The Dark On The Other Side

Rating:
Summary: Frightening on Many Levels
Review: The Dark on the Other Side is probably my favorite Barbara Michaels. It isn't just about being 'spooky'. It's about basic issues of trust, whether in other people or in your own perceptions. It is about how people use one another to achieve gain or safety. It is about the power of love, both to heal and destroy. There are no chain-saw killers jumping out of the closet, no menacing ghosts. Most of the action takes place in the minds of the characters and you must decide whether their POV is valid. A superficial read won't give you much; but if you really think about Linda Randolph's predicament and the risks both she and Michael Collins take to save her, you will have chills that will keep you up late. (I do wish Barbara Michaels had made Galen a series character. I just love his sang froid.)

Rating:
Summary: Fair-ish
Review: This book is not the best by Barbara Michaels, but it's still better than 95% percent of the books in print. Though it lacks the wry humor of some of her books, it nevertheless has a nice storyline and some truly spinechilling moments.

A young writer named Michael Collins (I wonder, did Ms. Michaels deliberately give this guy the same name as the Irish rebel? Or a coincidence?) arrives as the home or wealthy intelligent philanthropist millionaire Randolph. Collins is immediately attracted to Randolph's beautiful younger wife Linda, but can't help noticing that Linda is dulling her pain with alcohol, seems to be both hateful toward her husband and terrified of something she can't name. The sight of large dogs, for example, throws her into fainting fits.

Collins also senses something strange and sinister about Randolph, despite the latter's charming and hearty manner. He checks into the backgrounds of people who knew Randolph before he married his wife, and finds disturbing but nebulous results. Then Linda, whom her husband claims is insane, runs away and keeps running, with a bizarre old witch as her only solid ally. But Linda has a counter-claim about Randolph, that implies something far darker and more horrifying than mere insanity.

This book has amazing atmosphere, especially in the first chapter where Linda is clearly terrified and emotionally threadbare, but there is no sign as to why. The creepiness pervades virtually every scene with and about Randolph. Collins himself is a nice, sympathetic character with a great balance of sensitivity and "macho"; as for Linda, it's a little difficult to determine whether she's correct, insane, or a bit of both. As for Randolph--he WILL give you goosebumps.

The book is hardly flawless - Ms. Michaels's brilliant humor is often missing (though I loved Collins' buddy coming in and finding Linda tied down to the bed); there is a large "dead" section in the middle of the book where the characters do little but talk; also, the ending seems to be a bit rushed and hastily written. I also found the smallness of the cast disconcerting, and the character of the witch rather badly drawn.

However, if you're in the mood for a good ol' fashioned thriller with appropriate chills, and no sex or vulgarity, then this is for you!

Rating:
Summary: The Dark on the Other Side
Review: While I much admire Ms. Michaels writing, I really don't think that this is one of her best. It seemed rather messy and unresolved. The ending was just not really up to her usual mind-boggling style. All in all though, it was an entertaining read for a gloomy afternoon.