after the previous book, and when you take the two books back to back it makes her a stronger character over all; I have a better appreciation of her character development.) And one of the most memorable characters from the previous novel, the dog Alexander, shows up here too; I have to hand it to Michaels, she does have a way with creating amusing pets.

But the principals in this book are the most fun of the cast in this one: Rachel, nursing a massive crush on Tony at the beginning of the novel and opening herself up to some bad juju as a result, and Adam, one of Michaels' most delightfully geeky male leads. I had forgotten, up until I'd re-read it, how much I love the bit in this book where Adam proclaims his sentiments for Rachel, broadsiding her in the process. Herein, too, Michaels demonstrates her general disapproval of male leads with beards. Hee. ;)

The resolution of the Creepiness is a little weak, but by and large there's a lot of fun to be had here, and good challenging of expectations for all the cast throughout the story. Three and a half stars.

[Elena Santangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another re-read. Wanted a ghost story to read for Halloween season and this fit the bill nicely. The thing I love about Barbara Michaels novels such as this is how she can take a specific subject of domestic history (in this case, quilts, and the superstitions associated with needlework). Not only an interesting story, but a fascinating subject.

Only one thing I don't like is how a lot of her male characters tend to "man-splain." I had more tolerance for it in the past, now it annoys me, I think because I encounter so much of it now in real life. Then again, you can't call her male characters unrealistic.

Worth the read if you like history and paranormal.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little rough to read due to difficulty following Ms. Michaels' logic, plus being a bit bizarre in the extrasensory area, I still find these books intriguing. The dialogue is not the usual. I frequently find myself re-reading parts to try to determine what is happening and what I must have missed, only to find that I did not miss a thing but must read between the lines to figure out what is happening. For that reason, it took forever, it seemed, to get a handle on Rachel. I wasn't sure I was going to like her until nearly the end, but I guess that says a lot about Ms. Michaels' writing style. Not for the faint-hearted reader, that's for sure.

[Namiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had liked these previous two books so I bought the last one but I didn't want to read it for a while - Rachel the main character has a crush on a married man, whose wife adores her. I didn't like to read until Adam showed up. I had really enjoyed since then.

It was fun to read when the characters I know from the previous books, such as Pat, Ruth, Kara, Tony and so forth. I felt Kara, who changed her name, was very different from the previous one.

I liked the romance part. I cried when I found out Adam's past and what Rachel did to him.

[Becky ♡The Bookworm♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this from the library to complete a reading challenge, not realizing it was the third in a series. It was a fast read about a cursed bridal quilt, belonging to a woman who lived over 150 years ago. The plot was interesting, but I would've liked to see a bit more follow through. I also didn't get a good grip on who the characters were and where the magical knowledge came from. I'm positive I would've enjoyed it more had I started with the first book. it ended up just being "okay."

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another lovely Gothic/Romantic Suspense from a classic author, although I think her heroines when she writes as Elizabeth Peters are more interesting and independent. Still, here there's lots about vintage clothing and particularly an old quilt that holds a mystery of its own. I do love books about fabric art and the fact that the quilt is haunted doesn't bother me at all. Witty dialog and a great frame.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the author;s written under this name. I reread it at least once a year since that first time over a decade ago. The line that always hits me the hardest is when Racheal (the heroine) is quoting a woman who was asked to sell a quilt she had made. The woman said she had stitched her soul into the quilt.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a charming book, for those with an interest in fabric arts and women. However, it is somewhat weird. I rated the book lower because the explanations of the black magic were rather rushed and flippant. Somewhat sad story about the creator of the object in question: the quilt. Perhaps more time should have been given to that.

[Jaynie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad for an occult non-King or Rice book.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it's another for the "not favorite" column of this author's works. I generally find Barbara Michaels very readable, even if I don't really likeall that I'm reading, so though I grumbled and rolled my eyes and took notes for the sole purpose of griping in my review ('cause I'm mean like that), I have to grudgingly admit that she managed to pull me through yet another book. I wanted to see what would happen-- whether or not my suspicions would be confirmed. (They were.)

