Before they became legendary writers, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Anne Brontë were detectors in this charming historical mystery... Yorkshire, 1845. A young wife and mother has gone missing from her home, leaving behind two small children and a large pool of blood. Just a few miles away, a humble parson’s daughters—the Brontë sisters—learn of the crime. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are horrified and intrigued by the mysterious disappearance. These three creative, energetic, and resourceful women quickly realize that they have all the skills required to make for excellent “lady detectors.” Not yet published novelists, they have well-honed imaginations and are expert readers. And, as Charlotte remarks, “detecting is reading between the lines—it’s seeing what is not there.” As they investigate, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are confronted with a society that believes a woman’s place is in the home, not scouring the countryside looking for clues. But nothing will stop the sisters from discovering what happened to the vanished bride, even as they find their own lives are in great peril...
“Move over, Jane Austen, for the latest literary ladies who snoop in this... lively series debut.”—Kirkus Reviews on The Vanished Bride Haworth Parsonage, February 1846: The Brontë sisters— Anne, Emily, and Charlotte—are busy with their literary pursuits. As they query publishers for their poetry, each sister hopes to write a full-length novel that will thrill the reading public. They’re also hoping for a new case for their fledgling detecting enterprise, Bell Brothers and Company solicitors. On a bitterly cold February evening, their housekeeper Tabby tells them of a grim discovery at Scar Top House, an old farmhouse belonging to the Bradshaw family. A set of bones has been found bricked up in a chimney breast inside the ancient home. Tabby says it's bad doings, and dark omens for all of them. The rattled housekeeper gives them a warning, telling the sisters of a chilling rumour attached to the family. The villagers believe that, on the verge of bankruptcy, Clifton Bradshaw sold his soul to the devil in return for great riches. Does this have anything to do with the bones found in the Bradshaw house? The sisters are intrigued by the story and feel compelled to investigate. But Anne, Emily, and Charlotte soon learn that true evil has set a murderous trap and they've been lured right into it...
'I love this witty and inventive series steeped in the Gothic mystery that the Brontës adored.' - Sara Sheridan 'Teeming with details of the Brontës, of the times and the city, this is such a pleasurable read' - NB Magazine 'Captivating' - Crime Monthly 'Filled with twists, turns and Gothic touches, and a strong feminist streak' - Bradford Telegraph The Brontë sisters' first poetry collection has just been published, potentially marking an end to their careers as amateur detectors, when Anne receives a letter from her former pupil Lydia Robinson. Lydia has eloped with a young actor, Harry Roxby, and following her disinheritance, the couple been living in poverty in London. Harry has become embroiled with a criminal gang and is in terrible danger after allegedly losing something very valuable that he was meant to deliver to their leader. The desperate and heavily pregnant Lydia has a week to return what her husband supposedly stole, or he will be killed. She knows there are few people who she can turn to in this time of need, but the sisters agree to help Lydia, beginning a race against time to save Harry's life. In doing so, our intrepid sisters come face to face with a terrifying adversary whom even the toughest of the slum-dwellers are afraid of . . . The Red Monarch. Praise for Bella Ellis and the series: 'Evocative and utterly enchanting' Sarah Hilary 'Bella Ellis is a very special talent' Angela Clarke 'Brilliantly entertaining and original' C.L. Taylor 'More heart-warming than blood-chilling' Sunday Express 'Ellis's writing flows beautifully' Yorkshire Magazine 'Elegant, witty and compulsively readable - I think the Brontë sisters would have been delighted' Rosie Walsh 'A breath-taking concept . . . Fun, charming and intriguing' Araminta Hall 'A delight' Wall Street Journal
The Prize: Lacey's Folly-- a charming manor house, shrouded in magic and mystery, haunted by tales of hidden treasure, and legends of a bride who vanished 100 years ago on her wedding day. The Lovers: Chloe Hartsell-- a lonely and passionate woman, ripe for falling in love, and suddenly denied the promised inheritance of her beloved home. Gideon Stone-- the rakehell artist is intent on selling his windfall inheritance-- until he learns he must find a husband for Chloe. The Legend: One hundred years before, a beautiful woman vanished on her wedding night, along with a fortune in jewels. Now her lovely portrait and baffling disappearance haunt Gideon's dreams. The Lost Bride: Thrown together by fate, drawn together by passion, Gideon and Chloe are separated by his pride-- and her secret. Then a woman appears-- the very image of the bride lost to the night a century ago. Gideon must choose between his dream image and the flesh-and-blood woman who can teach him the true meaning of love. And Chloe must risk everything, to win all she holds dear.
