Don't forget they got Chinese takeout and hung in the backyard that afternoon to relax. lol Hell, I wouldn't have been poking around in the attic or cellar. :-O
Linda, MPM enjoyed her gin. I have a bookplate she designed for her signings that features the Egyptian goddess Isis holding a martini. :)
I'm glad, though, that I'm not the only one who felt the characters were flat, especially Ruth. Fleshing out her background might have made the story more interesting.
And boy did Michaels leave that past-trauma plot thread hanging out there. It was pretty unsatisfying to me - Ruth's so traumatized by something that happened in her rather brief marriage that she is basically celibate for a couple of decades, but all we get is a sort of a shrug, it was a long time ago, when [spoiler] happens? WTF is going on with that?
This was probably my biggest gripe with the book. Ruth was the one with the traumatic background, but she plays no active part in the haunting, and her background is never integrated at all into the story.
Yes! This is the one thing that left me totally unsatisfied - what the hell happened to Ruth?!? As MM said, it's got to be some pretty significant trauma to keep her celibate for what, almost 3 decades?? And it's never explained and only obliquely mentioned. Arg!!!
And, apparently, she inexplicably gets over it from her mere exposure to Pat and his magical kisses. Which defies logic for two reasons - one, there's no such thing as magical kisses, and two, Pat's kind of a dick.
I'm not finished reading this yet, but I kind of feel the same way. The characters seemed interesting in the beginning, but not much is developing them as the book progresses.
And I've been wondering about how casual they've been about the malevolent spirit and the possession. I mean, they're still preparing nice meals and going out for drinks and whatnot, despite how urgent they're making the situation sound. I'm all, "Wait, aren't you guys supposed to be figuring out what's going on?" I guess I would be running away from the house rather than sitting around getting breakfast and coffee ready like a normal day. Although I DO understand the need to be shooting brandy, though I'm with you--I'd be swigging it straight from the bottle rather than pouring an inch into my little glass.
It's funny, but I've always like Michaels books, but never because of the characters... I don't think there's one that I've ever found myself emotionally invested in; they're all very superficially drawn. That said, Michaels must be doing something right, because I still enjoy her books. :)
It's written very well, that's for sure. I'm enjoying reading this book. And I'm very much enjoying the mentions of setting and learning a lot about the time period through other's comments and reviews. I haven't really felt any creepy vibes yet, but I don't know if it's just because I've been reading this book in daylight or something (might be I'm consciously avoiding reading this book in the dead of silent night).
But I love me some character interaction and character development. Might be I'm also just turned off by the way the men speak to the women, and how they just shrug it off and move on. I suppose that's par for the time period??
Linda, MPM enjoyed her gin. I have a bookplate she designed for her signings that features the Egyptian goddess Isis holding a martini. :)
And I've been wondering about how casual they've been about the malevolent spirit and the possession. I mean, they're still preparing nice meals and going out for drinks and whatnot, despite how urgent they're making the situation sound. I'm all, "Wait, aren't you guys supposed to be figuring out what's going on?" I guess I would be running away from the house rather than sitting around getting breakfast and coffee ready like a normal day. Although I DO understand the need to be shooting brandy, though I'm with you--I'd be swigging it straight from the bottle rather than pouring an inch into my little glass.
But I love me some character interaction and character development. Might be I'm also just turned off by the way the men speak to the women, and how they just shrug it off and move on. I suppose that's par for the time period??