Download or read book Lady Helena Investigates written by Jane Steen and published by Aspidistra Press. This book was released on 2018-03-14 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reluctant lady sleuth finds she's investigating her own family. 1881, Sussex. With a drowned husband—the second love lost—an overbearing family, no longed-for child, and the responsibility of a huge baroque mansion, it's not surprising Lady Helena Whitcombe is overwhelmed. When attractive, mysterious, French physician Armand Fortier disturbs her first weeks of mourning with his theory of murder, Helena's reluctant and ineffective attempts at investigation are hardly life-changing—until the resulting revival in her long-abandoned herbalist studies bring her into confrontation with her past and her family's. Can Lady Helena survive bereavement the second time around? Can she stand up to her six siblings' assumption of the right to control her new life as a widow? And what role will Fortier—who, as a physician, is a most unsuitable companion for an earl's daughter—play in her investigations? Every family has its secrets. The Scott-De Quincy family has more than most.

Download or read book Lady Helena Investigates written by Jane Steen and published by Scott-De Quincy Mysteries. This book was released on 2022-05-16 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reluctant lady sleuth finds she's investigating her own family. 1881, Sussex. With a drowned husband-the second love lost-an overbearing family, no longed-for child, and the responsibility of a huge baroque mansion, it's not surprising Lady Helena Whitcombe is overwhelmed. When attractive, mysterious, French physician Armand Fortier disturbs her first weeks of mourning with his theory of murder, Helena's reluctant and ineffective attempts at investigation are hardly life-changing-until the resulting revival in her long-abandoned herbalist studies bring her into confrontation with her past and her family's. Can Lady Helena survive bereavement the second time around? Can she stand up to her six siblings' assumption of the right to control her new life as a widow? And what role will Fortier-who, as a physician, is a most unsuitable companion for an earl's daughter-play in her investigations? Every family has its secrets. The Scott-De Quincy family has more than most.

Download or read book The House of Closed Doors written by Jane Steen and published by Aspidistra Press. This book was released on 2012-10-08 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heedless. Stubborn. Disgraced. Small town Illinois, 1870: "My stepfather was not particularly fond of me to begin with, and now that he'd found out about the baby, he was foaming at the mouth" Desperate to avoid marriage, Nell Lillington refuses to divulge the name of her child's father and accepts her stepfather's decision that the baby be born at a Poor Farm and discreetly adopted. Until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out. Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and rethinks her decision to abandon her own child to fate. But even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby she may have no safe place to run to.

Download or read book Eternal Deception written by Jane Steen and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-15 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW BEGINNING THREATENS TO END IN DISASTER The Kansas plains offer Nell a chance to support her small family and bring Sarah up away from the prying eyes that might discover her illegitimate birth. But when her only ally among the seminary's leaders dies, Nell finds herself at the mercy of people she doesn't entirely trust-and she's not in a position to escape. As her talent as a dressmaker improves her fortunes, Nell attracts the attention of two suitors and struggles with the problem of reconciling love, independence, and respectability for her daughter's sake. Shocking news from back home and another death at the seminary force a decision. A disastrous winter journey, a treacherous game, and an impossible love could wrest control of Nell's life out of her hands for good.

Download or read book Lady Odelia s Secret written by Jane Steen and published by Aspidistra Press. This book was released on 2022-03-07 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you ever really know your family? In the 1880s a sixth daughter learns not to ask for much, even if she’s the daughter of an earl. Even if she married the richest man in her corner of Sussex. Even if she’s now a widow with a splendid Georgian mansion. Lady Helena Whitcombe is still trying to adjust to widowhood and reconcile her family loyalties with her desires when her artist sister Odelia makes a startling suggestion. Why not make her mark on the house that’s now all hers, by commissioning a magnificent work of art from one of London’s most celebrated painters? Lady Odelia invites Helena into the seductive world of medieval fantasies and fairy tales she has inhabited since Helena was a child. But when a shocking series of events exposes the destructive reality of a great artist’s unusual lifestyle, Helena and her lady’s maid Guttridge are called on to help—or is it to interfere? Looming danger, the risk of scandal, and competing loyalties force Helena to re-evaluate her relationship with the sister she’s always loved the most. What is Lady Odelia’s secret? Find out in this gripping continuation of the Scott-De Quincy Mysteries, a story that blends mystery and historical detail with Downton Abbey-style saga as the truths about Helena’s aristocratic family unfold. Read it now before the secret gets out!

