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Devil-May-Care
Ellie becomes the target of violence after she discovers an old book about the aristocracy of Burton, the Virginia mansion she is caring for during her vacationing aunt's absence
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
79 people are currently reading
1231 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Peters
178 books3,296 followersElizabeth Peters is a pen name of Barbara Mertz. She also wrote as Barbara Michaels as well as her own name. Born and brought up in Illinois, she earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. Mertz was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lived in a historic farmhouse in Frederick, western Maryland until her death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
June 5, 2010
I take an Advil when I have a headache...
I eat mashed potatoes and coffee ice cream (not together, mind you) when I'm stressed, or bored, or both...
I watch the Jeremy Brett movie version of The Hound of the Baskervilles to drift off to sleep...
...and I seek out an Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels) when I want my literary pacifier.
You know what you're getting when you pick up one of her books. Some, of course, are better then others. None are great works of literature. But I don't require or expect them to be.
What they are, is a fun, frothy, sometimes dated escape; filled with a sarcastic heroine, a goofy but lovable hero, a mystery to solve involving research at the local historic association, a paranormal manifestation or two -- sometimes man-made, sometimes not.
Peters (or Michaels) almost always delivers the goods. This offering is weaker then, say, The Dead Sea Cipher
or The Seventh Sinner
But I'm ok with that, because it did what it needed to do -- pass a few enjoyable hours. What more can a book lover want?
I eat mashed potatoes and coffee ice cream (not together, mind you) when I'm stressed, or bored, or both...
I watch the Jeremy Brett movie version of The Hound of the Baskervilles to drift off to sleep...
...and I seek out an Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels) when I want my literary pacifier.
You know what you're getting when you pick up one of her books. Some, of course, are better then others. None are great works of literature. But I don't require or expect them to be.
What they are, is a fun, frothy, sometimes dated escape; filled with a sarcastic heroine, a goofy but lovable hero, a mystery to solve involving research at the local historic association, a paranormal manifestation or two -- sometimes man-made, sometimes not.
Peters (or Michaels) almost always delivers the goods. This offering is weaker then, say, The Dead Sea Cipher
or The Seventh Sinner
But I'm ok with that, because it did what it needed to do -- pass a few enjoyable hours. What more can a book lover want?
May 21, 2016
This was my first book by this author and although it was okay it has not made me want to rush out immediately and get another one. Sadly I took an instant dislike to Kate who was one of the main characters and who was supposed to be delightfully quirky and yet totally charming. She came across to me as a self centered, unthinking bully. That kind of ruined things for me:)
The story also had trouble making up its mind what it was - a serious mystery? a cute cosy? paranormal? It tried a bit of everything and then finished in a rush with a total anticlimax. I was listening to it on audio so I had no warning it was about to finish when suddenly....it did. I pulled my ear buds out, looked down at my phone and said "Really?"
Three stars though because I did read it right through to the end, I enjoyed the story overall and I did like some of the characters. The dialogue was occasionally lighthearted and entertaining enough to make me laugh.
I am aware that Elizabeth Peters also wrote the Amelia Peabody series which many people recommend so I will still give that a try sometime.
The story also had trouble making up its mind what it was - a serious mystery? a cute cosy? paranormal? It tried a bit of everything and then finished in a rush with a total anticlimax. I was listening to it on audio so I had no warning it was about to finish when suddenly....it did. I pulled my ear buds out, looked down at my phone and said "Really?"
Three stars though because I did read it right through to the end, I enjoyed the story overall and I did like some of the characters. The dialogue was occasionally lighthearted and entertaining enough to make me laugh.
I am aware that Elizabeth Peters also wrote the Amelia Peabody series which many people recommend so I will still give that a try sometime.
March 5, 2022
Plot:
Young heroine moves in to watch mansion as her wealthy aunt goes on vacation. She has choices in male companionship: a stodgy fiancee as well as a young handsome gardener/med student. Nope, ditch the Lady Chatterly’s references. On the surface it sounds like the quitessential gothic mystery. Not really as it has hints of witchcraft and suspense as well as veers into poor slapstick. Not one of E. Peters best.
