The Love Talker [Mass Market Paperback]

Elizabeth Peters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Laurie has finally returned to Idlewood, the beloved family home deep in the Maryland woods where she found comfort and peace as a lonely young girl. But things are very different now. There is no peace in Idlewood. The haunting sound of a distant piping breaks the stillness of a snowy winter's evening. Seemingly random events have begun to take on a sinister shape. And dotty old Great Aunt Lizzie is convinced that there are fairies about -- and she has photographs to prove it. For Laurie, one fact is becoming disturbingly clear: there is definitely something out there in the woods -- something fiendishly, cunningly, malevolently human -- and the lives of her aging loved ones, as well as Laurie's own, are suddenly at serious risk.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Elizabeth Peters is nothing less than a certified American treasure." -- Jackson Clarion Ledger

"This author never fails to entertain." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"[Peters] keeps the reader coming back for more." -- San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Elizabeth Peters earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. She was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1998. In 2003, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malice Domestic Convention. She lives in a historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380733404
• ISBN-13: 978-0380733408
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Peters, Elizabeth

More About the Author

ELIZABETH PETERS, whose New York Times best-selling novels are often set against historical backdrops, earned a Ph.D. in Egyptology at the University of Chicago. She also writes best-selling books under the pseudonym Barbara Michaels. She lives in Frederick, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious, September 18, 2001

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Love Talker (Mass Market Paperback)

There's something juicy and yummy in the feeling of reading "The Love Talker," just reprinted from a cache of excellent standalone Elizabeth Peters books. Sometimes this novel feels a bit like a Barbara Michaels novel under the wrong pseudonym, with the (discreet) sexy content and supernaturally loaded storyline, but it's an excellent read nonetheless.

Laurie is invited back to the secluded family hold of Idlewild, where she grew up with puritanical Aunt Ida, animal-loving Uncle Ned, and fluttery whimsical Aunt Lizzie (who once tried to get signals from Arcturus, decided she was a reincarnated Egyptian princess, etc). Also coming back is her half-brother Doug; the reason why is that Lizzie's latest whim is somehow alarming -- she claims there are fairies in the woods.

The problem is, she isn't acting as she usually does during "whims", and she has photos with eerie-looking humanoids that do look alarmingly like malevolent fairies. There is also a newcomer nearby: the tall, dark and sexy Jefferson, the handyman/author who lives with the old people. And there are "old friends": a repressed religious fanatic who maltreats his family (because his daughters, especially the beautiful eldest, are "vessels of iniquity" and fiction is "lies") and most horribly of all, Hermann, the suitable, dull, pompous guy that Ida spends the whole book trying to fix Laurie up with.

But Hermann is not the primary problem on Laurie's mind. She's heard and seen mysterious lights and sounds out in the woods. Then, Lizzie's photos are stolen, and someone tries to run Laurie down. She and Doug must unravel a bizarre mystery with roots back in their respectable family -- but can Laurie even trust Doug? Can she trust Jefferson? And what dark secrets lurk in the woods?

Most Elizabeth Peters novels are pretty clean; this one rises a bit further, including Doug's ridiculous porn book (no excerpts, just the cover art), incest jokes, an underage love affair, dark family secrets, etc. And there is a bit of a weird feeling when Doug's secret is revealed (and Laurie's reaction to it). We are also given outrage, in the form of the obsessively religious woman-hater. At the same time we are graced with humor that few books can rival: we get those hilarious interludes with Hermann and his heavy-handed flirtations, as well as his sister flashing her bosom in poor Doug's face.

Laurie is practically trademarked as an EP/BM character, strong and self-reliant, with a barbed wit and none of that swooning business. Doug and Jefferson are a bit harder to classify, as both are ambiguous in the trust area in different parts of the book; they do, however, possess characteristics of the usual EP/BM hero (wit, intelligence, deception, big flaws yet are lovable), making it even more difficult to tell. Old fashioned Aunt Ida and Uncle Ned are endearing in their quieter parts, while Aunt Lizzie may get on the readers' nerves occasionally, with her relentless fluttering and faked innocence.

Overall, a big thick fat book, that makes a perfect guilty pleasure. Read and enjoy.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Love Talker, September 17, 2003

By A Customer

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This review is from: The Love Talker (Mass Market Paperback)

Unlike some previous reviewers, I thoroughly loved this story. True, Aunt Lizzie is a bit "much," the romance a bit too low key, and a trio of spinster/bachelor siblings odd, but the weaving of Lizzie and Laurie's love of fairy tales into the plot is both delightful and chilling. The author keeps you guessing up until the very end, while building suspense and dread. Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels can always be depended on to deliver a good romantic and/or gothic mystery.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Kitschy Fairies Here - Scary and Absorbing, August 3, 2000

By 

"sologub" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Love Talker (Mass Market Paperback)

Don't be deceived by its pulpy-sounding title --- this is an intelligently written mystery. If you know the author's works written under the pen name Barbara Michaels, then you will know what I mean when I say that this novel reads more like a Barbara Michaels than an Elizabeth Peters. I've read it several times and it never loses its hold on me. The Love Talker has a particularly well-delineated cast of characters --- the old folks are especially appealing and believable. If you (like me) happen to be interested in fairy lore, so much the better. Peters' keen treatment of an often-misunderstood subject is sure to delight readers who share her abiding interest in eerie legends and those macabre fairy tales that scared us all as kids.