The Darling's Daughter
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected Jul 21, 2026
-
- $3.99
Publisher Description
A woman chasing the truth. A man running from his past. And a secret that threatens the fragile trust between them.
Searching for answers about her mother's suspicious death, artist Angelica Woods takes a job painting backdrops at the Majestic Theater—the very place her famous actress mother warned her to avoid. When she discovers cryptic notes and bloody evidence of an old murder, Angie realizes her mother's warning may have been meant to protect her from a deadly secret.
Architect Trace Ackerman has worked hard to build a quiet, respectable life far removed from his former mistakes. Renovating the Majestic is meant to be a fresh start—until Angie awakens feelings he never planned to risk again. Drawn to her courage and vulnerability, Trace offers his protection as rumors swirl and danger edges closer. But the past he's worked so hard to outrun threatens to surface, and Trace fears the truth could cost him Angie's trust—and the future he longs to build.
With a killer determined to silence them both, Angie and Trace must decide if uncovering the truth about her mother's death is worth risking their own lives—and hearts. Set against the backdrop of a historic theater in 1912 Ohio, this romantic suspense weaves together murder, betrayal, and the redeeming power of faith and forgiveness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut author Schmied kicks off the Majestic Theater series with an entertaining if uneven historical set in 1912 Ohio. Twenty-year-old Angie Woods is the daughter of a famous actor, nicknamed the Darling, who died two weeks before the start of the book under suspicious circumstances. Despite her mother's warnings to avoid the local theater where she worked, Angie takes a job as a backdrop painter in hopes of getting to the bottom of her dad's death. There she meets Trace Ackerman, a construction foreman whom Angie recruits to unravel the mystery, beginning with translating a mysterious cache of German letters she's uncovered in one of her mother's old storage boxes. As the pair forge ahead, a string of anonymous threats and accidents make it clear someone wants to keep the past buried. When Trace's estranged sister Victoria shows up seeking refuge from her violent husband, Trace comes face-to-face with a past he'd rather forget. As tensions rise, Angie and Trace summon the strength to dig up the truth and work out why God has placed them in each other's paths. Schmied keeps the twists and turns coming and the romance exciting, but periodic plot holes and odd misdirects slow momentum. Still, fans of historical mysteries should find enough to enjoy.
