Brief Thoughts: Be Buried in the Rain

Be Buried in the Rain

by Barbara Michaels

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.5 Stars

There are terrible secrets from generations past buried at Maidenwood.  Medical student Julie Newcomb has returned to her family's decaying plantation—the site of so many painful childhood memories—to tend to her tyrannical grandmother, felled by a stroke.  The fire of malevolence still burns in the cruel, despotic matriarch's eyes—yet, for Julie, a faint spark of redemption and second chances flickers in this hated, haunted place.  But her hope—and her life—are seriously threatened by a nightmare reborn . . . and by the grim discovery on the lonely road to Maidenwood of the earth-browned skeletons of a mother and child.

This was a very enjoyable Gothic Romance, and I found I liked this one more than the first Barbara Michaels book I read, Ammie, Come Home (link to my review).  Considering the fact that Be Buried in the Rain was written almost two decades after Ammie, Come Home, some of the actions and instances were a bit more easy to relate to for me.  On top of that, I liked the inclusion of archaeological elements at play in the somewhat mystery behind this book's story line.  I had been told by a friend that the author is actually an expert in this particular field with a degree, so we know the material presented in the book is solid.

To be honest, one of the only complaints I had about Be Buried in the Rain was the fact that, for a good twenty to thirty percent of the book, I really wasn't quite sure I knew what was going on; and that the main love interest, Alan Petranek was kind of an asshole.  Certainly the "Main Male Love Interest Is Kind of An Asshole" trope isn't uncommon in any kind of romance, specifically the Gothic Romance--particularly during earlier times and even so during present day.  But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book overall.  The characters, especially our main character, Julie, grow on you over time.  I would have liked for there to have been more supernatural elements, but the atmosphere and Julie's own overactive imagination seems to set the dark mood of the story quite well without the addition of deliberate ghostly happenings.

Finally, Elvis, the stray hound that Julie takes in is certainly an added bonus.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• 2016 Halloween Bingo