I've just finished Unquiet Spirits by K.M.Peyton, as mentioned by LadyA upthread.
Mixed feelings about it, tbh - I don't think the first person voice works as well as her third person books (not quite convincingly teen), and I didn't quite buy a lot of the detail that the plot hung on (these teenagers making huge progress restoring a historic house, including opening a restaurant there, while the artist mother casually 'restores' some 16th c bedcurtains, which would actually be ridiculously valuable if they had really survived that long, with none of the planning permission and Listed Building Consent wrangling that you get in reality....). I know teenage readers aren't going to be picky about this stuff, but IMO one of the best things about Peyton is that when she writes about sailing, horses, etc, she really knows her stuff, and it's a pity not to have that.
That said, all the important stuff is spot on - beautiful, atmospheric writing, really warmly-written and interesting characters, and actually, I think pulling off a modern relationship/ghost relationship parallel is really hard to do and she does it very successfully.
Now to read more Peyton, now her backlist has appeared on Kindle!
I totally agree with you about the issues/successes of UNQUIET SPIRITS. With KMP, though, she's a good enough writer that even her weaker works are still strong, IMO.
US had a pretty slow start, I found, a bit dull, but once Simon arrived things quickly improved
What I like about KMP's books is how well she writes characters and relationships (plus I love her prose). Her third-person books are better, though, perhaps because she was a little closer to the teenage experience in the 1960s and 1970s (In her 20s/30s as opposed to being in her 70s).
But I will always love the Ruth/Jonathan/Patrick/Peter books the best. My least favourites are actually her most popular - FLAMBARDS was a dnf, left me cold!
Finished K.M.Peyton's 'The Last Ditch' (1984). It was very good, classic Peyton, both the emotional side and exciting side of the story very well told. (Though having read the previous two in the series I was expecting a little more peril.)
And back to her usual third person style, perfect match between her style and the educated, introspective character we're following. Really reminded me why she was such a major YA writer back then.
I liked this one, but it wasn't quite up to the standard of previous 'Maybridge' books I didn't think. I think she enjoyed torturing poor Jonathan (so far, he's broken an arm, been kidnapped, shot, nearly drowned, nearly been murdered, been tricked into fathering a child...). I enjoyed it, but I did think 'oh, again'? when the MC ran away. So many of Peyton's MC's tend to be flighty, running away and screwing up exams etc at a moment's notice. But I loved that Jonathan was back with Peter again, and back with horses.
My favourite passage from any Peyton book would have to be the bit in PROVE YOURSELF A HERO when Jonathan is sailing the boat at night (you've read it, I seem to remember?). That was so beautiful and powerful, and I was so sad for him
She deserves her MBE!
/fangirling...
ETA: SpinningWheel, if you're still in the mood for some KMP, I recommend THE WILD BOY AND QUEEN MOON. It skews towards younger YA, and it's very horsy, but her descriptions are lovely as usual, and the MC's feelings about her brother were very real and worked well. Although perhaps the reason I liked it was because I was expecting a big LGBTQ twist at the end (I don't know why, it's KM Peyton) and got all excited. Then I felt a bit let down when there wasn't one.