Download or read book The Siren of Paris written by David Leroy and published by . This book was released on 2012-07 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marc Tolbert upon his death in 1967 is trapped in a seemingly eternal limbo, surrounded by the company of other ghost's of the unknown dead from World War Two. A single question of a German Army Officer asked him in 1940 haunts him now in death as it did in his life. What Siren of Paris called him into this hellish war? To find his release he must now witness his life during the war from the great beyond. The reader is transported to World War II-era France. In 1939, 20-year-old Marc Tolbert has reached a turning point in his life. He abandons his plans of going to medical school to study art in Paris, which is the place of his birth. As he boards the S.S. Normandie to cross to France, he chooses to ignore signs that Europe -- along with the rest of the world -- is on the brink of an especially devastating war. Broken hearted over a fail relationship in the States, with the hope that Paris will receive him, this one small delicious sin of denial will end up costing Marc nearly everything including the peace of his soul. The Siren of Paris is a unique allegorical historical story that blends in spiritual journey of the soul inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead. It includes many actual historical figures and events, including Ambassador Bullitt, Sumner Wells, Sylvia Beach, Jacques Lusseyran, the Angel of Saint-Nazaire Joan Rodes, the sinking of the RMS Lancastria and the liberation of Buchenwald. This is a story of a man seeking release from a past that never goes away, delievered in deceptively simple prose that guides the reader through a tapestry of mythic images, symbols and signs drawn from Jungian Depth Psychology that has haunted more than a few readers with the horrors of war.

Download or read book A Lady s Guide to Gossip and Murder written by Dianne Freeman and published by Kensington Publishing Corporation. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though American by birth, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Harleigh, has adapted admirably to the quirks and traditions of the British aristocracy. On August twelfth, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth, most members of the upper class retire to their country estates for grouse-shooting season. Frances has little interest in hunting-for birds or a second husband-and is expecting to spend a quiet few months in London with her almost-engaged sister, Lily, until the throng returns. Instead, she's immersed in a shocking mystery when a friend, Mary Archer, is found murdered. Frances had hoped Mary might make a suitable bride for her cousin, Charles, but their courtship recently fizzled out. Unfortunately, this puts Charles in the spotlight-along with dozens of others. It seems Mary had countless notes hidden in her home, detailing the private indiscretions of society's elite. Frances can hardly believe that the genteel and genial Mary was a blackmailer, yet why else would she horde such juicy tidbits? Aided by her gallant friend and neighbor, George Hazelton, Frances begins assisting the police in this highly sensitive case, learning more about her peers than she ever wished to know. Too many suspects may be worse than none at all-but even more worrying is that the number of victims is increasing too. And unless Frances takes care, she?ll soon find herself among them . . .

Download or read book A Duke the Spy an Artist and a Lie written by Vanessa Riley and published by Zebra. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An English spy must follow his neglected wife through the streets of London as she investigates her sister's death with the aid of the Widow's Grace. Can they find common ground and learn to work together?"--

Download or read book Caesars Wives written by Annelise Freisenbruch and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-10-25 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documents the stories of eight wives of Roman rulers, assessing their historical contributions and cultural influence and drawing parallels between modern first ladies and the lives of such ancient-world figures as Livia, Helena, and Julia.

Download or read book Recursion written by Blake Crouch and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory—his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland’s upcoming Netflix film. “Gloriously twisting . . . a heady campfire tale of a novel.”—The New York Times Book Review NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • BookRiot Reality is broken. At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back. Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos. Praise for Recursion “An action-packed, brilliantly unique ride that had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page . . . a fantastic read.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian “Another profound science-fiction thriller. Crouch masterfully blends science and intrigue into the experience of what it means to be deeply human.”—Newsweek “Definitely not one to forget when you’re packing for vacation . . . [Crouch] breathes fresh life into matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.”—Entertainment Weekly “A trippy journey down memory lane . . . [Crouch’s] intelligence is an able match for the challenge he’s set of overcoming the structure of time itself.”—Time “Wildly entertaining . . . another winning novel from an author at the top of his game.”—AV Club

Download or read book Murder on a Midnight Clear written by Sara Rosett and published by Sara Rosett. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A snowbound country mansion, a missing butler, and a Christmas case . . . Olive and Jasper have never been closer—except in one area. Jasper is still reticent about his frequent disappearances from polite society. With the holidays approaching and no paying client on the books, Olive decides to shadow Jasper when he’s unexpectedly called away. Her search brings her to Holly Hill Lodge where an eclectic group has gathered to celebrate an old-fashioned English Christmas. The guest list includes a celebrated lawn tennis champion, a fussy scientist studying snowflakes, a persuasive luggage salesman, a famous lady explorer, and the family’s eccentric aunt who has a fondness for the newfangled drinks called cocktails. When the butler goes missing, Olive and Jasper must work together to solve the Christmas crime—as well as the secret Jasper hides. Murder on a Midnight Clear is the latest installment in USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett’s popular High Society Lady Detective series. Unwrap this 1920s Christmas mystery with all the trimmings—carols, a Yule log, plum pudding . . . and murder.

