House of Many Shadows

I have read and re-read this book countless times---and I still find myself needing to check under the bed after reading it! At the urging of her bossy cousin, Sylvia, Meg moves in to an old Pennsylvania farm house which Sylvia owns. On the surface, Meg is there to recuperate from an accident but Sylvia has also persuaded her to help restore the house so it can be donated to the local historical society. Andy, Sylvia's adult stepson, has also been enlisted to help in the restoration. Since her accident, Meg has suffered from auditory hallucinations...but while at the farmhouse, Meg suddenly begins to experience visual hallucinations. At first, she dismisses them as the result of her accident but when it becomes clear that Andy is seeing the same "hallucinations" both Andy and Meg are forced to acknowledge the unthinkable---the house is haunted. Barbara Michaels is an incredibly gifted writer of suspense/ghost stories. She combines the ordinary with the extraordinary---most of her heroines are skeptics which make their experiences with the supernatural even more chilling. You know that these are not the fanciful people who would see ghosts wherever they are. In fact, these are the people who will deny the ghost's existence until the last possible moment. As an historian, I love the research Michaels puts into her books (and she makes it seem effortless!). She does an incredible job recreating the past and providing you with wonderful tidbits of historical information---all without hectoring or lecturing you! Buy this book---but make sure that there aren't any impending power outages when you sit down to read it because you'll want to keep the lights burning for at least a week after you've read this!

This is one of my favorite books by Barbara Michaels. Although some might consider this "old fashioned" they have to realize it was written in the early 70's. Whenever I have a free saturday to sit around and read, I either reach for this or one of my other favorites of hers.

Although I read this book a long time ago I still re-read this book often. Perfect for a cold, stormy night spent under the covers. It has the perfect touch of suspence that will keep you up till you are done. It has a little romance but not enough to get in the way of the story or to overwhelm it. I loved this book I would recomend this to any suspence/mystery/romance fan.

My all time favorite Barbara Michaels novel. Although I read it many, many years ago, it's one of the few that has stayed in my memory bank. It is the one that has kept me searching through the library, used books stores and e-books lists with hopes of finding more. I've read most of her other pseudonyms as well, but this is the one that touches on most of her contemporary themes with a dash of the gothic as well. If Michaels is a new author to you, this is the one I would start with.

I am having to replace most of my Michaels paperbacks, they have been read and reread so much. The author creates such a welcoming environment with such likable characters (despite the elements of the supernatural) that one never wants to leave. I can reread her books over and over again and always find something new. That's the way it was with House of Many Shadows. It is now due for replacement.