What really derails it for me is Aunt Kate, the heroine’s eccentric aunt who’s supposed to come over like a cross between Auntie Mame and Gloria Steinem. The character is supposed to be oh so cool, but is frankly annoying and down right cruel at times. She’s a more strident version of any of Peters other female characters.
Just move along folks, little to see here. Better options out there.
The Seventh Sinner,J. Kirby’s first book.
Borrower of the Night: Vicki Bliss (6 ft tall heroine) first book
Crocodile on the Sandbank, Amelia Peabody
Young heroine moves in to watch mansion as her wealthy aunt goes on vacation. She has choices in male companionship: a stodgy fiancee as well as a young handsome gardener/med student. Nope, ditch the Lady Chatterly’s references. On the surface it sounds like the quitessential gothic mystery. Not really as it has hints of witchcraft and suspense as well as veers into poor slapstick. Not one of E. Peters best.
What really derails it for me is Aunt Kate, the heroine’s eccentric aunt who’s supposed to come over like a cross between Auntie Mame and Gloria Steinem. The character is supposed to be oh so cool, but is frankly annoying and down right cruel at times. She’s a more strident version of any of Peters other female characters.
Just move along folks, little to see here. Better options out there.
The Seventh Sinner,J. Kirby’s first book.
Borrower of the Night: Vicki Bliss (6 ft tall heroine) first book
Crocodile on the Sandbank, Amelia Peabody
July 13, 2016
3 biased stars--I liked the book despite its utterly ridiculous plot. But I have a soft spot for Peters, and this story has a lot of things to love (a possibly haunted manor house, a rich but eccentric aunt, dozens of cats and dogs, a snarky romantic interest, etc.). The book is dated and definitely not one of her best, but I still had fun.
February 28, 2021
One of my favorite Elizabeth Peter's books. I read it 13+ years ago it seems but with my useless memory I only remembered a few things about it and hardly enough to ruin the surprises.
July 29, 2013
Elizabeth Peters is one of my all time favorite authors, and I love stumbling upon her one-shot titles (titles not part of any series). This one, published in 1977, was a gem of a story, from which I could see echoes of Amelia Peabody is matriarchal Aunt Kate and echoes of Ramses and Nefret in Donald and Ellie, but it was its own story and the characters were diverse enough to drive the story forward.
The plot was not overly layered, but it was a fun romp through a bizarre series of events with enough of a mystery to make it worthwhile. A few moments of 'huh?' where the story seemed to skip forward without a few necessary explanations or details, but not enough to make me lose my enjoyment. On the contrary, it was fascinating to read an early story by an author still working on her craft, knowing where she ends up over the next thirty years as a writer.
A quick and light read with enough cats to satisfy the crazy cat lady and fun hints of paranormal without the need for vampires, werewolves, though maybe a couple of witches. Great beach or get-away read.
The plot was not overly layered, but it was a fun romp through a bizarre series of events with enough of a mystery to make it worthwhile. A few moments of 'huh?' where the story seemed to skip forward without a few necessary explanations or details, but not enough to make me lose my enjoyment. On the contrary, it was fascinating to read an early story by an author still working on her craft, knowing where she ends up over the next thirty years as a writer.
A quick and light read with enough cats to satisfy the crazy cat lady and fun hints of paranormal without the need for vampires, werewolves, though maybe a couple of witches. Great beach or get-away read.
March 14, 2017
This was one of the best plots I’ve seen Peters put out yet. Usually, when she does the paranormal mystery plot it starts to become a little Scooby-dooish. You know, the ghost is captured then unmasked as actually being old man Ford the gardener. Anyway, Ellie is house sitting for her eccentric aunt Kate who’s out romping around the country. During the first night, Ellie stumbles upon a ghost that looks remarkably like Kate’s yard boy. Ellie is level-headed though and believes that there’s a logical explanation for her visitor. Soon though she finds herself being visited by a different spook every night and oddly enough all visitors are members of the six family members who founded the small town where her aunt lives. When news of this gets around to the six descendants of Ellie’s ghosts, they’re livid and believe she’s trying to disgrace them all. And things just keep getting worse when the yard boy, Don, moves in to protect her, the house starts being broken into, and the ghosts start becoming dangerous.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The characters are all well fleshed out and the plot was fun.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The characters are all well fleshed out and the plot was fun.
