Rating: 
Summary: Good, good, good
Review: ...I have to add my two cents! I stayed up from 10-3 reading ...book! I just could not put it down! I just had to know if the ghosts were really real or NOT!? Knowing how Barbara Michaels seems to feel about ghosts, (Ammie, Come Home, etc.) I assumed they were fake. I don't believe either, but that doesn't mean you can't get a good old scare all the same!
The whole story keeps you going. Aunt Kate is a groovey old character that I would love to hang around with... Thats how real that character is....
Her books remind me of the old movies with the friends/relatives character that is stronger/safer than the main character. Am I making sense? I only got 3 1/2 hours sleep....
This is another good one of hers....I will once again reread it in another decade...
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Ellie has agreed to house sit for her Aunt Kate. Her pompous fiance drives her down to impress the rich old lady, who dislikes him immediately. After Kate's departure with the fiance to the airport. Ellie experiences all kinds of strange manifestations involving the six founding families of the area. A rare book telling of their boring scandals seems to be the trigger. A neighbor agrees to help her solve the mystery. It seems like a practical joke, until an old friend of Kate's gets seriously injured....This was a very quick read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I picked it up and didn't stop reading until the last page. The characters are quirky and entertaining. The atmosphere appropriately creepy, and the story line engrossing. A very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Ellie has agreed to house sit for her Aunt Kate. Her pompous fiance drives her down to impress the rich old lady, who dislikes him immediately. After Kate's departure with the fiance to the airport. Ellie experiences all kinds of strange manifestations involving the six founding families of the area. A rare book telling of their boring scandals seems to be the trigger. A neighbor agrees to help her solve the mystery. It seems like a practical joke, until an old friend of Kate's gets seriously injured.... This was a very quick read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I picked it up and didn't stop reading until the last page. The characters are quirky and entertaining. The atmosphere appropriately creepy, and the story line engrossing. A very good read.
Rating: 
Summary: true to elizabeth peters style
Review: I am a great fan of the Amelia Peabody series and stumbled upon this while looking for a new release.
The humor, the suspense and intrigue, and clues with multiple
meanings are all there.
You'll be surprised by the ending. Nice and easy reading for the mystery fan
Rating:
Summary: A must read!!
Review: I found this book to be funny and fast paced. The characters were warm and witty. I absolutely loved Aunt Kate! There is one woman you don't want to mess with:) The whole atmosphere of the book held me spellbound. I finished the book in 1 day. If you have the time it's a worthy read.
Rating:
Summary: true to elizabeth peters style
Review: I think one of the things I like best about Elizabeth Peters is that she clearly believes that reading mystery stories is supposed to be fun. Of course, there is much to be said for authors that believe otherwise. But sooner or later I need to take a break and lean back with something by an author who has managed to evade all the Sturm und Drang of modern mystery fiction. Someone I can trust with my sometimes fragile psyche. Elizabeth Peters is my all time favorite in this category of 'cozy' tales, for many reasons. Take the book at hand, "Devil May Care." The plot work is clean and classical. Ellie has been asked by her Aunt Kate to house sit while her Aunt takes a trip. The house is a fine old manse in Burton, Virginia. Ellie arrives with her fiancée Henry, a dull but successful Washington lawyer, to find Aunt Kate clog dancing with a neighbor and deep in football discussions. After a short interlude Henry and Kate head back to the city and Ellie settles in for the long haul. Immediately she finds herself surrounded by ghosts. Aunt Kate's previously unhaunted home suddenly has a transparent young man upstairs, a jilted husband chasing his wife and her lover all over the grounds, a crazy looking red haired woman in the... Well, you get my drift. Ellie, who is an intelligent and well grounded young woman sets about solving these appearances with the help of Ted Fraser (her Aunt's clog dancing friend) and the very attractive (and not at all dull) Donald Gold, the neighbor's son. The mystery revolves around the original six families that founded Burton, and an old history book Ellie bought for a gift to her Aunt. But what it is eludes everyone, even after Ted barely survives a meeting with an irate spirit and the sudden reappearance of Aunt Kate. The reader is well on his way through this roller coaster ride long before the complexities of the plot finally begin to unravel. What makes this mysterious farce enjoyable is not only a clean and lively plot, but an entire cast of eccentric and wonderful characters. I greatly admire Peters heroines, who always display a great deal of intelligence and forethought. Ellie is one of these. Her Aunt Kate is no less memorable, with a defiantly impish streak. The male participants, ranging from the very dull Henry to the quick witted Donald are perfect foils for these women. In addition, all six of the founding families are full of amazing confections and one can hardly leave out the long cast of Aunt Kate's pets, lead by the imperious Roger the Rat and Franklin the Fearless Pekinese. This is mystery fiction intended to be entertainment and little else. Elizabeth Peters is an expert as mixing archeology, the supernatural, and history with the inevitable foibles of human beings and coming up with story after satisfactory story. This is perfect fireside reading for one of those rainy fall days around Halloween. Or for any other time as well.
