Rating: 
Summary: An excellent author
Review: A good book by a fabulous author. Suspensful and enjoyable. One of her better ones.
Rating: 
Summary: Quirky Gothic
Review: Barbara Michaels (Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Mertz) pens two kinds of thrillers: plodding, humorless and unsympathetic, or sparkling with wit and liveliness. This is one of the latter, and displays that Ms. Michaels is also an intelligent literary person (and that Nate Hawthorne was a nauseating chauvinist)English professor Karen Holloway once found a privately printed book of poetry from the eighteenth/nineteenth century, by "Ismene." After the poetry becomes a roaring success, she is summoned by a friend named Simon, who shows her a battered old manuscript -- also by Ismene. Karen is desperate to have the Gothic thriller, which follows the beautiful Ismene and her empty-headed sister Clara as they arrive at their cousin's enormous mansion. A brooding doctor, stormy weather, hidden house and a ghastly figure complete the Gothic sense. Karen encounters a little drama of her own -- due to the success of Ismene's poetry, a bunch of other writers are trying to get their hands on the manuscript. The locals are acting more than a little odd also, either unhelpful or deliberately searching... And as Karen deciphers the old story, she begins to wonder about it. Is it just a story that the talented Ismene created, or is it a memoir of terror and deception from long ago? Ismene's unfinished manuscript and a haunting line of poetry may hold the key. Though the label "feminist" on Karen may turn off some readers, she's not really a feminazi -- rather, she has to deal with the very real sexism of her male colleagues, who scorn such authors as Jane Austen and George Eliot. (And it's shown that this is not new -- each chapter opens with a quote about women and literature, such as the pig Nathaniel Hawthorne's suggestion that women who write should have "their faces deepley scarified with an oyster shell.") Her colleagues don't have a problem with the money Ismene's novel would give them, though. Karen's feminism is fairly low-key, though there is one hilarious scene where she deliberately makes a shocking speech to isolated small-townsfolk. I liked how she found a kindred spirit in the long-dead Ismene, who was a fierce feminist and abolitionist of the times. Supporting characters are even more sparkling. Tough-on-the-outside, marshmallowy-on-the-inside Peggy holds Karen up throughout her adventure, and charming old-world Simon is a delight. Bill Meyer, on the other hand, will honestly leave you wondering whether to sympathize or not. Someone who has read extensive Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels books will know of her particular faves, such as Louisa May Alcott and the Brontes. Comparisons are made to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, going over such now-cliche items as the Tall Dark Brooding Man, the Frightened Heroine, the Big House/Castle on the Cliff/Moors, the Dark Secret, and so forth. Ms. Michaels utilizes these herself (well, not the Frightened Heroine.... Nervous Heroine would be better) with wry twists and observations about their appropriate nature. A particularly enjoyable note is that portions of Ismene's book are interspersed. They have appropriately overdescriptive prose and hyperdramatic dialogue (both staples of the times) and are very evocative in emotions and imagination. The only problem is that the ending is quite rushed and becomes a bit incomprehensible, especially as characters only briefly referred to suddenly seem pivotal. There is, fortunately, a geneological map at the beginning, so be sure to look there. This book is a gem, both for fans of mystery and of Gothic lit. "Houses of Stone" does for Gothic novels what "Die For Love" did for romance!
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Enjoying her Amelia Peabody books written as Elizabeth Peters, I was really disappointed by this book. Slow plot, transparent characters and a very whiny unpleasant main character. I gave up half way through the audiobook. Just didn't care and was tired of hearing the character get on an out-of-place feminist soapbox (unless this was placed in 1977 and I missed that). Even in the South, we've advanced farther than anyone in this book.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Enjoying her Amelia Peabody books written as Elizabeth Peters, I was really disappointed by this book. Slow plot, transparent characters and a very whiny unpleasant main character. I gave up half way through the audiobook. Just didn't care and was tired of hearing the character get on an out-of-place feminist soapbox (unless this was placed in 1977 and I missed that). Even in the South, we've advanced farther than anyone in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Padded Gibberish
Review: I found this book in the gym, so I took a chance on it. I wasn't expecting great literature, but I was looking for an entertaining and perhaps scary story. What was sent up instead was literary pretensions, unappealing characters and virtually no plot. The feminist stuff was annoying. Karen Holloway was boring and insufferable and not believable. Simon and her friend were a joke. Their patter and forced laughter was without wit. The plot of looking for Ismene in the lost manuscript was ludicrous and the ending was forced and false. This is one of the lousiest books I have ever read. You Barbara Michaels fans can have her. I don't get it.
Rating:
Summary: Padded Gibberish
Review: I found this book in the gym, so I took a chance on it. I wasn't expecting great literature, but I was looking for an entertaining and perhaps scary story. What was sent up instead was literary pretensions, unappealing characters and virtually no plot. The feminist stuff was annoying. Karen Holloway was boring and insufferable and not believable. Simon and her friend were a joke. Their patter and forced laughter was without wit. The plot of looking for Ismene in the lost manuscript was ludicrous and the ending was forced and false. This is one of the lousiest books I have ever read. You Barbara Michaels fans can have her. I don't get it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice and Comfortable
Review: I guess one has to be a certain type of person to appreciateMichaels (or Peters). You have to be a COZY person--a person who comeshome exhausted on Fridays, and doesn't want to read deep allegorical nonsense. One doesn't pick up a novel like "Houses of Stone," expecting to be aroused to dizzing intellectual highs. You pick it up to relax, to make friends with some interesting, delicious, scholarly people. You pick it up because it's like coming home. Readers who enjoyed this novel should also read "Shattered Silk" by the same author.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite...
Review: I have read so many books by Ms. Mertz that I have lost count of all of them. But this book was the first book of hers I had ever read and It is my favorite(even though the Amelia Peabody series is a close second). I recomend if you like this book try Elizabeth peters. Have fun reading.
Rating:
Summary: Appeals to the heart and the head!
Review: I love this book. I enjoyed every minute with the lead character and thought her friends were the perfect foils to bring out her character quirks. The plot is fantastic--gothic horror, modern romance, feminist ideas, dueling lovers, best girlfriends--it's all here! I was in suspense to the very end, and I liked the ending. I've read this book twice so far and have recommended it to friends. Also, each chapter is headed by a pithy saying that you'll want to quote to certain men in your life. I wish Barbara Michaels would write a sequel (hint hint).
Rating:
Summary: One of Her Best
Review: I've reread this book at least half a dozen times, and the ending still gives me chills. It's writing like this that keeps me a faithful fan of Barbara Michaels', despite the occasional loser novel she comes up with.
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