March 23, 2017
I'm still trying to believe that this was written by Elizabeth Peters, not a usual-suspects sort of cozy mystery writer. Our Heroine is spunky, fiance Henry is a twit of the first order from the early 60s, wealthy aunt is the usual over-the-top eccentric with lots of adopted furkids, and neighbor is a handsome hunk. Fun, fast read.
January 10, 2025
yah this one is kind of like if nancy drew grew up and then had to solve a scooby doo mystery
January 30, 2018
Oh, dear, MPM, this isn’t very good at all. Ellie is an annoying character, once you know of her engagement to the execrable Henry and acquiescence to his appallingly sexist ideas, it’s impossible to like her. Kate, Ellie’s wealthy aunt, whose house Ellie is caring for, is a bright point, a pretty good extreme version of the woman MPM became. No one is developed past a cardboard cutout, and things seem to happen without any point even within the odd framework of the story. I’ve read worse, even worse Mertz/Peters/Michaels, but there’s not much good to say about this. Plus it’s dedicated to the Washington Offensive Name team and the name and shortened version of it jar the reader from the story even more than the sexist characters do.
ETAdd: was this really published after Crocodile on the Sandbank? How to you get from THAT to this...this...drivel???
ETAdd: was this really published after Crocodile on the Sandbank? How to you get from THAT to this...this...drivel???
December 20, 2017
A romantic suspense novel, of the kind I read avidly as a teenager. Elizabeth Peters is one of my all time favourite authors. Unfortunately this one isn’t one of her best. The plot is silly in the extreme, and with the exception of Donald, the romantic hero (but really, how romantic can you be with a name like Donald?), and his father, the characters were not all that appealing. I actually very much disliked the character of Kate, the eccentric aunt. Still, there was something to be said for the lightheartedness of the plot.
June 6, 2018
I thought I'd read all of Peter's non-Amelia Peabody books years ago, so I was surprised when this one showed up on OverDrive. I loved the way it began, with Ellie and her fiance travelling to visit her eccentric Aunt Kate. Fiance Henry is an ingratiating, self-absorbed man whose posing made me smile. The Aunt's old house is filled with dogs, cats and strange servants. (Peters gets the St. Bernard right, btw.) Is it any surprise that I started expecting a humorous romance? (Not with Henry, I'm not an idiot.) Imagine my surprise when Kate and Henry exit and ghosts appear - quite a few ghosts both inside and outside of Aunt Kate's historic mansion. Are they actual spirits of the county's founding families or something more modern? (I don't like ghost stories, but I liked this.)
The other "apparition" is Aunt Kate's yard man. Handsome and intelligent, this flesh-and-blood neighbor is ready and willing to help Ellie investigate the odd occurrences, not incidentally insuring that she won't be missing Henry for long. Throw in his delightful father and several fun references to Elsie Dinsmore and Little Women and you have all the ingredients of a typical light romantic suspense novel, a book guaranteed to while away some lovely hours. If the ending was rather messy I didn't much care. I'm glad I finally had the chance to enjoy this fun story.
The other "apparition" is Aunt Kate's yard man. Handsome and intelligent, this flesh-and-blood neighbor is ready and willing to help Ellie investigate the odd occurrences, not incidentally insuring that she won't be missing Henry for long. Throw in his delightful father and several fun references to Elsie Dinsmore and Little Women and you have all the ingredients of a typical light romantic suspense novel, a book guaranteed to while away some lovely hours. If the ending was rather messy I didn't much care. I'm glad I finally had the chance to enjoy this fun story.
September 3, 2013
Meh. Incoherent and confusing mystery with an unsatisfying ending. I was sure I was going to love Ellie, but I am mostly ambivalent - she was a giant bore. Her love/hate relationship with Donald was entirely predictable. She is saddled with a pompous, self-important fiance (who is so awful, it's hard to understand why she is with him in the first place) but has no direction herself and is vociferously critical of Donald for being a grown man who mows lawns for a living - she mentions multiple times (usually in front of others) how disgusting and shameful it is for him to working in such a manner. Besides being an insufferable snob, Ellie isn't endowed with any other personality traits. Everyone else is just a stock character - they are either completely odious or benevolent angels.