Rating:
Summary: When First We Practice to Deceive
Review: I think one of the things I like best about Elizabeth Peters is that she clearly believes that reading mystery stories is supposed to be fun. Of course, there is much to be said for authors that believe otherwise. But sooner or later I need to take a break and lean back with something by an author who has managed to evade all the Sturm und Drang of modern mystery fiction. Someone I can trust with my sometimes fragile psyche. Elizabeth Peters is my all time favorite in this category of 'cozy' tales, for many reasons. Take the book at hand, "Devil May Care." The plot work is clean and classical. Ellie has been asked by her Aunt Kate to house sit while her Aunt takes a trip. The house is a fine old manse in Burton, Virginia. Ellie arrives with her fiancée Henry, a dull but successful Washington lawyer, to find Aunt Kate clog dancing with a neighbor and deep in football discussions. After a short interlude Henry and Kate head back to the city and Ellie settles in for the long haul. Immediately she finds herself surrounded by ghosts. Aunt Kate's previously unhaunted home suddenly has a transparent young man upstairs, a jilted husband chasing his wife and her lover all over the grounds, a crazy looking red haired woman in the... Well, you get my drift. Ellie, who is an intelligent and well grounded young woman sets about solving these appearances with the help of Ted Fraser (her Aunt's clog dancing friend) and the very attractive (and not at all dull) Donald Gold, the neighbor's son. The mystery revolves around the original six families that founded Burton, and an old history book Ellie bought for a gift to her Aunt. But what it is eludes everyone, even after Ted barely survives a meeting with an irate spirit and the sudden reappearance of Aunt Kate. The reader is well on his way through this roller coaster ride long before the complexities of the plot finally begin to unravel. What makes this mysterious farce enjoyable is not only a clean and lively plot, but an entire cast of eccentric and wonderful characters. I greatly admire Peters heroines, who always display a great deal of intelligence and forethought. Ellie is one of these. Her Aunt Kate is no less memorable, with a defiantly impish streak. The male participants, ranging from the very dull Henry to the quick witted Donald are perfect foils for these women. In addition, all six of the founding families are full of amazing confections and one can hardly leave out the long cast of Aunt Kate's pets, lead by the imperious Roger the Rat and Franklin the Fearless Pekinese. This is mystery fiction intended to be entertainment and little else. Elizabeth Peters is an expert as mixing archeology, the supernatural, and history with the inevitable foibles of human beings and coming up with story after satisfactory story. This is perfect fireside reading for one of those rainy fall days around Halloween. Or for any other time as well.
Rating:
Summary: God, I loved this book.
Review: I've never really been tempted to steal a book from the public library until now. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Atmostpheric and Fun
Review: I've read this book several times. I love coming back to it after a couple of years and enjoying it all over again. The best thing about Elizabeth Peters/B Michaels is that she creates a cozy atmostphere, with every day occurences (such as eating lunch...sleeping...,) yet, there are not so every day occurences thrown in - ghosts, etc. It makes it feel like is business as usual to suspect that a ghost is inhabiting your house. I just love the atmostphere she creates! She doesn't write these types of books anymore, - not a dynasty - like Amelia (love those too, of course), but these single book stories, and I miss them!
Rating:
Summary: Don't make me mad
Review: It just goes to show you, that you you shouldn't make women mad!
There's no telling what they"ll do! Overall, I really enjoyed the ambiance of this book. The players in this book were funny and
bright. This novel is one of the best non series in her esteemed collection. I highly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
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