Rating: 
Summary: amiable tale of three nice humans trying to help spirits
Review: Due to a cash flow problem, caused by loans and an energy investment, Scottish land owner Albert Wychsale cannot pay in money the house restoration debt he owes folk musician Rupert "Ringan" Laine. Instead he gives the Brit free lodging in the eighteenth century Lumbe's cottage near the restored Wychsale House.Ringan and his girlfriend theater producer and actress Penelope Wintercraft-Hawkes move in their new abode. Quickly they feel cold air and other eerie phenomena that lead the duo and their pal Jane to conclude the house is haunted. They research the official and unauthorized historical records until the trio learns of the 1817 homicide. George Roeper killed his sister and her lover when he saw them lying down together. How to allow the ghosts to find rest is what the three humans struggle to achieve. THE WEAVER AND THE FACTORY MAID is the first tale in a series based on popular ballads. The story of Betsy and Bill is fun to follow, but if readers expect Spielberg's Poltergeist or Straub's Ghost Story, they need to turn to the originals. Instead, this novel is an amiable tale about three nice humans trying to help spirits move on. Fun and original, but no scares with this fine plot. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Warm and Chilling, all at the same time
Review: I loved this book. I think I'd describe it as a sort of gentle ghost story. There were definitely chilling moments, but the ghosts are a part of the tale rather than the great yawning evil at the end. The spirits aren't two dimensional boogiemen under the bed. They're complex and interesting, and so are our heroes, Ringan and Penny. One thing I liked about it was how comfortable Ringan and Penny's relationship is--it brought to mind Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence stories--and how comfortable they are with one another. However, a really great part of this story is that each character is uniquely him or herself. The characters are very strongly individual. Grabien has a deft hand with characterization. If you like stories that give a goosebump or two, but aren't gory or splatter-horror, I think you'll like this.
Rating:
Summary: Warm and Chilling, all at the same time
Review: I loved this book. I think I'd describe it as a sort of gentle ghost story. There were definitely chilling moments, but the ghosts are a part of the tale rather than the great yawning evil at the end. The spirits aren't two dimensional boogiemen under the bed. They're complex and interesting, and so are our heroes, Ringan and Penny. One thing I liked about it was how comfortable Ringan and Penny's relationship is--it brought to mind Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence stories--and how comfortable they are with one another. However, a really great part of this story is that each character is uniquely him or herself. The characters are very strongly individual. Grabien has a deft hand with characterization. If you like stories that give a goosebump or two, but aren't gory or splatter-horror, I think you'll like this.
Rating:
Summary: lyrical, haunting
Review: I read this book when it first came out but waited until I had time to write a thoughtful review. I really enjoyed this book, but I think it refuses to stay put in any one category. There is a ghost story, some mystery, but really, it just has some interesting characters. Ringhan reminds me of so many musicians I know. He has a strong healthy ego, knowledge of his own talents, but the knowledge that making money by doing what he likes - is never quite going to be enough. I feel like Penny is a woman I want to know, but it is going to take awhile. I liked Wychsasle, and want to see him again. I love her prose. It is lyrical and very evocative. If you hang with musicians, you'll recognize the bickering. If you have done any historical research, you'll recognize the tedium and triumph. And if I ever drove by Ringan's home I'll recognizes it. I love her ability to switch the mood of the story in the space of a sentence So if I loved it so much, why only four stars? Simple. I'm expecting better with the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly charming
Review: I read this on a five-hour cross-county plane trip and was so engaged that I never noticed the turbulence. This is the kind of mystery that delivers just about everything I like-- fine writing, doughty characters, a beguling and ghostly plot, a narrative that weaves in fascinating threads from history, folk music, and architecture-- and there's even a little existential Pandora's box cracked open towards the end, as the characters wonder about the morality of ejecting the ghosts from their cozy human world. I'm thrilled that there are more of these Grabien mysteries in the Thomas Dunne pipeline!
Rating:
Summary: Ghosts of politics past form the warp to a well written woof
Review: Now at a time when another working class evolution/revolution is underway with offshore outsourcing, we are treated to a well spun yarn about a song that characterized another era, when hand crafts were replaced with automation, and some dasterdly deeds of the age have created some loose spirits. Some friendly enough to keep, and some rather not. This is a close encounter with some gently writen prose that runs deeper than it looks. A ghost story for those who hate ghost stories. A love story for those who hate love stories. An adventure with a clean shirt. Deborah Grabien has done the supernatural up with a delicate blow from a keen and subtle wit that not everyone may be tuned to, but it is worth the effort to listen a little closer. Your intuition will get a tweak and your sense of ease a chill. Like Champagne and Stout this will go in like velvet and then hammer you later. I will not rewrite the cover copy as synopsis. Read it after you get it.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: Sadly, the best thing about this novel is it's lovely cover. Other than that, the book fell flat. While Grabien is facile with words, the plot was predictable and quite. As a folk music lover, I thought that I would adore the book, but the book merely dragged.
Rating:
Summary: The Weaver and The Factory Maid
Review: The story was entertaining, even a bit creepy, but the dialogue was so stilted! I cringed nearly every page! Maybe Deborah Grabien learned that conversational style growing up; if so, she should have been saying, knock it off! Otherwise, a light, easy read. Maybe as she writes more, the dialogue will improve.
Rating:
Summary: A fireside story, not a mystery
Review: This is a lovely little book, one which Publisher's Weekly finds understandably difficult to characterize. It's rather outside of conventional genres, but that doesn't mean you should avoid it! Instead, you should snuggle in with your favorite blanket and a nice cup of tea, and let Ms. Grabien tell you a story. Her ability to capture mood is tremendous - you can almost feel the ghosts yourself! I got chills, even reading it in my office. Her spare yet descriptive style reminds me very much of Peter S. Beagle, and the British characters sound so real they made me homesick for England. While I liked Weaver a lot, I don't give it 5 stars. I'm sure that as Ms. Grabien becomes more comfortable with Ringan and Penny and their world, later books in this series will get 5 stars from me! I hope we get to spend more time with Liam, Jane, and Matty; Wychsale and Butterball; and that maybe someday BBC Mystery will have a Ringan and Penny series.
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical and Haunting
Review: This is a really lovely book. It's not gory, not a hack and slash sort of story. I think I might call it gentle horror. It's tense and thrilling. It gave me chills and once I started it I couldn't put it down. Penny and Ringan are deftly characterized, the ghosts are compelling. I think the one thing I liked most about it was that the ghosts weren't one-dimensional boogiemen. If you like ghost stories, you'll love this one. It's my understanding this is the first in a series. One of the things I like about this author is that her characters don't get boring or over the top sensational with each succeeding story.
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