A review by sistermagpie
The Crying Child by Barbara Michaels
3.0
Another fun Barbara Michaels ghost story, this one set in a creepy house in Maine full of towers that look out on the sea. Somewhere a baby's crying, calling Mary, who recently had a miscarriage, out to care for it. Her husband, Ran (talk about a romance hero name!) calls her sister, Jo, back to help her and the family sets out to solve the mystery along with the oh-so-New England couple who helps out at the house, Ran's best friend Will and a pantsuit-wearing glamorpuss psychiatrist.
As with the other Barbara Michaels I read, the book's almost more notable for the late 60s/early 70s amosphere than the spooky one. Jo is young and hip, arguing with her older sister about listening to the Beatles (who her sister insists on calling "The Insects"). Will has to get over his sexism to get together with Jo, though frankly he never seems to get over it as far as I can see. Early on he diagnoses Mary as suffering simply from being spoiled and petulant, having never had to deal with stress, despite the fact that Mary was orphaned young, raised a younger sister and has had several miscarriages. I was a little disappointed at the way none of the characters ever brought Mary into the mystery solving. As sexist as Will's dismissals are, I couldn't see why everyone else agreed that Mary ought to be treated like an invalid just because she was most vulnerable to the ghosts.
Jo herself has to get over her crush on older sister's handsome, sexy husband that she's been coveting since puberty--which I suspect was pretty daring at the time the book was written! In fact, the roles of women are obviously a central subject for the author, as one of the ghosts that haunt the house was also the victim of a misogynist society.
As with the other Barbara Michaels I read, the book's almost more notable for the late 60s/early 70s amosphere than the spooky one. Jo is young and hip, arguing with her older sister about listening to the Beatles (who her sister insists on calling "The Insects"). Will has to get over his sexism to get together with Jo, though frankly he never seems to get over it as far as I can see. Early on he diagnoses Mary as suffering simply from being spoiled and petulant, having never had to deal with stress, despite the fact that Mary was orphaned young, raised a younger sister and has had several miscarriages. I was a little disappointed at the way none of the characters ever brought Mary into the mystery solving. As sexist as Will's dismissals are, I couldn't see why everyone else agreed that Mary ought to be treated like an invalid just because she was most vulnerable to the ghosts.
Jo herself has to get over her crush on older sister's handsome, sexy husband that she's been coveting since puberty--which I suspect was pretty daring at the time the book was written! In fact, the roles of women are obviously a central subject for the author, as one of the ghosts that haunt the house was also the victim of a misogynist society.