Iron Lace

An elderly white Louisiana socialite reveals her shocking life story to the writer of her memoirs in this family saga by a USA Today–bestselling author.

When Aurore Gerritsen watched her lover kill her father, it was just one act of violence in a long chain of dramatic events.


Years later, behind the iron lace gates of wealthy New Orleans, beneath the veneer of her society name, linger secrets that Aurore Gerritsen has hidden for a lifetime, and truths that threaten to change forever the lives of her unsuspecting family. Now, as Aurore faces her own mortality, she needs to reveal those secrets that have haunted her for so many years.


Aurore seeks out Phillip Benedict and asks him to tell her story. He's intrigued, but wonders why the matriarch of a prominent white family would choose to confess her sins to an outspoken black journalist.


Finally Phillip agrees, but though he thinks he's ready for anything she might say, the truth is that nothing can prepare him for the impact of Aurore's shocking revelations.

Praise for Iron Lace

"A fascinating tale of the tangled race relations and complex history of Louisiana . . . this is a page-turner." —New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Richly textured and deeply moving, Iron Lace is a break-your-heart love story in the grand tradition." —Karen Harper, New York Times–bestselling author of Shaker Run

"This portrait of racism from 1919 to the mid-1960s is intricate, seductive and a darned good read." —Publishers Weekly