Isobel Penrose has lived at the charming and picturesque Emberside Grange with her father and older cousin, Lydia, her whole life.
For Isobel, Lydia has always been the epitome of perfection - beautiful, intelligent and confident.
Since Mrs Penrose passed away, Lydia has cherished a secret hope that the time will come when Mr Penrose will see in her the woman she has become, and return the love she bears for him.
Isobel, party to this secret, also looks forward to the day that Lydia becomes her step-mother and their little family at Emberside Grange is complete once more.
But the two young women's hopes are dashed with the arrival of a tall, dark stranger - Simeon Graw - whose presence threatens to upset the comfortable balance of power at Emberside.
Commissioned to paint a portrait of Lydia and Isobel, Graw uses this opportunity to extend his influence over Isobel's father and quickly exerts his power over the household.
As Emberside becomes a place of terrifying night shadows, Lydia suddenly vanishes overnight, with no warning or indication of where she has gone.
Determined to find her beloved cousin, Isobel retraces Lydia's steps, propelling herself down a twisted, confusing road fraught with illness, fear, and sudden death.
However, she presses forward in her desperate search for answers.
It is not until her path comes full circle, bringing her back to Emberside, that Isobel discovers the most shattering truth of all...
"Uncommonly meaningful romantic suspense" - Publishers Weekly
Anna Gilbert was born and brought up in the county of Durham. Her father was a schoolmaster and she herself was educated at the University of Durham before becoming a teacher. She now lives in Yorkshire. Her other books include The Treachery of Time and The Long Shadow.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
For Isobel, Lydia has always been the epitome of perfection - beautiful, intelligent and confident.
Since Mrs Penrose passed away, Lydia has cherished a secret hope that the time will come when Mr Penrose will see in her the woman she has become, and return the love she bears for him.
Isobel, party to this secret, also looks forward to the day that Lydia becomes her step-mother and their little family at Emberside Grange is complete once more.
But the two young women's hopes are dashed with the arrival of a tall, dark stranger - Simeon Graw - whose presence threatens to upset the comfortable balance of power at Emberside.
Commissioned to paint a portrait of Lydia and Isobel, Graw uses this opportunity to extend his influence over Isobel's father and quickly exerts his power over the household.
As Emberside becomes a place of terrifying night shadows, Lydia suddenly vanishes overnight, with no warning or indication of where she has gone.
Determined to find her beloved cousin, Isobel retraces Lydia's steps, propelling herself down a twisted, confusing road fraught with illness, fear, and sudden death.
However, she presses forward in her desperate search for answers.
It is not until her path comes full circle, bringing her back to Emberside, that Isobel discovers the most shattering truth of all...
Praise for Anna Gilbert
"Uncommonly meaningful romantic suspense" - Publishers Weekly
Anna Gilbert was born and brought up in the county of Durham. Her father was a schoolmaster and she herself was educated at the University of Durham before becoming a teacher. She now lives in Yorkshire. Her other books include The Treachery of Time and The Long Shadow.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
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