Happy Friday! Today I am featuring a book I read several months ago. If you are looking for mystery, history, and a bit of a chilling thrill, check out The Lady in Residence by Allison Pittman. Part of the Doors to The Past series from Barbour, its dual timeline connects in an unputdownable manner.
Here’s the first line —
The tour ended where it began — in the courtyard of the Alamo, the fortress bathed in white light, flags snapping in the night sky.
Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.
Young widow Hedda Krause checks into the Menger Hotel in 1915 with a trunk full of dresses, a case full of jewels, and enough cash to pay for a two-month stay, which she hopes will be long enough to meet, charm, and attach herself to a new, rich husband. Her plans are derailed when a ghostly apparition lures her into a long, dark hallway, and Hedda returns to her room to find her precious jewelry has been stolen. She falls immediately under a cloud of suspicion with her haunting tale, but true ghost enthusiasts bring her expensive pieces of jewelry in an attempt to lure the ghost to appear again.
In 2017, Dini Blackstone is a fifth-generation magician, who performs at private parties, but she also gives ghost walk tours, narrating the more tragic historical events of San Antonio with familial affection. Above all, her favorite is the tale of Hedda Krause who, in Dini’s estimation, succeeded in perpetrating the world’s longest con, dying old and wealthy from her ghost story. But then Dini meets Quinn Carmichael, great-great-grandson of the detective who originally investigated Hedda’s case, who’s come to the Alamo City with a box full of clues that might lead to Hedda’s exoneration. Can Dini see another side of the story that is worthy of God’s grace?
Allison Pittman is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed novels and a four-time Christy finalist — twice for her Sister Wife series, once for All for A Story from her take on the Roaring Twenties and most recently for the critically acclaimed The Seamstresswhich takes a cameo character from the Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities and flourishes her to life amidst the French Revolution. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, blissfully sharing an empty nest with her husband, Mike.
Connect with her on Facebook (Allison Pittman Author), Twitter (@allisonkpittman) or her website, allisonkpittman.com.
That one sounds good! I have a couple books in the Doors to the Past series on my radar.
My first line comes from Yours is the Night by Amanda Dykes: https://daniellegrandinetti.com/2021/08/13/first-line-friday-yours-is-the-night/
That was a great book and I love the series, what I’ve read of them.
Here’s from another Barbour series! Heroines of WWII.
“Green or brown. Brown or green. Phillip Clayton set the unwrapped crayon upright on the diner’s Formica tabletop so it stood like a mocking sentinel.”
From The Cryptographer’s Dilemma by Johnnie Alexander
I have this one on my Goodreads want to read list 🙂 Happy Friday!
I love dual timelines! This looks like a good one 😊
Today on my blog I’m sharing the first line from Set in Stone by David James Warren: http://gracetogrowblog.com/set-in-stone-david-james-warren/
I read this one and really enjoyed it – it was unexpected, in a very good way.