Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor
A Novel
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
When Heather Toulson returns to her parents’ cottage in the English countryside, she uncovers long-hidden secrets about her family history and stumbles onto the truth about a sixty-year-old murder.
Libby, a free spirit who can’t be tamed by her parents, finds solace with her neighbor Oliver, the son of Lord Croft of Ladenbrooke Manor. Libby finds herself pregnant and alone when her father kicks her out and Oliver mysteriously drowns in a nearby river. Though theories spread across the English countryside, no one is ever held responsible for Oliver’s death.
Sixty years later, Heather Toulson, returning to her family’s cottage in the shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor, is filled with mixed emotions. She’s mourning her father’s passing but can’t let go of the anger and resentment over their strained relationship. Adding to her confusion, Heather has an uneasy reunion with her first love, all while sorting through her family’s belongings left behind in the cottage. What she uncovers will change everything she thought she knew about her family’s history.
Award-winning author Melanie Dobson seamlessly weaves the past and present together, fluidly unraveling the decades-old mystery and reveals how the characters are connected in shocking ways.
Set in a charming world of thatched cottages, lush gardens, and lovely summer evenings, this romantic and historical mystery brings to light the secrets and heartaches that have divided a family for generations.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dobson, author of 13 novels (Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana), has written in historical, suspense, and contemporary genres, and her newest blends all three in a tale that shifts from the 1950s, to the 1970s, and to the present. Dobson does a masterly job weaving the disparate tales: art restorer Heather Toulson must return to the English town she fled 25 years ago after Christopher Westcott broke her heart; Maggie Emerson hid a terrible tragedy, then did all she could to prevent it from happening again to her daughter; Libby Doyle, Maggie's daughter, is an unusual and sensitive girl who is loved by Oliver Croft, the wealthy boy who lives next door in Ladenbrooke Manor; and Walter Doyle is the figure whose story is woven through generations of families and secrets. Dobson handles sensitive issues with tact, careful to avoid too much detail but remaining honest. Mysteries are solved, truths revealed, and loves rekindled in a book sure to draw new fans to Dobson's already large base.