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    The Dancing Floor
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    The Dancing Floor
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    The Dancing Floor
    Ebook393 pages6 hours

    The Dancing Floor

    By Barbara Michaels

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    For years, Heather Tradescant had dreamed of the journey she and her father would take to England--a pilgrimage to the great gardens of history.Now that her father is dead, Heather is determined to fulfill his dreams. Unfortunately, her request to see the fabled 17th-century garden of Troytan House is denied by the owner. Though unwelcome, she braves the walls of briars and reaches the Victorian manor house beyond. She senses a strange mission of evil lurking, tainting the manor's peaceful beauty. Only then does Heather begin to wonder whether it is only stories of long-vanished witchcraft that haunt Troytan House or whether there is some more modern horror, hearer at hand, and far, far more dangerous.

    Continuing in the classic tradition she established with such acclaimed novels of suspense as Stitches in Time, Vanish with the Rose, and House of Stone, New York Times bestselling author Barbara Michaels has penned a chilling tale that will keep you reading until the last page.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 20, 2009
    ISBN9780061967924
    Author

    Barbara Michaels

    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.

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    Reviews for The Dancing Floor

    4.5/5

    8 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Dancing Floor is the last Gothic novel Barbara Mertz wrote as Barbara Michaels. I think her Amelia Peabody mysteries as Elizabeth Peters had exploded in popularity to the point that the series had to be her main focus.The Dancing Floor is a stand alone — a most of the Barbara Michaels books are. Heather Tradescant had been planning to travel to England to see historic gardens with her father, but his death has forced her to go alone.Heather has arrived in the village to see the famous Troytan house, only to have a fender-bender, nearly hit a child, and nearly meet her own death in a briar patch. These events give her entry into the Troytan house and she becomes their reluctant guest.Tied up with the history of the garden is a long tale of village witchcraft. Though not a believer in such things, Heather continues to have strange experiences. some of which could be explained by the supernatural if one was so inclined.I listened to this book as read by Barbara Rosenblat. I think if I had been read it in print, I would have skipped some of the sections. As much as I consider myself a fan of Mertz's books, there is a certain sameness to her plots and characters.This book is a distillation of her themes, characters and tropes. It has another somewhat naive woman, a house with a dark history, a family who wants to help but seems to invite danger, some sort of paranormal threat, and someone completely off the rails.
    • 5/5
      Gardening in a Gothic romance -- what's not to like? I enjoyed this book because so much is plausible; the heroine had a good reason for being at the mansion and there was a reason for her staying there. There were almost too many men for the heroine to choose from. I didn't see the ending at all, although there were clues in hindsight. If I had one complaint, it was that the ending felt rushed a bit. If you like Gothics, this should be on your list.
    • 4/5
      Heather Tradescant is making a memorial tour of English gardens - a trip she and her father had long planned. Her determination to see one particular forbidden garden takes her through the heart of a maze and into a mystery studded with witches, witches familiars, superstition, and classical mythology. Although I've read this book several times, I never seem to be able to recall the ending. Which I guess is a good thing, as I can continue to enjoy it.
    • 5/5
      This was my first Michaels book and i really liked it. Actually its been my favorite Michaels book so far.
    • 4/5
      Pretty good, a bit predictable. All of Michael's books create wonderful atmosphere and this was no exception. I am so sorry she is gone. What a remarkable writer.
    • 4/5
      I'm beginning to realise how far Barbara Michaels' later work departs from her earlier, more simplistic, romantic suspense novels. Once again, The Dancing Floor is not at all what I expected it to be given my earlier experiences with Ammie, Come Home and Sons of the Wolf. Though having said that, this isn't much different in some ways, just a more sophisticated version. The MC, Heather, is following the English garden tour itinerary her late father had meticulously planned with her before his untimely death. The trip culminates in a visit to a private estate with one of the few original, unaltered gardens in existence. When she's rebuffed at the gate, she sneaks in the back, scaring herself stupid and getting caught in the process. The owner is an eccentric old man who decides fate has brought her there and convinces her to stay on to help him restore the gardens. This is all set in an English village related to the Pendle Witch trials, so there's a lot of superstitions and possible paranormal activity going on, and then a boy goes missing. It's a good story, and I always enjoy the banter between Michaels' characters, but there are a lot of unanswered questions too. Heather's obviously got a lot of mother issues, but they're never explained. Neither are her nightmares. And the title of the book does not play into the plot at all. The Dancing Floor is mentioned 3 or 4 times in the book as another mystical location, but that's it. Michaels decides to put the suspense in the romance in this book; she's got so many men making passes at Heather (a 'husky' MC whose love of eating is a constant source of one-liners - in a good natured way - throughout the story) and it's not until the very end that anyone is declared the love interest. And I do mean the end, as in the last 3 pages. Not one of her greatest, but a fun book nonetheless. I read this as my final wild card selection in Halloween Bingo. I'm using it for the Fear the Drowning Deep square.