A Gothic thriller and captivating love story set in Civil War Mississippi
Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey has been left at home in Mississippi with a laudanum-addicted stepmother and love-crazed stepsister while her father fights in the war - a war that has already claimed her twin brother. When she comes across a severely injured Union soldier lying in an abandoned lodge deep in the woods, things begin to change. Thomas is the enemy - one of the men who might have killed her own brother - and yet shes drawn to him. But Violet isnt Thomass only visitor. Someone has been tending to his wounds - keeping him alive - and it becomes chillingly clear that this care hasnt been out of compassion. Against the dangers of war and threatening powers of voodoo, Violet fights to protect her home, her family, and the man shes begun to love.
"An exciting story - juicy, romantic and at times quite chilling." - BookPage
"An atmospheric story in which darkness houses mysteries, [with] rich imagery and imaginative subplots." - Kirkus Reviews
"Compelling. . . . Theres a languid ease to the prose that invites readers to become fully immersed." - The BulletinFrom the Hardcover edition.
The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . .When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram's beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it's as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives all with hair as red as her own in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she's trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac's intoxicating world. Glowing strands of romance, mystery, and suspense are woven into this breathtaking debut a thrilling retelling of the Bluebeard fairy tale.
