1959. The long, hot summer bakes the sleepy, Southern town of Orchard Hill. Billy Ray Davenport, an aspiring physician and only son of an indomitable traveling minister, is a young man with a plan that starts with working in a small-town doctor’s office before he begins medical school in the fall. Handsome, principled, and keenly observant, he will lodge with the Millers, the local doctor’s family. But he never bargained for Lizzie Quinlan—a complex, kindred spirit who is beautiful and compassionate, yet scorned by the townsfolk. With her quirky wisdom and a spine of steel hidden beneath an effortless sensuality, Lizzie is about to change Billy Ray’s life—and his heart—forever.
Winner of the 2019 Kentucky Indie Author Project for adult fiction.
'...if I endeavor to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me?' -Pride & Prejudice, Chapter 40
Elizabeth Bennet, a rookie counterintelligence officer, lands an intriguing first assignment—investigating the CIA's legendary William Darcy, who is suspected of being a double agent. Darcy's charmed existence seems at an end as he fights for his career and struggles against his love for the young woman he doesn't know is watching his every move. Elizabeth's confidence dissolves as nothing is like she planned—and the more she discovers about Darcy, the more she finds herself in an ever-tightening web of danger.
Unexpected twists abound in this suspenseful Cold War era romance inspired by Jane Austen's classic tale.
“…do anything rather than marry without affection.”
—Pride and Prejudice
During the upheaval of the Great Depression, Elizabeth Bennet’s life is torn asunder. Her family’s relocation from the bustle of the big city to a quiet family farm has changed her future, and now, she must build a new life in rural Meryton, Kentucky.
William Darcy suffered family turmoil of his own, but he has settled into a peaceful life at Pemberley, the largest farm in the county. Single, rich, and seemingly content, he remains aloof—immune to any woman’s charms.
Until Elizabeth Bennet moves to town.
As Darcy begins to yearn for something he knows is missing, Elizabeth’s circumstances become more dire. Can the two put aside their pride and prejudices long enough to find their way to each other?
1932, Karen M Cox’s award-winning debut novel, is a matchless variation on Jane Austen’s classic tale.