March 6, 2016
I feel like this book was the polar opposite of Intuition. This book was not technically amazing nor written with a high level of skill or finesse, but WOW was it a fun read. I love Elizabeth Peters and I am sure I read this one at some point. A standalone tale, this book revolves around strange happenings while Ellie is housesitting for her charmingly eccentric aunt. There are so many crazy characters here and the main plot revolves around 100+ year old secrets that folks who take themselves WAY too seriously want to protect…but again – FUN READ!
September 11, 2014
3.5 stars. A lot of fun, but not a deep book by any stretch. A touch of gothic, but not enough to actually call this gothic. A touch of mystery, but not enough to all it a mystery. Excellent dialogue and setting, though, and a book I'd happily re-read when I want to be entertained.
Full review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/979201...
Full review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/979201...
May 19, 2020
3.5- Was super concerned at first, I hated HATED Henry by the middle of page 2. Thank god he was not in most of the book and hated by many other characters. This made the rest of the book quite entertaining. Loved all of the animals.
March 6, 2021
This was fun. It's sort of in between a Barbara Michaels (the paranormal elements) and an Elizabeth Peters (the more lighthearted, humorous elements).
The plot was very well done. The characters' reactions to the different events made sense, and as usual with this author, we soon had our investigating team, with Ellie getting the help of local doctor and his son, Donald (I was fortunately able to get over the name after a while -it has not been completely ruined!). The reasoning behind why the supposedly paranormal occurrences, showing events from a long time ago, threatened present-day characters, made sense. And so did the resolution. I am normally a bit critical about plots where the solution is overcomplex and involves different agents, but not this time!
Most of the characters were really good as well. Aunt Kate, the owner of the house Ellie is caring for, is hilarious, and so are the collection of secondary characters and potential villains.
The one thing I was a bit meh about was the heroine. Ellie was awfully judgmental about Donald, very quick to jump to conclusions when she knew absolutely nothing about him. Also, there's never really any insight into why she would be engaged to a condescending prig like Henry. She seems to see him pretty clearly, so it's not that he's been hiding these aspects of his personality from her, and she doesn't seem to like him at all. I mean, I didn't like him either, but Ellie's treatment of him was unkind and unnecessary, so I wavered between wanting to strangle him (when we spent some time in his POV at the start) and feeling sorry for him.
The plot was very well done. The characters' reactions to the different events made sense, and as usual with this author, we soon had our investigating team, with Ellie getting the help of local doctor and his son, Donald (I was fortunately able to get over the name after a while -it has not been completely ruined!). The reasoning behind why the supposedly paranormal occurrences, showing events from a long time ago, threatened present-day characters, made sense. And so did the resolution. I am normally a bit critical about plots where the solution is overcomplex and involves different agents, but not this time!
Most of the characters were really good as well. Aunt Kate, the owner of the house Ellie is caring for, is hilarious, and so are the collection of secondary characters and potential villains.
The one thing I was a bit meh about was the heroine. Ellie was awfully judgmental about Donald, very quick to jump to conclusions when she knew absolutely nothing about him. Also, there's never really any insight into why she would be engaged to a condescending prig like Henry. She seems to see him pretty clearly, so it's not that he's been hiding these aspects of his personality from her, and she doesn't seem to like him at all. I mean, I didn't like him either, but Ellie's treatment of him was unkind and unnecessary, so I wavered between wanting to strangle him (when we spent some time in his POV at the start) and feeling sorry for him.
September 10, 2017
A fun little light-hearted mystery with ghosts and Redskin fans... and old enough that there are no cell phones... 3.5 stars... too bad all the sport references went right over my head.
April 13, 2024
A fun read and stands up to the test of time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
November 18, 2024
Engaged Ellie takes her stuffy partner to eccentric Aunt's. Ellie stays to housesit and ghostly visits ensue. Cute neighbors help solve the mystery.
