The Heiresses: A Novel
YA juggernaut Shepard moves into adult territory with this novel, the first in a planned series. There are five heiresses to the Saybrook family fortune—cousins Poppy, Corrine, Rowan, Aster, and Natasha. The media think that the family’s vast wealth comes with a curse, for sudden death under mysterious circumstances seems always to strike the next heir in line. Mostly, the women laugh off suggestions of a curse. After all, it’s better to die young and leave a pretty corpse, right? But then Poppy, who has a past but seems to have her life under control, commits suicide. The family is even more shocked when the FBI arrives with indications of foul play. The remaining heiresses juggle various sexy men, lies, family secrets ranging from mistresses to Nazis, and assorted rich girl problems while trying to uncover the truth about Poppy’s death and hopefully put an end to the curse rumors. Soapy stuff, to be sure, but Shepard’s got name recognition. --Rebecca Vnuk