Charlotte Holmes, Lady Sherlock, is back solving new cases in the Victorian-set mystery series from the USA Today bestselling author of The Hollow of Fear. As "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas. But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old friend recover those secrets and Charlotte finds herself involved in a fever-paced scheme to infiltrate a glamorous Yuletide ball where the painting is one handshake away from being sold and the secrets a bare breath from exposure. Her dear friend Lord Ingram, her sister Livia, Livia's admirer Stephen Marbleton—everyone pitches in to help and everyone has a grand time. But nothing about this adventure is what it seems and disaster is biding time on the grounds of a glittering French chateau, waiting only for Charlotte to make a single mistake...
A rich, unforgettable story of three unique women in post-Apartheid South Africa who are brought together in their darkest time and discover the ways that love can transcend the strictest of boundaries. In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life. Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it's what she can't have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to heal, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past. As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?
A drunken laugh, a roll of the dice... and Aurora Sprague finds herself a child bride, married in haste to a young man she's never met to settle her father's gaming debt. Moments after the ceremony, the new groom gallops off to the army and Aurora is banished to a remote estate, married in name only. Years later, Alex Fenimore, now a top intelligence officer, is on a secret mission when a fiery young lady helps him escape attack. He has no idea that the woman is his wife or that the sparks of desire between them are about to ignite a dangerous passion. AWARDS: Best Regency of the Year Nominee, 2000 REVIEWS: "...lush romance mixed with great humor and a touch of human frailty." ~RT magazine SCANDALOUS SECRETS SERIES, in order The Banished Bride Lady of Letters The Major's Mistake LESSONS IN LOVE, in series order The Defiant Governess Second Chances The Storybook Hero
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER! A Good Morning America BUZZ PICK | A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick | IndieNext Pick | LibraryReads Pick | Recommended by People ∙ The Washington Post ∙ Woman's World ∙ NY Post ∙ BookRiot ∙ Bookish ∙ Christian Science Monitor ∙ Nerd Daily ∙ The Tempest ∙ Midwestness ∙ The Coil ∙ Read It Forward ∙ and more! “An exquisite debut that combines a moving tale of friendship with a fascinating primer on bees.”--People “This heartwarming, uplifting story will make you want to call your own friends, not to mention grab some honey.”--Good Housekeeping Three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it. Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days. In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm. And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves. Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect. “A hopeful, uplifting story about the power of chosen family and newfound home and beginning again . . . but it’s the bees, with all their wonder and intricacy and intrigue, that make this story sing.” --Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is "Eileen Garvin's debut novel is uplifting, funny, bold, and inspirational. The Music of Bees sings!" --Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author
From the bestselling author of Practical Magic, comes a beautiful spellbinding tale of magic, friendship and an ancient curse. Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumoured to hide a monster - and it is these rumours of a winged beast which draw in as much tourism to the town as its famous apple orchards. Two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, following the arrival of a new family in town, Twig may just have found her first true friend and an ally in vanquishing this ancient curse. It’s time to try and break the spell... but will everything change when the red moon rises? Be enchanted by this magical and endearing new story from highly acclaimed and widely adored Alice Hoffman, who has yet again created a beautiful novel that will bewitch its readers from the first page until the very last. Praise for Alice Hoffman: 'Alice Hoffman can write about love like no-one else' Jodi Picoult 'I love the way Alice Hoffman creates the most ordinary people and then turns their lives magical. She does it here once again, in Nightbird. The book is like re-entering in a wonderful dream that you vaguely remember.' Lois Lowry 'Hoffman knows how to tell a good story' Sunday Times