Download or read book Alone in America written by Robert A. Ferguson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-14 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robert A. Ferguson investigates the nature of loneliness in American fiction, from its mythological beginnings in Rip Van Winkle to the postmodern terrors of 9/11. At issue is the dark side of a trumpeted American individualism. The theme is a vital one because a greater percentage of people live alone today than at any other time in U.S. history. The many isolated characters in American fiction, Ferguson says, appeal to us through inward claims of identity when pitted against the social priorities of a consensual culture. They indicate how we might talk to ourselves when the same pressures come our way. In fiction, more visibly than in life, defining moments turn on the clarity of an inner conversation. Alone in America tests the inner conversations that work and sometimes fail. It examines the typical elements and moments that force us toward a solitary state—failure, betrayal, change, defeat, breakdown, fear, difference, age, and loss—in their ascending power over us. It underlines the evolving answers that famous figures in literature have given in response. Figures like Mark Twain’s Huck Finn and Toni Morrison’s Sethe and Paul D., or Louisa May Alcott’s Jo March and Marilynne Robinson’s John Ames, carve out their own possibilities against ruthless situations that hold them in place. Instead of trusting to often superficial social remedies, or taking thin sustenance from the philosophy of self-reliance, Ferguson says we can learn from our fiction how to live alone.

Download or read book Kingdom of the Wicked written by Kerri Maniscalco and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A James Patterson Presents Novel From the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series comes a new blockbuster series... Two sisters.One brutal murder. A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself... And an intoxicating romance. Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe -- witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family's renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin...desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister's killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that's been long forbidden. Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia's side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women's murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems...

Download or read book Loving the Wind written by Crissi Langwell and published by . This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All Tiger Lily wants is to be a warrior and serve as one of the protectors of her people. But there are rules in the Miakoda tribe of Neverland. Girls aren't allowed to fight or hunt, and princesses are to remain free of danger.When pirates threaten her tribe, Tiger Lily is thrown into the very center of peril and uncertainty. But it's not until she finds herself face to face with the legendary Peter Pan that her true adventure begins.

Download or read book The Prince s Man written by Deborah Jay and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2013-07-29 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rustam Chalice, dance tutor, gigolo and spy, loves his life just the way it is, so when the kingdom he serves is threatened from within, he leaps into action. Only trouble is, the spy master, Prince Hal, teams him up with an untouchable aristocratic assassin who despises him. And to make matters worse, she's the most beautiful woman in the Five Kingdoms. Plunged into a desperate journey over the mountains, the mismatched pair struggle to survive deadly wildlife, the machinations of a spiteful god - and each other. They must also keep alive a sickly elf they need as a political pawn. But when the elf reveals that Rustam has magic of his own, he is forced to question his identity, his sanity and worst, his loyalty to his prince. For in Tyr-en, all magic users are put to death. Award winning novel, THE PRINCE'S MAN, has been described as 'James Bond meets Lord of the Rings' - a sweeping tale of spies and deadly politics, inter-species mistrust and magic phobia, with an underlying thread of romance.

Download or read book Girl in Disguise written by Greer Macallister and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the USA Today Bestselling author of The Magician's Lie "Macallister is becoming a leading voice in strong, female-driven historical fiction. Exciting, frightening, and unspeakably moving..."—Erika Robuck, bestselling author of Hemingways's Girl For the first daring female Pinkerton detective, respect is hard to come by, but danger and spies are everywhere. In the tumultuous years of the Civil War, the streets of Chicago offer a woman mostly danger and ruin—unless that woman is Kate Warne. As an undercover Pinkerton detective, Kate is able to infiltrate the seedy side of the city in disguises that her fellow spies just can't manage. She's a seductress, an exotic foreign medium, a rich train passenger—all depending on the day and the robber, thief, or murderer she's been assigned to nab. But is it only her detective work that makes her a daring spy and a clever liar? Or is the real disguise the good girl she always thought she was? As the Civil War marches closer, Kate takes on her most pressing job ever. The nation's future is at risk, and she's no longer sure where her disguise ends and the very real danger begins. With magnificent historical detail, Girl in Disguise brings the adventures of one turn-of-the-century woman to tense, page-turning life. Also by Greer Macallister: The Magician's Lie Woman 99

Download or read book The Shadow Palace written by Jane Steen and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-15 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CONFLICTING DESIRES AND A DANGEROUS CITY Chicago, 1876: Martin was doubtless joking when he told Nell that if she got herself mixed up with a murderer for the third time, he'd disown her. But when Martin himself is arrested for murder, Nell's dreams of a new life appear to be swallowed up in the web of secrets she constructs to help him. Secrets that threaten to alienate everyone Nell holds dear. As Nell steps out into a new world of possibilities, she is assailed by the conflicting desires of loved ones who have had their own lives upended. Can she find her role in Chicago's commercial kingdom-and stay out of danger?