August 4, 2025
Easily the worst Elizabeth Peters novel I've read. I love her Amelia Peabody books; many of her other standalones are great. Not this one. Half-baked characters, no payoff at the end, too much time spent on annoying people, etc. Don't bother.
July 30, 2025
Is Aunt Kate a witch? Are the hauntings at her home real? What secret would someone kill to keep hidden? Ellie is about to find out when she agrees to housesit for her Aunt Kate in rural Virginia.
Devil May Care is one of Elizabeth Peters’ standalone romantic suspenses. It was originally published in 1977 and was a fun nostalgic revisit to that time since the book was released as a contemporary romantic suspense. Ellie’s Aunt Kate is eccentric, clever, cunning, and a liberal with leanings that wouldn’t look out of place in today’s time.
Devil May Care is a revisit for me with the new edition of listening in to Grace Conlin’s audiobook narration of it. It might as well have been an all-new book to me because I couldn’t remember it at all. I was struck by the uneasy fact that the heroine is engaged through the bulk of this story and her heart was going pitter-pat alright, but not for her fiancée. Fortunately, nothing occurred in the line of cheating outright. And, I’m pretty sure we’re meant to not see it as cheating because the author deliberately opened the story from Ellie’s fiancée’s point of view and his motives for marrying her were her looks and he had full plans to change her and mold her into the proper lawyer’s wife of country club crowd status.
So, the story itself is a fun wink at the gothic romances with Ellie the damsel left alone in the old historical home, visited by ghosts, and the house holding a secret that a lot of people want. The local ‘first settler’ families from like Puritan times seem to be involved somehow. Meanwhile, Ellie is sparking against Donald, the snarky son of the local doctor who seems to look after Kate’s lawn along with the grounds’ keeper. She is oddly irritated by this since he went to university and seems to just be lazing around pushing a mower now and then. But, he’s soon her closest ally and the one to really believe her when she tells people there is something freaky going on and she’s pretty sure she’s seeing ghosts of the locals’ ancestors.
Devil May Care was fun and lighthearted with a mild thrill to it and even a possible paranormal element with the ghosts. I liked Ellie and Donald. Aunt Kate was a bit too much with some of her stunts and manipulative in a way that wasn’t endearing. This one wobbles and particularly there at the end not having a clean finish and so abrupt, but it was light entertainment so there is that.
My full review will post at The Reading Frenzy 7.21.25.
Devil May Care is one of Elizabeth Peters’ standalone romantic suspenses. It was originally published in 1977 and was a fun nostalgic revisit to that time since the book was released as a contemporary romantic suspense. Ellie’s Aunt Kate is eccentric, clever, cunning, and a liberal with leanings that wouldn’t look out of place in today’s time.
Devil May Care is a revisit for me with the new edition of listening in to Grace Conlin’s audiobook narration of it. It might as well have been an all-new book to me because I couldn’t remember it at all. I was struck by the uneasy fact that the heroine is engaged through the bulk of this story and her heart was going pitter-pat alright, but not for her fiancée. Fortunately, nothing occurred in the line of cheating outright. And, I’m pretty sure we’re meant to not see it as cheating because the author deliberately opened the story from Ellie’s fiancée’s point of view and his motives for marrying her were her looks and he had full plans to change her and mold her into the proper lawyer’s wife of country club crowd status.
So, the story itself is a fun wink at the gothic romances with Ellie the damsel left alone in the old historical home, visited by ghosts, and the house holding a secret that a lot of people want. The local ‘first settler’ families from like Puritan times seem to be involved somehow. Meanwhile, Ellie is sparking against Donald, the snarky son of the local doctor who seems to look after Kate’s lawn along with the grounds’ keeper. She is oddly irritated by this since he went to university and seems to just be lazing around pushing a mower now and then. But, he’s soon her closest ally and the one to really believe her when she tells people there is something freaky going on and she’s pretty sure she’s seeing ghosts of the locals’ ancestors.
Devil May Care was fun and lighthearted with a mild thrill to it and even a possible paranormal element with the ghosts. I liked Ellie and Donald. Aunt Kate was a bit too much with some of her stunts and manipulative in a way that wasn’t endearing. This one wobbles and particularly there at the end not having a clean finish and so abrupt, but it was light entertainment so there is that.
