Product Description

There are terrible secrets from generations past buried at Maidenwood. Medical student Julie Newcomb has returned to her family's decaying plantation—the site of so many painful childhood memories—to tend to her tyrannical grandmother, felled by a stroke. The fire of malevolence still burns in the cruel, despotic matriarch's eyes—yet, for Julie, a faint spark of redemption and second chances flickers in this hated, haunted place. But her hope—and her life—are seriously threatened by a nightmare reborn . . . and by the grim discovery on the lonely road to Maidenwood of the earth-browned skeletons of a mother and child.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #416396 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-10
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .91" h x 4.24" w x 6.78" l, .38 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Writing both as Michaels and as Elizabeth Peters, the author is a favorite of suspense fans, who will immerse themselves in this eerie tale. Summoned to Maidenwood, a crumbling "mansion" set amidst acres of Virginia countryside Julie Newcomb must tend to her grandmother, felled by a stroke. Although ailing, Martha Carr at 85 is still a despot, and Julie hates the woman. Only duty takes Julie there, especially when she learns that Alan Petranek, an archeologist, will be at Maidenwood. Martha had ruined a love affair between Julie and Alan years earlier. Nowunknown to Marthaher cousin has hired him to investigate the land around the house. The discovery of two skeletons on the estate has brought Alan onto the scene and Julie into a reluctant partnership with him as he tries to dig up Maidenwood's secrets. The story's pace quickens with threats to Julie's life but she survives to render justice to the pathetic remains, identified at last as victims of a cruel killer. November 22
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A fully clothed skeleton found on a country road, a cantankerous old woman crippled by stroke, a somewhat chauvinistic yet charming politician, religious fanatics, a mythical ancestor, practitioners of ``psychic'' archeology, long-suppressed memories, and a single-minded man from her past: these are the elements that confront medical student Julie Newcomb when she arrives at the family plantation in Virginia to help care for her bed-ridden grandmother. Michaels is near her top form in this 20th offering under that pen-name, and creates an aura of sinister intrigue that will keep the reader spellbound. The ending may not be totally satisfying but is, in fact, a shade more realistic than most. Michaels's legion of fans will hardly be disappointed. Judith A. Gifford, Salve Regina Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The plucky heroine of this modern Gothic novel is medical student Julie Newcomb. called to take care of her bedridden great-aunt at the 18th-century James River mansion Maidenwood. Barbara Rosenblat's gravelly voice rises when Julie gets alarmed and she makes the Southern male characters sound perpetually gruff, but the reading is clear, well-paced and easy to listen to. Michael's books are vastly popular with library patrons, combining her research skills in history and archaeology with romance. A receptive listening audience will appreciate this recorded version. N.B.H. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine