The Master of Blacktower [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

Meeting the sinister and disfigured Gavin Hamilton, Demaris Gordon is horrified when she realizes that she has no choice but to accept employment from him despite her fears about the accidents that have plagued members of his family. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A disfigured man who rules an isolated Scottish estate gains a worker who wonders about the truth surrounding his wife's death in this engrossing blend of romance and gothic mystery. The suspense is well done in a fine story line with plenty of unpredictable twists and turns. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Elizabeth Peters (writing as Barbara Michaels) was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grandmaster at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986, Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar® Awards in 1998, and given The Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic in 2003. She lives in an historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

--This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425149412
• ISBN-13: 978-0425149416
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,699,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All in all, I Love this Book, August 31, 2003

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Master of Blacktower (Mass Market Paperback)

I know that Barbara Michaels (Elizabeth Peters) has written much better books since. But I was young and impressionable when I read it and it stood miles above the average paperback gothic of the period.

The beginning is similar to that of Crocodile on the Sandbank, the book that later began her Amelia Peabody Emerson series. Her scholarly father dead, the heroine is setting out to make her own way in the world. However Master of Blacktower runs a more traditional course with a scarred employer whose reputation is not of the best, a remote Medieval pile in Scotland, not to mention, a missing (dead?) wife, sinister retainers and a mentally disturbed child (what happened to all of those traumatized children when they grew up?). However Michaels' irrepressible humor shines through at times. The predictable plot takes some nice twists and turns. The climax in a dangerous snowy landscape is nicely done.

All in all-- not to be sneezed at.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tale of fire and ice, August 27, 2007

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Master of Blacktower (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been familiar with Elizabeth Peters and her Egyptian mysteries, but I would have never guess that the woman can write some great stories under a pen name and live a double life of success! Master of Blacktower is cited to be a Gothic thriller but there is so much more to it than heavy, opulent furniture, gowns and language. Set in 1850's this tale is full of old fashioned virtues and the main heroine's way of breaking them.

This is a tale reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast as another reviewer has said, where Damaris who has lost her father at a young age has decided to work as a librarian for Sir Gavin Hamilton. He a brute and barbarian with scars and wild hair who occupied a half demolished castle in Scotland and she a young and quite feisty female who wouldn't dream of living the low standard of having to marry and have as much voice as a piece of furniture in those times. She gave me quite a few chuckles but the real beauty was in the smooth flow of the story and the mysterious past that had Mr. Hamilton tangled up in and the reason for his acting in such a dark, haunted way.

The mysterious disappearance and gossip about his missing wife, his crippled arrogant daughter, a castle with a black tower and full of distrustful servants were just a few of the main elements. The reader is taken on a journey of discovery and truth that has finally shone at the cold Scottish stones with the arrival of young Damaris. There were quite a few twists and turns and a lot of actions, I found myself totally enjoying this tale, reading for the entire lazy Sunday and wishing I had more of Mrs. Michael's books around. I adored the old fashioned way in which people dressesd and the hilarious way men told women what to do, what was even better was their discord when females had enough and got their way in most cases. I am sure glad I live in different times because with my snarly distaste for dictatorship I would have angered many men.

This is a fun, fast read that leaves the reader feeling happy, full to the brim with love, angst and battles against surprising foes and ready for another tale such as this one. I mainly prefer horror, books about werewolves and psychos and this is probably considered to be fictional fluff but boy o boy I adored it, more please! As far as I'm concerned Barbara Michaels can spoon feed me her stories I think I will enjoy them all.

- Kasia S.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THis Barbara Michaels at her best!, April 8, 1999

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[e-mail] (Metro Detroit) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Master of Blacktower (Mass Market Paperback)

This story is Barbara Michaels at her best. The story moves along fast and keeps you wanting more, you never suspect what the out come will be. There are many plot twists that will surprise even the most avid Michaels fans. This is one of my favorites.