Rating: 
Summary: Ammie Come Home
Review: Like several other reviewers of this book, I first read "Ammie" in the Reader's Digest Condensed Book format. I devoured it! I recently picked up my own copy and haven't changed my positive opinion of this book one bit. It has a little of everything for every reader as it is a ghost story, a mystery, and a romance all rolled into one. Barbara Michaels tells an excellent story and the reader will easily become familiar with her characters, as if they are old friends. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: I would give it 10 ********** if I could!
Review: The absolutely scariest, sleep with your lights on, peek out of your closed eyelids at the shadows in the corners of your bedroom book I've ever read. This was my introduction to the wonderful world of Barbara Michaels and I've remained 'hooked' ever since. The characters of Pat, Ruth, Sara, and Bruce---not to mention Ammie, her gallant (if naive) lover, and her seriously flawed (and truly horrible) father are so well drawn that like Ruth and Bruce I too smelled lilacs in a Washington winter.
Rating:
Summary: Kept me up way past my bedtime! Excellent!
Review: This neat little book was written fairly early in Barbara Michael's writing career. Though originally published in 1969, it holds its strength and value still today, telling a thrilling ghost story that is timeless.The book begins with the enchanting story of Ruth Bennet, owner of a historic old Georgetown home, inherited from an elderly aunt, and her niece. Her niece Sara, who she dearly loves, came to live with her while attending college nearby. Ruth meets one of Sara's professors who takes a liking to her and asks her out. She goes with him to a party at his wealthy mother's home where a séance is held with very little result -- the medium feels little. Ruth, out of sympathy for hostess and medium, invites them to come to her home for a dinner party. While there, they hold a séance with far more complex results. Sara is briefly possessed by a lonely spirit and the medium feels the intensity of an evil spirit. The party breaks up with the medium fleeing with fear from the party. Four characters are central to this story, Ruth, the professor friend, Sara, and her boyfriend. They all reserve some degree of skepticism regarding whether the house is actually haunted. During the story they read into past Georgetown history to find answers, all the while experiencing escalating supernatural events that they cannot explain. It finally wraps up in a stunning conclusion that'll take your breath away. If you love ghost stories and love mysteries, this book is a sure bet for you. I started reading it and stayed up way past my bedtime! Buy it, borrow it, get it, read it. You'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: Kept me up way past my bedtime! Excellent!
Review: This neat little book was written fairly early in Barbara Michael's writing career. Though originally published in 1969, it holds its strength and value still today, telling a thrilling ghost story that is timeless. The book begins with the enchanting story of Ruth Bennet, owner of a historic old Georgetown home, inherited from an elderly aunt, and her niece. Her niece Sara, who she dearly loves, came to live with her while attending college nearby. Ruth meets one of Sara's professors who takes a liking to her and asks her out. She goes with him to a party at his wealthy mother's home where a séance is held with very little result -- the medium feels little. Ruth, out of sympathy for hostess and medium, invites them to come to her home for a dinner party. While there, they hold a séance with far more complex results. Sara is briefly possessed by a lonely spirit and the medium feels the intensity of an evil spirit. The party breaks up with the medium fleeing with fear from the party. Four characters are central to this story, Ruth, the professor friend, Sara, and her boyfriend. They all reserve some degree of skepticism regarding whether the house is actually haunted. During the story they read into past Georgetown history to find answers, all the while experiencing escalating supernatural events that they cannot explain. It finally wraps up in a stunning conclusion that'll take your breath away. If you love ghost stories and love mysteries, this book is a sure bet for you. I started reading it and stayed up way past my bedtime! Buy it, borrow it, get it, read it. You'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: First-rate ghost story
Review: Very spooky, will keep you up late finishing it, then trying to get to sleep. It really draws you in. I think it would make a great movie, in the tradition of "The Uninvited", or more recently, "The Others". No need for flashy special effects, just the characters' mounting horror and fear for their own sanity. I might dock it a half star only because some of the details of the setting (Georgetown in the 1960s) make it feel a little dated. Still, that's easily overlooked. Highly recommended.
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