I'm now re-reading a Barbara Michaels, Sons of the Wolf. I last read this one 7 years ago, in 1995, so I don't really remember it much. It's one of the very few BMs I haven't reread 4 or 5 times already.
Plot summary:
Ada and Harriet had never met anyone like their new guardian, Mr. Wolfson, and his two mysterious sons, Julian and Francis. But Harriet soon discovered that evil ran rampant through Abbey Manor and the surrounding moors--especially in the moonlight.Posted later...
I finished Sons of the Wolf and I'm not too impressed. I can certainly see why I never felt moved to reread it all these years. It's good, but it's not among BM's best... a B-.
My problem was basically that it was all so obvious. The moment Francis was mentioned, I knew he was going to be the good guy... ergo, Julian would be the villain. But then, I've read and reread my BMs so many times, of course I'm now able to predict her plots. My other problem was with Harriet. She was a bit of a prejudicious prig at times, IMO. Yeah, yeah, historically accurate, blah, blah, blah, I still don't like that. She gets better, though. The ending... hmm. Yeah, it's a HEA, but it was a little unsatisfying.
Oh, and the second will thingie was really stupid. Why would the evil grannie keep the second will hidden for 6 months? I mean, Harriet was supposed to receive it before things were completely settled with Ada, and keep it under wraps until they were. So, it doesn't make sense for her Grandmother to trust her to do this 6 months after her death but not 2 days after it.
I very much enjoyed the gothic feeling in this book, but I would have liked more supernatural stuff. The warewolf thing never gets developed, and the dogs weren't too scary.