Customer Reviews

Shattered Silk (Windsor Selections)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Barbara Michaels is at her best in this enjoyable mystery, weaving together all the elements that have made her novels in both pseudonyms so very popular.

The book opens as Karen Nevitt arrives at her Georgetown uncle and aunt's house, as they are leaving on vacation. Karen has just been dumped by her husband of ten years, who is marrying his svelte, efficient, pretty teenage secretary. Karen, who is twenty nine, somewhat overweight, and has been stuck in a doormat routine for many years, feels ashamed to meet the friends (and former boyfriends) who are still in Georgetown. She tries to avoid her old boyfriend Mark (who warned her against marrying her husband), but ends up befriending his sister Cheryl.

She takes a small job looking after a friend's antique shop, but soon becomes sucked into the world of vintage clothing. A distant relative allows her to purchase an assortment of old valuable dresses, and soon old ladies are selling their dresses, veils, and slips to Karen. Soon she and Cheryl are starting their own business, with some very rare items. Additionally, Mark and a handsome cop are both becoming quite attentive.

But someone is after an item among Karen's newly-bought things. One of the crumpled old dresses hides more than mold and dust, a secret that someone is willing to kill to keep hidden.

This book is enjoyable on levels other than just a ripping good murder mystery. It also shows Karen's evolution from a dull housewife with low self-esteem and a stagnant marriage, to an independent woman with newly-found courage and a rising business. Her relationship with her husband starkly contrasts with Mark's, as one is mindless and unemotional and the other is smart and respectful. It can also be seen as Karen's evolution into a more assured person, as she learns to "fight back."

Karen and Cheryl are excellent foils for each other, with enough similarities to make then sisters in all but blood, but different enough that they are not redundant. Mark is vintage Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels: Funny, sweet, sexy, attractive, with just enough crabbiness to make him real. There are also the two socialites, snotty Shreve and dead-eyed Miriam. A couple of creepy widows. And, of course, the rotten little dog Alexander who takes a bite out of any available legs.

This is an immensely enjoyable book, one of my favorite mysteries. I strongly urge anyone to read it.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Barbara Michaels (aka Elizabeth Peters) is her ability to teach as she entertains. She's so sly about this, readers barely realize they are getting mini-lessons with each book. In the instance of "Shattered Silk" we learn about vintage clothing. And the lesson is so entertaining and interesting, we're more likely to soak up the info than if someone handed us a text reference. While Karen Nevitt is house-sitting for her aunt and uncle in Georgetown (and recooping from her broken marriage) she goes to work for an old not-quite-so- friendly friend at an antique shop. Her imagination comes to life in this setting, and knowing her aunt and her aunt's friends have a wealth of vintage clothing, begins to toss around the idea of establishing a shop of her own. And in the midst of acquiring merchandise, she also acquires something of unimaginable importance to someone, and this person will stop at nothing to get it back. The suspense keeps building to an unexpected ending, and with this cast of characters, you're never short on suspects. (On another note: if you've read Michael's "Ammie, Come Home" or "Stitches in Time" you'll recognize some familiar characters. Read "Ammie" the "Shattered" then "Stitches". And could it be that the young man from "Shattered" who goes with Mrs. Mac to Borneo be one of the main characters in "Stitches"?)

Barbara Michaels books are like peanuts, you can't stop once you start, but Shattered Silk is still the best. Michaels attention to detail when dealing with antique clothing just adds to the delightful story. However, the best element of this book is her character development. I was delighted to become reacquainted with some characters from previous books. It was like getting a letter from a friend I haven't heard from in a long time.

After reading the reviews here on Amazon, I was intrigued. I found many similarities between myself and with the author and her characters in the book and outside: The character is a small business owner in the vast DC-Land area. Looking for any area to settle and profit in, mentioning locations and suggestions was amazing. So was the story, by the way! I could so relate to the main character--Ms Michaels sounds like she put a lot of herself and her feelings and interests in this book. The story is about a woman who is dumped by her husband. What to do after being the dutiful wife for so many years? And why was she dumped? She explores the meaning of it all, and rather busily are explorations of friendship and respect, love and deliciously descriptive tales of old clothing. My grammar is horrible, but I hope you get the picture. Its good. Its great! I was very impressed. For those of you exploring similar "quality" Michaels, I suggest Vanish with the Rose, the Wizards Daughter, Buried in the Rain, the Dancing Floor. DO NOT trouble yourself with that new-ish one, the Other Worlds or whatever it is.

"Shattered Silk" is a belated sequel to Ammie, Come Home] which I loved. ("Ammie" was published, I believe, in 1968, and "Silk" is a decade or so later.) Several of the characters from that novel reappear in this one, as does the beautiful and elegant Georgetown town house where the first novel, a ghost story, took place.

