Adventure. Mystery. Romance.
Patience is a virtue. And patience is what you’re going to need as you wait for Book 2 of Julie Klassen’s On Devonshire Shores series as its not coming out till December of this year. But to whet your appetite, here is the COVER REVEAL for A Winter by the Sea. Enjoy!
When the landed gentry family the Plummers fall into insolvency, the only recourse is to sell their opulent home and retreat into a smaller property next door. Unfortunately, the wealthy Fletcher family who has purchased the home is severely tainted by trade, as Mr. Fletcher earned his money as a mercer (a dealer in textiles). While the baronet is determined not to snub the new neighbors, his wife has a different outlook altogether. Thus the stage is set for James Plummer, the second son and often-absent rector of the neighborhood, to encounter Julia Fletcher, the hoydenish overly tall daughter of the mercer as she is swinging her legs sitting on the gate of their new property….
When their father dies of an apoplectic attack, the four Summers sisters and their mother must find a way to earn an income if they are to avoid descending into utter poverty. The gentlewomen have the blessing of owning their own large house in the ocean village of Sea View, and at the prompting of their managing older sister Sarah, they resolve to become a popular seaside boarding house….
Napoleon has escaped his island prison, and England’s best spies have been sent to Brussels to gather intelligence as the continent sits on the brink of battle. Mary Bennet, in company with Lady Trafford and Mr. Withrow, are called upon to investigate the death of one of the Duke of Wellington’s officers. As the threat of Napoleon’s offensive advances ever closer, they must determine whether gambling debts, old rivalries, or French intrigue is at play in the murder….
When the Knightleys of Donwell Abbey decide to hold a house party with the Darcys, the Wentworths, the Brandons, and the Bertrams, they’re not expecting an uninvited guest of Mr. Wickham’s ilk to come knocking on the door. Ever since his scandal of seducing Lydia Bennet, Wickham has been up to one scheme after another, and his latest scheme involves a speculation that’s swindled half of these good people out of their money…
When Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra go to Cheltenham to take the waters, they find that not all is as it seems in the little spa town. As the gray, cold summer rolls over England, an eccentric preacher predicts the end of the world, a trio of young ladies conceal their past, a debonair Captain pays his addresses, and an abandoned husband comes looking for a wife he does not seem to want….
A compelling story with memorable characters exploring how romance can flourish between people with differing political views in a society torn by revolution….
Klassen’s novels are always shot through with strands of mystery, but this is the first one that I remember being a straight-up murder mystery….
Granted a letter of marque, presumably by the king himself, Captain Tuttle set out on the noble quest of lawful piracy, seizing a hold full of tea and bringing it home to sell. But when he arrived at the dock, the letter of marque mysteriously disappeared, leaving Captain Tuttle holding the bag while his now illegal cargo is seized. Lady Madeleine, whose failing family has made one last gamble on this voyage, will lose everything if the cargo is confiscated. As William Snopes and his colleagues investigate the case, they are thwarted at every turn, leading Snopes to believe that someone very high up in the government has an interest in keeping the truth from coming to light….
Rosanne E. Lortz 