Mystery

fairies in the woods = plot from adopted child

This is one of the very early Elizabeth Peters books, when Barbara Michaels was still finding her way with this new voice. It's not as polished as the later Peters books, or the Michaels books, but it's very enjoyable.

Laurie Carlson is in Chicago, laboring on her dissertation in mediaeval history, when a very alarming letter arrives from her great-aunt, Ida Morton. Great-aunt Lizzy, Ida's younger sister, has a new enthusiasm, fairies, and is acting even odder than usual. Can Laurie please come home? Ida, Lizzy, and their brother, Ned, effectively raised Laurie after her unreliable mother, Anna, lost interest in being a parent, and she can hardly say no.

But if she had any inclination to do so, moments later the phone rings, and it's her half-brother, Doug Wright. He's gotten a very similar alarming letter. Within twenty-four hours, they are arriving at the Morton estate in the Maryland countryside. And while something is definitely odd, no one wants to talk about it. Among the changes that have happened over the last two years is that the Mortons now have household help, a man who lives in a cottage on the estate and does basic chores, maintenance tasks Ned is no longer up to, as well as the driving now that all the Mortons are elderly enough to make it wiser to leave the driving to others. Jeff seems like a nice guy, and he certainly seems devoted to the Mortons.

But weird stuff really is happening. Laurie hears flute music at night, and sees strange lights floating through the garden. She and Doug catch Lizzy sleep-walking, trying to leave the house, on one of the nights Laurie hears the music.

When Laurie discovers Lizzy has disturbingly convincing pictures of the fairies, pictures she says were taken by "one of the Wilson girls," a family that rents land from the Mortons, and shortly thereafter Laurie is nearly run down by the Morton car seemingly driving itself, she and Doug become more and more alarmed.

The story gets further complicated by the fact that Doug and Laurie don't really know each other all that well, everything seems to be directed at Lizzy and there's no apparent motive for anyone to hurt a somewhat odd but sweet and harmless old lady, and some buried family secrets that no one wants to talk about.

Not quite up to her usual standard, but an enjoyable light read, or listen.

I borrowed this book from the library. ( )

Laurie and her brother Doug go to stay with their elderly relatives in Maryland. Laurie anticipates nothing more than a few quiet weeks working on her dissertation, enjoying Great-Aunt Lizzie's cooking, taking long walks in the woods with Great-Uncle Ned, and fending off Great-Aunt Ida's matchmaking attempts.

But mysterious accidents occur around Great-Aunt Lizzie, and it seems like a malevolent person or persons is out to harm Lizzie. ( )

Having been a die-hard Barbara Michaels fan for years, I was almost reluctant to read her Elizabeth Peters persona. I know they're more popular but I thought that the changes would turn me off a bit. After reading The Love Talker, I'd recommend it as a good place to start for anyone else making the transition. Supposably this book is the closest to her Barbara Michaels style while still being a little different.

Since the story borderlines on the paranormal, but it never goes there, I can't help but think that if Peters had followed the story of the hypnotizing evil fairy this book would have turned out better. If she used the Michaels name (as so many reviewers have already said this seems more like a Michaels book than a Peters), and the supernatural angle to it's full force, it would have a bit more oomph in the long run.

Baffling and strange, The Love Talker focuses on fairies so much at the beginning I feared it was borderline fantasy. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, but I never find much fantasy I enjoy. For some reason my mind has trouble wrapping around some of the more odd concepts, so when it does read that it just shuts off interest, perhaps to avoid a headache from thinking so hard? How sad. :)

It took me a few days to return, but when I did the book had decided to pick up pace and become more familiar. The main character is the typical strong heroine type, a sharp wit and intelligent determined, not fearful but not overly bold to the point of being unrealistic. There wasn't the usual love interest until the end, that aspect was a little more dilute than other works. Still, I never guessed the ending romantic triangle, which came as more of surprise than the mystery itself. For some reason I guessed who the assailant(s) was, even if I was surprised by one of the accomplices. I couldn't figure out the reason though so it's all still good.

The aunts and uncle were a little weird, with Lizzie being out there she was sometimes migraine inducing. Doug was cute and the typical male hero on the novel. There were enough red herrings to fool the reader, and each eccentricity only added to the novel's appeal. The end show-down was ballsy enough to succeed, and the wrap-up was bittersweet (even if it wasn't adumbrated enough)

The Love Talker held more humor than some of the other books I've read by her, cleverly placed irony that bought the book a special flavoring. I laughed out loud more than once, the book using a humor that complimented but didn't overshadow the story. Pacing was a little slow at first and it takes awhile to build up steam, but this isn't abnormal with Michaels/Peters. Very little violence and no creepy, real suspense factor, but a very good mystery nonetheless. I'm thrilled my expectations of the Peters name brought about the same coziness felt in the gothic mysteries from Michaels; now I get to read more from a beloved author, just under a different name - how could it get better than that? ( )