My full review will post at The Reading Frenzy 7.21.25.
August 2, 2012
Elizabeth Peters never disappoints! Fun, smart characters, a highly entertaining plot with lots of excitement and mystery, and the wonderful humour typical of Peters books that makes the story sparkle!
Ellie agrees to house-sit for eccentric Aunt Kate while she takes a vacation. Since Aunt Kate lives in a stunning Virginia mansion filled with cats, dogs and various other animals, Ellie assumes it will just be a peaceful getaway as she plans for her wedding to her high-powered lawyer fiance, Henry.
But once Aunt Kate leaves, and Ellie is alone in the house, she starts seeing some unbelieveable things. Against her better judgement she enlists "yardboy" and neighbour Donald to help her try to figure out whether she's hallucinating, or if there really are some inexplcable things going on.
As always, Elizabeth Peters writes fabulous stories. They are always full of characters that run the gamut from smart and on the ball, to the oddballs who you aren't quite sure what to make of. She then combines these terrific characters into great stories with excitement, suspense, and just enough farce to make it all lots of fun.
I particularly loved the inter-play between Ellie and Donald, who start out not really liking one another very much and therefore do a lot of verbal sparring which is highly entertaining. An easy, fast, and highly enjoyable read!
Ellie agrees to house-sit for eccentric Aunt Kate while she takes a vacation. Since Aunt Kate lives in a stunning Virginia mansion filled with cats, dogs and various other animals, Ellie assumes it will just be a peaceful getaway as she plans for her wedding to her high-powered lawyer fiance, Henry.
But once Aunt Kate leaves, and Ellie is alone in the house, she starts seeing some unbelieveable things. Against her better judgement she enlists "yardboy" and neighbour Donald to help her try to figure out whether she's hallucinating, or if there really are some inexplcable things going on.
As always, Elizabeth Peters writes fabulous stories. They are always full of characters that run the gamut from smart and on the ball, to the oddballs who you aren't quite sure what to make of. She then combines these terrific characters into great stories with excitement, suspense, and just enough farce to make it all lots of fun.
I particularly loved the inter-play between Ellie and Donald, who start out not really liking one another very much and therefore do a lot of verbal sparring which is highly entertaining. An easy, fast, and highly enjoyable read!
March 6, 2016
This was such a fun story to read! An eccentric rich aunt with lots of cats and dogs in an old house, filled with historical artefacts and modern-day technologies, who wanted to play matchmaker for her favorite niece. Lots of colorful characters with their own dirty little secrets. Ghosts and burglars and masterful performances. And stolen kisses. Well, at least one stolen kiss :) The only thing I didn't get was
I wonder if there was such a paper in every edition of that book? Could it be why everyone wanted to get their hands on it so much? They knew exactly what they were looking for.
I would like to see more stories with these characters but I guess this is the only one... Donald & Ellie was such a nice pair even if they were not sweethearts there was such a powerful chemistry between them that you can definitely feel it in the air. I wonder if it was possible to fall in love in 5 days but circumstances were extraordinary. Who wouldn't fall for knight in shining armor even if he is wearing shorts most of the time?
I wonder if there was such a paper in every edition of that book? Could it be why everyone wanted to get their hands on it so much? They knew exactly what they were looking for.
I would like to see more stories with these characters but I guess this is the only one... Donald & Ellie was such a nice pair even if they were not sweethearts there was such a powerful chemistry between them that you can definitely feel it in the air. I wonder if it was possible to fall in love in 5 days but circumstances were extraordinary. Who wouldn't fall for knight in shining armor even if he is wearing shorts most of the time?
January 15, 2017
My first Elizabeth Peters, and I really enjoyed it.
At first I thought DMC must be set in the early 20th century because of the attitude (well, thoughts) of Henry towards his fiance, Ellie. So you can imagine my surprise when I realized that this was a contemporary (at the time of print) novel. Henry's avarice towards her aunt's estate, his plans to 'correct' Ellie's flaws after their marriage, and his overall snobbish, elitist attitude was most infuriating - and I was kind of hoping he'd met a sticky ending - but alas, it was not to be ;-D
The whole 'ghostly' mystery was well done, and ultimately the ghostly culprits were not who I expected (nor was it done for the reason I assumed), and I did love Aunt Kate and her good friend, Ted. He was a dear. There was an unusual romance angle, but it wasn't unappreciated as Henry had to go. I would have been most unhappy if Ellie had of remained with said pratt.
