Shadows & Lies

In 1910 in Shropshire, a bloodied female corpse is found on the estate of Sir Henry Chetwynd. As far as the owner is concerned he feels for the unknown victim, but in a detached way as he has no idea who she is. Instead he struggles with the demands of his aristocratic father who insists he marry for money so that their family estates can flourish; he wants to wed his beloved student doctor Louisa, a champion of women's rights. While Henry assists the police investigating the homicide, in London Hannah struggles with her lost memory since the accident. She writes down what she thinks she knows in an attempt to find clues to her past. Everything she knows seems to tie back to Shropshire (and a dead woman with no identity). Meanwhile the police continue to investigate the homicide; not understanding the link between the two tragic females that starts thirty years ago and runs through aristocratic Shropshire, wool trading Yorkshire and a British South African port. Police detective Gil Mayo takes a respite as Marjorie Eccles provides a terrific stand alone historical thriller that looks deeply at a pivotal time of reform when the upper middle class begins to take over leadership and the women's rights movement flourishes. The story line is fast-paced as the various subplots rotate but move forward until they are cleverly tied together in an intelligent finish. Readers will appreciate this strong early twentieth century thriller while seeking Ms. Eccles previous solo historical, THE SHAPE OF SAND. Harriet Klausner