I see what you did there, Gud. *g*
The first Michaels I read was Ammie Come Home, and I *loved* it because I was familiar with the setting. Got me hooked on her. And I remember reading The Crying Child late at night when the kids were in bed and H was late getting home from work--no lights on except the bedside lamp and I was totally freaked out. I kind of stopped and took a breath and realized it had been a long time since a writer--book or tv--had actually scared me that much. I loved the first Bliss book I read because set in Garmish-Partenkirchen, which I also knew and had spent time there, so it was kind of neat. But the ones after that seemed rather too arch to really enjoy. I did like the Jaqueline books I read, but I sort of fell away after the first one or two. And the Peters books lost me somewhere along the way, third or fourth book. Like The Mummy movies, the tale lost its sparkle with added kid.
Shattered Silk was the Barbara Michaels that I loved best. Have not read The Crying Child but it sounds like it might be too scary for me...
You know what, Atropa, I don't think that is an irrational miff. Occult bunnies would have helped a lot! Kind of interesting as a now period piece but not my kind of mystery, on the whole, and I kind of disliked all the characters.
I think I might take it as an excuse to leap sideways to Mexican Gothic, actually.
I really liked Michaels/Peters but I too got tired of the Ramses show after a bit. But I appreciated that her female characters always had a lot of agency and strong opinions. And a sex drive!
I remember when Shattered Silk came out, I was shopping with my mother's ... boyfriend? over-60 male friend ... who wanted advice on a present for my sister. I recommended Shattered Silk and he was doubtful, but went along. Christmas morning, she opened it ... by dinner time she was more than halfway through and he told me that it was a good choice.
And I'm sorry about the lack of occult bunnies. I don't think she does non-human ghosts/spirits.
I loved Shattered Silk. It came out when I was restoring antique women's whites and baby clothes--like it was written for *me*!
This is such a microscopically small concern in the grand scheme of things, but I am really looking forward to being able to read Red, White, and Royal Blue again without sobbing in despair for the last 50 pages.
Yeah, I recommended that to a friend a few days ago and then had to stop and say, "Maybe not right now."
I have not read that; should I?
It's fun. It has a very fanfic vibe.
It's wonderful! But it ends with a fictional 2020 election and when I picked it up to reread early this summer I realized I just couldn't.
