It was a review at Radish Reviews that made me pick this one up for a reread. This and the trilogy it's part of have always been amongst my favourite Barbara Michaels books, and ones I've reread again and again. Clearly not in the last 10 years, though, as I was surprised to find I haven't reviewed them here. Time to rectify that oversight! (Seriously, though, I could have sworn I reread Ammie Come Home not that long ago... oh, well).Anyway, enough waffling, and on to the review. Shattered Silk takes us back to Georgetown and Ruth Bennett (now MacDougal)'s house, where the haunting/possession in Ammie Come Home took place, but tells a story with no paranormal elements. Our main character is Karen, whose older sister was the main subject of those earlier events some (I'm guessing) 15 years earlier. Just like Sara, Karen went to live with her aunt Ruth while going to uni and met her future husband there. Unlike Sara, however, she made a really crappy choice, and ended up married to a right bastard. Jack's a university professor whose MO seems to be to get himself a young, bright and pretty undergrad, marry her and use her as unpaid labour to further his career, and then change her for a newer model as soon as she's not that dewy.After 10 years, Karen's been traded in for the new model, and not knowing where to go, she's licking her wounds at Ruth and Patrick's house. She doesn't have much money, no marketable skills (she thinks), she's overweight and her confidence is generally shot to hell. It doesn't help that she's taken a part-time job helping out at an old friend's antique shop, and that this "friend" is a real piece of work who seems to delight in tormenting her.It is while working there, however, that she comes up with a plan. Ruth has lots and lots of really well preserved vintage clothing. So does her mother-in-law, who used to be a legendary socialite in Georgetown, and both are happy for Karen to do whatever she wants with it. Her friend assumes she'll be the one to sell them, but what if, Karen wonders, she just set up shop herself?The story follows Karen as she gets on her feet and starts the process to set up her shop. Along the way, she develops more and more confidence and learns to stand up to people again. I loved seeing that, and I loved that Karen also makes a very good female friend. cheryl is the sister of the guy Karen dumped for her husband all those years ago, and a widow still grieving for her late husband. In her own way, she's just as diffident as Karen, only in her case it's mostly about her lack of education. It's a supportive, healthy relationship between the two women, and I really enjoyed seeing them click and become stronger individually through it.In addition to this there's a bit of romance (subtle, but definitely there), and a bit of a mystery, as someone seems determined to find something in Ruth and Patrick's house, and Karen and Co. suspect it might have something to do with her increasing stock of vintage clothing. I love how Michaels often has a group of friends acting as a team to solve the mystery (even if they themselves don't realise that they're a team!), and this one (Karen, Cheryl, Cheryl's brother Mark and his cop friend Tony) was great fun. The mystery itself is interesting, as well, and so is all the stuff about the vintage clothing. Some of those pieces sounded truly gorgeous.Something else I enjoy with Michaels is her writing. I used to think it was a bit too oblique, as she hints at things, and tends to let you draw your own conclusions. It used to annoy me a bit years ago, but I've loved it every time I've read one of her books recently. She trusts her readers to get it and to be paying attention, and that's great.As you'll see above, Shattered Silk was written in 1986, so just a couple of years before the Peter Robinson I reviewed a couple of days ago and so despised because of its dated sexual politics. This one has dated elements as well, but I was perfectly happy with it. The world Michaels was writing in might have been sexist, but she never was, and there are always plenty of strong feminist elements in her books. That's precisely why she became such a favourite when I started reading grow-up books. It was refreshing.MY GRADE: A very strong B+.
This is the first Barbara Michaels book I've read and I enjoyed it. Michaels does a very good job creating suspense and uncertainty about who's who and what's really going on.At first I was a bit annoyed with main character Karen, because she appeared to be a wimpy dish-rag who was willing to let people walk all over her. But she very quickly gets her gumption back and starts to build a new life for herself, having left her jerk of a husband and moved back to Washington where she has friends and family to help her get going. Karen sort of falls into starting a new business selling vintage clothes thanks to some rather eccentric friends willing to sell her their old and valuable clothes. She even has two men in the equation, either one of whom could be "the" guy for her.But things are not all good. There are incidents of vandalism in the home of Karen's Aunt which she is house-sitting in while she gets her clothing business off the ground. There are also intruders breaking into the house. But it seems nothing is actually taken in these incidents, so what are the bad guys after??? Well, you'd have to read the book to get THAT answer!The characters in this book are colourful and likeable, the story is interesting and exciting, and the potential for romance adds a nice spice to the other things that are going on. This was a fast, easy read but very enjoyable.”
What do You think about Shattered Silk (1999)?
“Shattered Silk” is so minutely related to “Ammie, Come Home”, even I admit you could read it as is. It isn’t at all paranormal either but I was enthralled from stem to stern. I wouldn't give the mystery portion five stars. It’s spread thinly across too many red herrings. Snippets that come to light do so at the tail end; none a reader could deduce. A dart of suspicion might strike the right cast member but no reader knows the faraway back history giving a motive. A sinister tone might have been successfully introduced, if less staggered hints had been dropped much earlier. However in this story, that didn't matter to me. This is one mystery, less important than the new characters that are established.Barbara Michaels weaves our acquaintance of them so splendidly, so captivatingly; that the mystery really is a fly, occasionally irritating the ointment of their plans. The story of a cheated young wife, willingly accepting aid from family and dreaming up her own business idea; her friendship with Cheryl and their interaction with two male peers.... This in itself is a story that was made so enthralling, interest never wavering on any page; that I have to acknowledge five-star feedback. If you enjoy a book so much that you find no place to pause and only force yourself to do so, for sleep; that is the most meaningful gauge of quality there is!I cared about Karen, Cheryl, Tony, and Mark every inch of the way and took interest in the antique textile enthusiasm too, which has never been my bag. These people and their hopes were mattered and are immediately endeared to us. Barbara even had me caring for that bold dog. It was also a delight to visit Ruth, Pat, and his Mom again.
—C.
I bought this book on cassette tapes a few years ago, and finally got around to listening to it. It started a little slowly. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the antique clothing. I was really getting into it at the point Karen is confronted by the murderer, and then the very last tape jammed. I was able to put the one copy the library has of this book, on hold. I found I only had twenty pages to read. The ending was exciting, and I'm glad I was able to find another copy of it to allow me to finish reading it.
—Nancy
A very gentle suspense involving a recently divorced woman who is attempting to open her own vintage clothes/linens store while battling her weight, her poor self esteem and mysterious happenings.I was surprised that this book was published and set in the late 80s, to me the characters acted more like they were from an earlier era. The details about the linens and dresses were interesting, but I never really felt a connection with the lead female characters who had incredibly volatile emotions and were somewhat unbelievable and I really never cared whodunit.
—Mary
