Wild Orchids
A Novel
-
-
4.2 • 10 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Legend and Temptation weaves an inspiring story about a widowed mystery novelist and the young assistant who brings him excitement, love, and a ghost story that still haunts a small North Carolina town.
Since his wife's death, world-famous author Ford Newcombe has lived a solitary life, void of creativity—or love. Then Jackie Maxwell tears down the walls of his isolated world with her sassy wit and fierce intelligence. Ford's heart is touched by his vivacious assistant, and his imagination is sparked by her knowledge of a strange story that drives them to a small North Carolina town brimming with secrets. There, they will trace the mystery of a woman said to have loved the devil himself...and discover not only the truth about a crime from the past, but a passion that holds the promise of a new life together.
Jude Deveraux, whose "enchanting and extraordinary" (Chicago Daily Herald) novels have enthralled millions, creates two of her most memorable characters in this powerful bestseller.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Forget garden-variety ghosts and poltergeists the devil himself makes an appearance in bestseller Deveraux's latest romantic suspense novel. When famed mystery writer Ford Newcombe loses his beloved wife, Pat, he can't bear the thought of writing without her. Six years later, Ford is moving from one small town to another in an attempt to cure his writer's block when he hears the story of a woman who was murdered because she loved the devil. Fascinated by the tale, he decides that he must investigate it and approaches Jackie, the storyteller, to offer her the job of assisting him. Needing a change of pace, Jackie agrees to accompany him to Cole Creek, N.C., and strange things begin to happen when they arrive Jackie instinctively knows her way around the town, she begins to have frightening premonitions that come true and the townspeople insist that the devil tale is just a rumor. Not one to give up, Ford continues to investigate and discovers an article about a 20-year-old murder. As he uncovers more gruesome details, he begins to suspect that Jackie may have somehow been involved in or witnessed the murder. Meanwhile, Jackie meets a man who seems too good to be true, who is also interested in the devil story. As Ford and Jackie work their way closer to the truth, it becomes clear that the story about the devil may be horrifically true. Deveraux's writing is sloppy ("I tried to pep Jackie up because she was looking as forlorn as an abandoned puppy"), but her plotting is effective, and she does a superb job of building up to her chilling conclusion.
