Camilla soon discovers that Simon is in Delphi to lay to rest the ghost of his brother Michael, who passed away there during World War II. But what Simon thought was an honorable death in battle turns out to be murder. Soon the two are uncovering the truth of Michael’s death and they discover that Michael’s killer could still be around. Over the baking rocks and ruins of ancient Delphi and into the cool caves that litter the hills Simon and Camilla slowly uncover the long buried truth.
Written in 1959, My Brother Michael gives you such a feel for the era. Our customs and attitudes towards the opposite sex have changed enough that reading the novel would come across as dated to a younger person. The idea that a man should look after a woman, even if it’s only a girl he happened to have met that afternoon, really comes across throughout the book.
Camilla is never left to fend for herself, nor is she expected to. She is offered cigarettes and a light, while climbing over rough ground Simon is there to hold her elbow and make sure she doesn’t fall, and apples are peeled for her. The issue of a car she didn’t rent in Simon’s name is something that he automatically takes on because that’s what a gentleman does. Not that Camilla couldn’t do these things for herself, that is never the issue - it’s the fact that Simon and the other men throughout the book feel that those things should be handled for her.
My only complaint about this reissue of My Brother Michael is that there were a few typos. It’s not anything big and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the novel but having read different issues before I did pick up on them. This, however, shouldn't deter you from picking up a copy of one of the best romantic suspense novels ever written.
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