I don't think I'd ever bother reading this again, but for one read-through, it was sufficiently interesting. A word of warning, though: if you're thinking of reading this book primarily because you're enticed by the concept of a haunted quilt, don't expect the quilt to be center stage for very long.

Specifics (with SPOILERS):
--Let's start with the good. The quilt itself was intriguing, and I loved the descriptions of the motifs/blocks. The fact that there was something "wrong" with every one of them-- something sinister hidden in the seemingly innocuous applique and embroidery-- was goose-bumpy and fascinating. I wanted to read more about that, but the reader was only privy to a handful of the gruesome details.

The creepy touches I can recall are as follows:
--cupid with almost-hidden horns
--woman riding the horse has no eyes
--hound about to take a bite out of a horse's shank
--snake wound around the flower stems
--red eyes peering out from between flowering plants
--"greenish-black worm coiled in the heart" of a rose

Then there are all the "things" hidden under the appliques-- not to mention the quilt's "stuffing". ~shudder~ That was all majorly creepy.

--I've read the two other novels in this loose trilogy, though I read the other two out of chronological order. It's been a few years, since I read them in 2012. I don't remember the specifics of either book, so I wonder if the reading experience would be much different if one didhave fresh memories of the first two books. Someone in another review mentioned that Kara (formerly Karen) had changed a lot between the two books, and that the change wasn't for the better. I can believe it; the attempt to make Kara "confident" instead makes her come off as far too abrasive for most of the book-- but then that seems to be the case for a fair number of Barbara Michaels' characters...

--For someone who was overweight herself, once, Kara has a lot of nerve: "'Not that that deters chubbies from trying to squeeze themselves into a size three,' Kara had commented wryly."

--It's difficult to sympathize with a heroine who secretly kinda wants to steal the husband of her so-called friend (and employer). Oh, she won't do it, of course, but in Secret Fantasyland, she'd liketo have him for herself. Yuck.

--Other characters remark on how "smart" or clever Rachel (our heroine) is, from time to time. It's almost embarrassing, because... She doesn't really seem thatintelligent.

--As a veteran reader of many Barbara Michaels novels, I came prepared for the nearly inevitable Battle of the Sexes and/or the joyless game of "Let's Look at Everything Through the Lens of Feminism". I don't know why this issue held such perennial interest for her; possibly it was an unavoidable consequence of being a liberal, educated woman of "her generation". Whatever the reason, the frequent references to feminism get old. This book is chock-full of them-- as well as strangely dismissive, stereotypical crap about the male characters. (Don't say you weren't warned.)

Just a sampling:
-"It was no betrayal of her feminist principles to admit she felt better knowing there was a man in the house..." (Whatever you need to tell yourself, honey, but now we all know you're a traitor to The Cause.)
-"You're a sensible, adult female and a scholar..." (Why the emphasis on "female"? Why not just leave it at sensible adult and scholar?
-"I respect courage and the principles of modern feminism, but this situation has nothing to do with either."
-Pat drives a truck (I think), and Ruth explains to Rachel: "It's a male fixation. Makes them feel macho, one of the good old boys."
-"There won't be documentation [of the quilt]; women's work wasn't considered important enough to merit written records."
-"'Hell's bells, superstition is my specialty. How could I have missed this sort of thing?' 'Because you're a man,' Kara said tolerantly.'"
-Adam asks, "Can a mere male join the circle?"
-Adam has thoughtfully started a stew to feed everyone-- he does nearly all the cooking in this book-- and Kara graciously remarks, "You'll make some woman a great wife." ...Um, thanks? I guess it's supposed to be a clever reversal of the kind of stuff I suspect the author thought women had been putting up with since the dawn of time-- but it feels really weird to me.

--Another pet issue in this particular novel is "Guns are Super Scary-- And They're EVERYWHERE, These Days". I've compiled some of my favorite gun-related tidbits below. Enjoy!

