The Blackstone Key: A Novel
In Melikan's lively, intelligent debut, set in England in 1795, genteel Mary Finch welcomes the chance to escape Mrs. Bunbury's academy, where she teaches young ladies, and visit White Ladies, her wealthy uncle Edward's Suffolk estate. En route, the unconventional Mary, who has a strong interest in the law, meets a dying stranger who in best gothic fashion gives her a mysterious warning. At White Ladies, Mary hopes to resolve some conflict between her father and her uncle, but soon becomes embroiled in smuggling intrigue. The unusual men she encounters include West Indian planter Paul Déprez, who fled to England after the French overran his plantation, and Captain Holland, an impoverished artillery officer. In the end, Mary must use her intuition to assess the motives of the people around her—and her special knowledge to try to upset a French plot. Readers will eagerly look forward to the second and third volumes in this historical trilogy.(Aug.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.