While "Shattered Silk" doesn't measure up to the novel that precedes it, it is still an enjoyable book. Karen (whose sister Sara figures in "Ammie") is dumped unceremoniously by her stuffed-shirt, pompous professor husband (who plans to marry his 19 year old secretary!). She takes refuge with her aunt and uncle in Georgetown, and house sits for them when they leave on a trip to Borneo, meanwhile working for her rapacious "friend" Julie in local antique store. As Karen learns about the trade of selling vintage clothing, she is also learning not to be a victim or a doormat--probably more interesting than the simultaneous mystery of who it is who keeps breaking into her house, or why it's happening. Aided by the sister of her old flame Mark, she decides to open her own vintage clothing store. Karen's inevitable victory over her horrid husband Jack is very enjoyable, and her new romance, though absolutely predictable, is just as satisfying. Ms. Michaels must have mastered the arts of vintage clothing care; her research shows to advantage.

It's a pleasure to see some of the characters from "Ammie" again. Ms. Michaels must like them too--they, and some of the characters of this book appear in a third book, "Stitches in Time," written in the mid-90s.

I have read several of Michael's books but this is my favorite I can read or listen to it again and again. Pat Starr's voice has a way of transporting the reader.

I am always reading at least two books at one time, because I don't want a book I really love to end unless I'm in the middle of another book I like just as much. My OTHER book just sat there. I couldn't stop reading Shattered Silk.

I wasn't originally planning on finishing the book so this review wouldn't be written, but I forced myself, after all Barbara Michaels is one of my favorites but this time she truly produced a dud! It was surprising to see how many stars this book has and all of the praising reviews, and of course I know everyone has a different taste and they are allowed to like what suits them but I have enjoyed her other books - which had lukewarm reviews - that were so much better. This would be one Michaels book I read so far that I would never recommend.

The tale has a heroine - Karen, but unlike the other tales, this one is weak, yeah she grows some muscle though the story, but she is hard to like, the personality is old fashioned and truly hard to relate to, I work as a fashion designer and the clothing in this book was nice to read about - it was well researched but felt more like a stiff lesson filtered through all the chapters. I don't feel the need to give this much history and design information to make the book realistic, instead it felt a bit like filler that tried to make it legitimate, I would believe more in what she was doing with half the fashion info!

When Karen decides to leave her husband she has nowhere to go but her uncle and aunt's house in Washington. Luckily for her they are leaving on a trip, coincidentally another family member is going as well and leaves Karen all her designer gowns and countless trunks of treasures full of priceless garments. All this falls in poor Karen's lap, her large frame is often mentioned to make her look weak and ugly, instead it sounds irrelevant; if the heroine was slim then it would make her stronger? I don't see what some disgusting stereotype had to be applied for people to understand the message; instead it made me feel repulsed to author's tactics to develop the character. As she manages the shop and grow more independent form her nasty, cheating husband, she looses weight - very slowly of course, by skipping chocolate cake and eating salad every night, ha! - Then she grows some spunk and starts her own fashion boutique. She happens to purchase a garment that has some mystery attached to it and there are bad people trying to scare her and make her go crazy, is it her husband? Maybe a customer who knows the secrets of the silk or maybe the house is haunted after all; at the end I didn't care I just wanted to finish this dry, surprisingly boring story.

The characters felt as if they were modeled after dry cut out paper dolls, I didn't care for any of them, and Karen's friends were so sarcastic and nasty that I didn't believe she wouldn't stand up to herself and gotten some new ones. I didn't expect her to go Conan the Barbarian on them, I would but please, reading two hundred pages about her being pushed around by Shreve and others was torture!

This was one, boring, parched of feeling book, I will always be a fan of Barbara Michaels and her books but this one is very, very bad. I know it happens, so I simply move on - it certainly doesn't stop me from enjoying her again. My next read of hers is "The Crying Child" and I am really looking forward to it. This author is capable of some wonderful stories and had great ideas, her power of creating love and romance, mystery and creeps is deep and profound, I simply didn't see any of it here, but it's in many of her books.

Love you Barbara, sorry for this review but I think a critique can only help a prodigy such as yourself.

- Kasia S.

This book was as superior as it was intriguing. I adored all the main characters even including that of Alexander, the hideous, ill-natured little dog that had a passion for biting people. And I must confess that I immediately fell in love with that strong willpower of Karen's from the instant I began to know that it existed. I must admit that I have recognized that one of Barbara Michaels' most profound writing attributes, is her ability to keep the suspense mounting until an abrupt, action-filled resolution is revealed. I enjoy that technique enormously.

I have listened to the unabridged audio version read by Pat Starr at least 20 times. I love the way each time I get sucked into the world of vintage clothing, the characters and their problems and just in general the air of excitement and intrigue. This is one of the best books that I have ever "read" Storytelling at its best.