-"Maybe he had a gun. Everybody had guns these days."
-"They[criminals]'ve all got guns these days..."
-"...she almost regretted her refusal to buy a gun. Almost, but not really."
-"A loaded gun was an invitation to accident or manslaughter, and an unloaded weapon wasn't worth a damn."
-"What if he had had a gun?"
-"A liquor store hold-up gone awry, a semiautomatic rifle, a store full of holiday shoppers..."
-"If I'd had a gun I probably would have shot you!"
-"'Wait a minute. Did you say he carries a gun?' ... 'Carrying it made him feel big and brave and macho.'"
-Rachel's crazy ex has a gun, which he brings with him when he breaks into the house, and that same gun is very nearly used to murder Tony, later on.

--Fortunately, Cheryl and Tony's bratty kids are out of the story for most of the book, but they're there in the beginning.

Jerry tries to wriggle out of Rachel's arms, and instead of scolding him (or doing anything else a responsible parent might do to try to teach his kid not to be a complete brat), Tony warns that he's too heavy and that Rachel should put him down before he kicks her("quite unintentionally"... yeah, sure, Tony)-- and proceeds to bribe the brat with another cookie. (GAH!)

Then there's twelve-year-old Joe, who sounds like such a delight, lecturing every adult within talking-distance on the necessity of recycling "and the wickedness of using plastic trash bags". (Cheryl's response? "I only use the biodegradable kind, honey, you know that." I guess we know who runs thathousehold!)

We also learn that Joe isn't allowed to be rude to his mother or use profanity in the presence of "ladies". "Tony was strict about such things, and Joe tried to conform. He did pretty well; if Rachel hadn't happened to overhear him talking to a buddy on the telephone, she'd have feared he was being repressed." ...Uh, yeah, it's so repressiveto expect a 12-year-old not to curse. Thank goodness he had the outlet of his friends for his natural needto curse, since he wasn't allowed to do so in front of women. Apparently it's unhealthy for pre-teen boys not to curse. Amazing, the things you learn from books!

"...The only remaining job was to force the children to eat something before they hit the road. It would be a matter of force, unquestionably; she heard the raised voices as she approached the family room. Jerry was asking why they couldn't stop at a fast-food restaurant instead of eating stinky peanut butter sandwiches, and Megan was echoing him, although she never ate anything but peanut butter sandwiches."
...Gee, this is such great advertising for the joys of parenthood. ~eyeroll~

--This author has an irritating habit of calling attention to the fact that her characters' dialogue is breaking grammatical rules or conventions. I've noticed it on numerous occasions, across several of her other books. Maybe it's supposed to be cute or funny, but it's just annoying-- like she couldn't bear to let the characters speak naturally (grammar errors and all) without giving in to some OCD-ish compulsion to point it out. "Hey, reader. Look, I'm aware that this isn't grammatically correct. Please don't think I'm unaware of every rule of English grammar! I'm a highly educated woman, and I couldn't bear it if someone-- anyone-- thought for one instant that I hadn't included that error intentionally."

Examples in this book:
-"'However,' Tom added, 'thanks to you and Tony, we know what he looks like.' 'How do you know it's him?' Rachel asked. The question wasn't well phrased, but Tom knew what she meant."
-"'Too costumey,' Rachel said ungrammatically."

--Adam asks if Rachel's mother is dead. "It was like Adam to avoid the cowardly euphemisms-- deceased, gone, departed." ...Excuse me, but how are those words cowardly? If you don't know how someone else feels about those words-- and especially if you don't know how fresh the bereavement is-- it's difficult to know how to phrase things so as not to unintentionally inflict more pain. But if you're not sure how someone else feels on the subject, it's respectful and caring to try to soften the language as much as possible. For someone who's still grieving, the cold, hard, harsh finality of the word DEAD can be hard to hear, much less to say. Dearest, darlingest, most detestable Rachel, I suggest you try not to be so judgmental of the sensitivities of others (especially given your own numerous "issues"). If you don't mind, you heartless so-and-so. (...Ahem. I don't like this character very much.) Contrary to modern belief, needless bluntness is not a virtue. If you're talking amongst friends, by all means, feel free to gabble on in any way you like-- "kicking the bucket", "croaking", etc.-- but when mixing with a more civilized crowd, it behooves you to not be such a raging harpy. M'kay? Glad we could clear the air.

