Devil May Care

By Elizabeth Peters

A classic mystery tale from prolific New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Peters.

Ellie is young, rich, engaged and in love. These are the carefree days before marriage and new responsibility, and anything goes -- including house-sitting at eccentric Aunt Kate's palatial estate in Burton, Virginia. Ellie feels right at home here with the nearly invisible housekeepers and the plethora of pets, but she soon realizes that there are disturbing secrets about the local aristocracy buried in a dusty old book she has carried into the mansion. And her sudden interest in the past is attracting a slew of unwelcome guests -- some of them living and some, perhaps not. And the terrible vengeance that Ellie and her friends seem to have aroused -- now aimed at them -- surely cannot be...satanic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061834141

Elizabeth Peters

Elizabeth Peters earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago’s famed Oriental Institute. During her fifty-year career, she wrote more than seventy novels and three nonfiction books on Egypt. She received numerous writing awards and, in 2012, was given the first Amelia Peabody Award, created in her honor. She died in 2013, leaving a partially completed manuscript of The Painted Queen.

Reviews for Devil May Care

[roses7184_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, the good news is that this book was much better than I originally thought it would be! In my history of reading, never have I met a more obnoxious windbag than Henry Willoughby. Luckily, he turned out not to be the main protagonist of this story, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have given on up on this. As soon as the point of view shifted solely to Ellie, I was much happier. Her upbeat attitude, and devil may care way of handling things, really pulled me in. Ellie was fun to follow, and this story ended up flying by once I settled in.

Now, the thing about Devil May Care is that it's a bit all over the place and doesn't care so much about backstory. See, Ellie is watching her grandmother Kate's large and rambling manor. How she got this manor, I am not certain. There's quite a few references to the fact that she has copious amounts of money though, so I suppose that's all the explanation that is needed. Unfortunately for Ellie, she comes upon a mysterious object, and lands smack dab in the middle of a ghostly adventure. Heavy emphasis on the mystery portion, lighter emphasis on the ghosts. The book tries valiantly to lay some groundwork around this mystery, but it doesn't quite get there. Which, sadly, knocks the tension and excitement down a bit.

I think what I really was a bit disappointed by, was that there wasn't more supernatural action in this story. Especially because the portions that mention the apparitions were wonderful! No, this book is, at its very core, a mystery story. There is a bit of humor, some romance, and a few quirky characters. All of that isn't able to mask the fact that this whole mystery just doesn't have all that much depth to it. The good news is that it makes Devil May Care a really easy read and, like I mentioned above, it flies by. It's just not as complex, or as supernatural, as I hoped it would be.

Points to Kate's home though for being utterly charming, as well as filled with all manner of pets. Every time the book mentioned her many cats, dogs, horses, and even her pet rat, I couldn't help but smile. I mean, after all, if you're going to live in a rambling manor, why not fill it with pets? I definitely would.

[JudithSimmons · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good reàd!

[victorianrose869 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

March, 2002Devil May CareElizabeth PetersGREAT book. After the stress of losing the house, this was exactly what I needed. It was perfect, absolutely perfect. Exactly the kind of book I need to get me through the days and give me a warm, happy feeling. Ellie is the young, female protagonist (as always), who goes to house-sit at her eccentric Aunt Kate’s Virginia mansion (Aunt Kate is a thinly disguised Barbara Mertz herself), full of cats and dogs and just maybe a few ghosts. From Amazon: “Ellie feels right at home here with the nearly invisible housekeepers and the plethora of pets, but she soon realizes that there are disturbing secrets about the local aristocracy buried in a dusty old book she has carried into the mansion. And her sudden interest in the past is attracting a slew of unwelcome guests -- some of them living and some, perhaps not. And the terrible vengeance that Ellie and her friends seem to have aroused -- now aimed at them -- surely cannot be...satanic.”As is usually the case with Peters' books, I was sorry to see it end. I’ll have to read it again soon.

[lquilter_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite comfort reads. A fun light plot (mystery with a tough of supernatural), quirky characters (not the protagonist, though, who is not much more than a viewpoint), both good and bad, snappy dialog, lots of cozy details and certain richly detailed and memorable depictions of places and people. Aunt Kate's "workroom" has lived with me as my ideal space: large, cluttered, filled with many hobbies started & -- not abandoned, but temporarily set aside ....

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of Elizabeth Peters' stand-alone novels, and one of two I found at a book sale and brought home with me. I really like EP's Jacqueline Kirby and Vicky Bliss series' so why not her stand-alones? Devil May Care was a fun read; nothing taxing, or deep, but entertaining. The plot itself was a little...well...loose. The blurb is almost outright wrong, but: Ellie is young, rich, engaged and in love. These are the carefree days before marriage and new responsibility, and anything goes -- including house-sitting at eccentric Aunt Kate's palatial estate in Burton, Virginia. Ellie feels right at home here with the nearly invisible housekeepers and the plethora of pets, but she soon realizes that there are disturbing secrets about the local aristocracy buried in a dusty old book she has carried into the mansion. And her sudden interest in the past is attracting a slew of unwelcome guests -- some of them living and some, perhaps not. And the terrible vegeance that Ellie and her friends seem to have aroused -- now aimed at them -- surely cannot be...satanic. First, I don't think Ellie is rich, yet. No information about her past or present circumstances is given beyond that she's engaged and she's heir to her Aunt's fortune. Second, I'm pretty sure she's not in love; it's pretty clear from the first scene on the first page that the bloom is off that rose, so to speak. The "dusty old book" is accurate - but it's the books mere presence that sparks everything - not any interest Ellie has in the past. Which is good, because she doesn't really show any interest in the past. I'm not actually sure she has an interest in anything. Ellie is a likeable MC, but only in that way you meet someone and they just strike you as likeable and friendly. The reader never gets a chance to know Ellie at all, but she isn't a special snowflake or TSTL; she is independent, loves animals and gives lip when necessary. No matter - the story was still a good time. Ms. Peters is excellent with dialogue and she's an ace at drawing characters with few words. Her setting was also equally well done; she adds a touch of gothic here and there, and I think this book might have been meant as a tip-of-the-hat to gothic ghost stories, but it just never quite got there. I think Summer of the Dragon was a stronger story, but I'm not sorry I read this one at all - I'll pick it up now and again when I'm looking for something fun.

[susanamper · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

(orig. published in 1977) Ellie and Henry are young, and engaged. When Ellie’s eccentric Aunt Kate asks her to house-sit at housein Burton, Virginia, Ellie is happy to oblige. She feels right at home there with the nearly invisible housekeepers and the plethora of pets, but conventional Henry finds Aunt Kate and her lifestyle a little hard to take. After he leaves, Ellie realizes that there are disturbing secrets about the local aristocracy buried in a dusty old book she has carried into the mansion, and her sudden interest in the past is attracting a slew of unwelcome guests—some of them living . . . and some, perhaps, not. But there are no such things as ghosts, are there? Not one of the best entries by Elizabeth Peters.

[aharey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ellie goes to house-sit for her aunt. What she ends up getting is a bunch of scary encounters with ancestors of the six major families of the area. Her fiance, Henry, is no help, but the doctor's son, Donald is.