Kind of wish that this was the beginning of a trilogy, duology, something, but sadly it is a stand alone.
3½ ★
At first I thought DMC must be set in the early 20th century because of the attitude (well, thoughts) of Henry towards his fiance, Ellie. So you can imagine my surprise when I realized that this was a contemporary (at the time of print) novel. Henry's avarice towards her aunt's estate, his plans to 'correct' Ellie's flaws after their marriage, and his overall snobbish, elitist attitude was most infuriating - and I was kind of hoping he'd met a sticky ending - but alas, it was not to be ;-D
The whole 'ghostly' mystery was well done, and ultimately the ghostly culprits were not who I expected (nor was it done for the reason I assumed), and I did love Aunt Kate and her good friend, Ted. He was a dear. There was an unusual romance angle, but it wasn't unappreciated as Henry had to go. I would have been most unhappy if Ellie had of remained with said pratt.
Kind of wish that this was the beginning of a trilogy, duology, something, but sadly it is a stand alone.
3½ ★
July 8, 2011
This novel was recommended to me by a friend, who had previously lent me several of her Amelia Peabody series. I had high expectations after reading the first two Victorian-era archaeological adventure stories, and I was not disappointed. I was initially surprised that the novel takes place in relatively current times. Another pleasant surprise came when I realized that the novel did not include an excess of violence or horror sequences. The characters in this novel were developed well, which resulted in their entertaining interactions. I adored Aunt Kate to no end and despised Henry from the start. The only character I had difficulty warming up to at first was Ellie, who I initially perceived as dull and somewhat naive. I soon realized that the majority of the novel was not written from Henry's point of view, and as the story progressed, I gradually began to approve of Ellie's character. I recommend this book for anyone who likes to be entertained.
January 14, 2009
I am finally reading this one. It's one of the last of hers that I have not read (other than the Peabody series which I hate). I love it so far. I only wish I could find another cozy/gothic author of her caliber...
Definitely worth reading... not the best, but far from the worst. I didn't care for the lack of strength surrounding the lead female protagonist. She was sort of just a girl who was there, engaged, then not, but we are never told her profession or anything about her. That is unlike Michaels; I like the equality bent of her work. I will say, though, that the Kate character makes up for Ellie's weaknesses. :)
Definitely worth reading... not the best, but far from the worst. I didn't care for the lack of strength surrounding the lead female protagonist. She was sort of just a girl who was there, engaged, then not, but we are never told her profession or anything about her. That is unlike Michaels; I like the equality bent of her work. I will say, though, that the Kate character makes up for Ellie's weaknesses. :)
September 19, 2019
Weird! Back in 1999 I rated this 4 stars (was reading through a bunch of MPM at the time). Today (2019) I tried it again in audio format (forgetting I had already read it) and gave up after chapter 2.
The audio format was good (actually the only part I liked) but the characters were so dated that I could tell I was going to be annoyed most of the time and decided to move on. I guess Kinsey Milhone is the only 70’s era mystery heroine I can handle these days...
The audio format was good (actually the only part I liked) but the characters were so dated that I could tell I was going to be annoyed most of the time and decided to move on. I guess Kinsey Milhone is the only 70’s era mystery heroine I can handle these days...
November 8, 2010
I love this author's 'Amelia Peabody' series, that said this book was a bit disappointing. I liked that she still had a strong, quirky female character, the aunt, but her other characters lacked interest. The story itself was rather bland & the ending anti-climatic. Perhaps if I had read this before her fabulous Amelia series then the proverbial 'bar' wouldn't be quite so high.
September 25, 2019
Fan of hers in general, have enjoyed her "dig" books immensely. but this was a weak borderline and-I-woke-up-and-it-was-all-a-horrible-dream example of formulaic writing. I also have to say that the audio book I listened to was read by someone who sounded like Katherine Hepburn reading with a gun to her head.
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