--When we first meet Adam, he comes across as someone with some sort of developmental delay or maybe some type of autism. Then something changes and he's like a totally different guy-- like a clone of Pat. Then he changes yet again and settles into a more normal way of speaking. The whole thing is puzzling. Anyway, bizarre metamorphosis aside, Adam's the best character in the book. I had a hard time visualizing him (come to think of it, he went through a drastic physical transformation, too), but once he had "settled in", he was by far the most likable character. I didn't understand what he saw in Rachel. I mean, he seemed to fall in love with her in about a day at a time when she was still fantasizing about her precious (married and boring) Toooooony. That, however, is just another case of handy-dandy Insta-Love, and probably shouldn't even raise an eyebrow!

--Obligatory reference(s) to Egyptology: Adam wants to watch a TV special about Unsolved Mysteries of History, including the Pyramids. "The only mystery about the pyramids is why a lot of gullible fools think there is a mystery." Plus there's a dress that is described as "an Egyptian model of Poiret's".

--One of the "tricks" GhostRachel plays is putting dye and Drano into a bottle marked as bleach. Kara: "What's the joke? Was it supposed to turn my hands a bright indelible orange or make me break out in warts?" My question is this: Even if the bottle hadn't been tampered with, why would Kara have intentionally gotten bleach on her hands? Shouldn't she have been using gloves, in any case? (Gross. I hate the way skin feels after it's come into contact with bleach.)

--"My whole life is in that quilt. All my joys and all my sorrows are stitched into those little pieces. My hopes and fears, my loves and hates. I tremble sometimes when I remember what that quilt knows about me." ...Sometimes when I look at something I've made (crocheted, knitted, or sewed), I do remember little snatches of things-- what I was thinking about or listening to when I made it. But I don't think I've ever felt thatstrong of a memory/identity-connection with a piece of handiwork. ...And I don't think I'd want to, honestly. It sounds uncomfortable.

--Why are so many of Barbara Michaels' novels set in the South when she seems to have had a problem with Southerners? This book probably isn't the best example, but it's not the first time I've noticed this kind of crap in her writing.

The negatively stereotyped Southern caricature in this novel is Mrs. Wilson, the woman who inherited the quilts. She isn't a particularly nice person, but the other characters are plain mean about her before they even have much of a reason to dislike her. The way her accent is presented (and mockingly imitated) is downright insulting. And of course she consistently makes grammatical errors, too. After all, she's just an uneducated piece of white trash.

The oh-so sophisticated Kara makes fun of her lack of fashion sense, and when Kara and Rachel visit Mrs. Wilson in her home--! Oh, Mrs. Wilson is so tacky! She wears a sequinned, beaded dress and ~scandalized whisper~ fake jewelry! Her home is "painfully neat"! Her fireplace is gas! (I gather that the only acceptable fireplace is wood-burning. Only a tasteless hick would put up with a gas fireplace, clearly.) She complies with the boring bourgeois convention of putting family photos on the mantel! "The single bookcase contained a few bestsellers and Readers' Digest condensed books plus a collection of collectors' plates featuring scenes from Gone With the Wind, and a two-foot-tall Scarlett O'Hara doll wearing the famous 'barbecue' dress."

Now, look. Do I read Readers' Digest condensed books? No, I do not. Do I enjoy collectors' plates and dolls? Nope. But why should anyone careif someone else does?!

"Rachel told herself not to be a snob. Kara didn't bother concealing her feelings. The curl of her lip relaxed only once, when she admired a massive silver candelabrum."

Wow, Kara sounds so nice! I'd certainly love to have her come into my own home. I wonder what she'd find to sneer about here... Too many cheap knick-knacks, maybe? Furniture too mass-produced? Books on the shelves not highbrow enough? I knowshe wouldn't approve of my wardrobe, which consists mostly of jeans, tees, and supremely boring, non-vintage blouses. Nor do I wear uncomfortable shoes. No high heels for me, thankyouverymuch. (Life's too short to suffer for fashion. Besides, one never knows when the zombie apocalypse may break out. It's best to be prepared to run.)

--The gang is reading about Mrs. Wilson's great-great-grandmother (or whatever the relationship was), Mary Elizabeth: "'Her mother having died when she was twelve years of age, she assumed the manifold duties of a plantation mistress, supervising the food, clothing, and medical needs of family and servants. Yet she found the time to become a skilled performer on harp and piano and a fine needlewoman--' 'All the womanly arts,' said Kara. 'I wonder if she ever read a book?' 'She probably didn't have time,' Adam said fairly."

Yes, Adam, very true, and thank you for pointing it out. ;Also, Kara, it might interest you to know that not everyone enjoys reading books, for a variety of reasons. I know it's hard to believe, but people aren't all exactly like you (not that you set such a high standard), and just because someone doesn't read much doesn't mean they're idiotic or worthless.

--Boo hoo, Kara wants kids-- her biological clock is ticking so loudly she can't sleep for the noise-- but she doesn't want to give up even a fraction of her fabulous career as a purchaser/refurbisher of vintage clothing. (I guess she doesn't want kids that much, then, but never mind...) Anyway, that whole subplot was a zero-interest snoozefest. Where's the problem? Just set the husband straight (i.e. tell him you don't wanna quit working, but you just gotsta have a baby, pronto) and start trying-- and stop bothering the rest of us about it. Really, was there any reader who didn't foresee that Kara would be "expecting" by the end of the book?

--It was patently obvious for much of the book that, far from creating the quilt(s) herself, Mary Elizabeth had been the target of the quilter-- and from there, it didn't take much of a leap of logic to guess that the talented quilter was likely a slave. No surprise on either front.

--The "scary" element of the book fizzles out in the end. All through the book, we're supposed to feel creepy about the quilt. Then there's the threat that Rachel supposedly poses to Cheryl (and possibly others). Until the end, that is, when everything's just hunky-dory, because hey, none of those things Rachel did were actually really dangerous. No, no! Don't be ridiculous! That massive bed canopy surely wouldn't have been likely to kill Cheryl (even though that was pretty much what the characters told us, earlier). The glass in the cranberry sauce? No biggie! No-one would've taken more than a bite of it, and you could even see the chunks of glass, so that's fine.

One by one, they tick off the previously sinister things Rachel did while "overshadowed" and decide that they weren't really serious threats. No, no, no. Don't be ridiculous. GhostRachel was just a frightened girl; she wouldn't have gone through with her plans to cause harm or death. Besides, can you really blame her? I mean, she was a slave-- she was sexually abused-- she was cast off by her lover-- and she was afraid of what would happen when Mary Elizabeth sold her to someone else.

Sympathy for OriginalRachel's plight, I can certainly understand. What I'm not so crazy about is the diminution of the danger she put people in and the wickedness of her actions. Basically, how dare you not sympathize with her witchcraft? Not only are you expected to have sympathy for what she went through, you're supposed to absolve her of any wrongdoing. You're a cruel, monstrous racist if you don't forgive all-- sweep it under a rug and forget it-- and never even hint that she wasn't an angel full of love and light. ...We know she was essentially a good person because... she was handy with a needle, I guess. Clearly anyone capable of such artistry couldn't be a bad person.

...Or at least that was the impression I got. Everything she did was in self-defense. She only behaved as any "threatened creature" would, and "terror produced unthinking violence". ...Except... Okay, lashing out in fear, I can definitely understand. The heat of the moment-- the hatred mingled with the terror? Yes, it's comprehensible.

But this-- this masterpiece quilt! Something like that would've taken weeks (or months) to complete. This wasn't a spur of the moment creation. It took careful planning and dedication. She had to procure the hair, nail-trimmings, etc. She had to chant her magic words and think about exactly what she was saying and doing, in cold blood. For goodness' sake, she had to go to a cemetery to get the soil for inside the quilt. So, yeah. Forgive me if I'm not a big fan of OriginalRachel.

Well, I'll say this for it: it's a very neat and tidy ending. They give the album quilt a respectful burial, the two remaining quilts will stay within the Circle as treasured mementos of this wonderful experience they've shared-- and all of the characters are sure that she's smiling down on them from Heaven, now. Well, maybe. They're not really sure Heaven exists, because they are Highly Educated People of Logic-- but if it does, that's where she is, for sure.

--A resounding "meh". (Rounded up to three stars, but still pretty "meh".)