Synopsis
“Wherever you go, I will follow …”
Merryn Burton is excited to travel down to Cornwall to start her first big job for the London art dealers she works for. But as soon as she arrives at Pencradoc, a beautiful old mansion, she realises this will be no ordinary commission.
Not only is Pencradoc filled with fascinating, and possibly valuable artwork, it is also owned by the Penhaligon brothers – and Merryn’s instant connection with Kit Penhaligon could be another reason why her trip suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting.
But the longer Merryn stays at Pencradoc the more obvious it is that the house has a secret, and a long-forgotten Rose might just hold the key …
Book 1 – Cornish Secrets. Book 2 – Lily’s Secret. Book 3 – Holly’s Christmas Secret.
Available as an eBook and Audio download on all platforms. Paperback availabe from all good bookshops and online stores.
Kirsty Ferry
Kirsty Ferry is from the North East of England and lives there with her husband and son. She won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition and has had articles and short stories published in various magazines. Her work also appears in several anthologies, incorporating such diverse themes as vampires, crime, angels and more.
Kirsty loves writing ghostly mysteries and interweaving fact and fiction. The research is almost as much fun as writing the book itself, and if she can add a wonderful setting and a dollop of history, that’s even better.
Her day job involves sharing a building with an eclectic collection of ghosts, which can often prove rather interesting.
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See all of Kirsty’s novels here …
Kirsty is the master of timeslip and this paranormal romance didn’t disappoint. Merryn arrives at Pencradoc to assess their artwork. Kit and Coren, the Penhaligon brothers need to raise finance for their projects. But are their ancestors ready to give up their secrets and let them get on with their lives. The story moves seamlessly backwards and forwards as we meet Ellory, Duke of Pencradoc and his brother Jago, together with their wives and through them learn of the secrets and heartbreak that affected them. When the ghosts of the past start to affect the present, Merryn starts to wonder if the brothers are really what they seem, but only by uncovering the truth and laying ghosts to rest will Kit, Coren and Merryn be able to get on with their own lives. The characters are so lovely and complex, it is a delight reading about them and they are easy to empathise with. It was a joy to read and I loved it.
This ghostly romance is a very well crafted story. When Merryn arrives at Pencradoc to catalogue their treasures it seems like a dream visit, when she meets the brothers who have inherited the house things improve even more. However soon the ideal seems to be tainted. As the three spend more time together in the house shades from the past begin to take over their lives. Past and present are braided together to bring peace to the old inhabitants of the house. As Kit and Merryn get to know each other it seems as if their romance is not meant to be, throw in a bad relationship with brother Coren and sparks fly. Sit back and enjoy this book with a bar of chocolate to hand to eat in the present.
An enjoyable romance (though set in Cornwall there were no smugglers involved!), in what seems to have become Kirsty Ferry’s trademark time slip style. Merryn is sent by her employers to catalogue and assess the artwork in a stately home, recently inherited by the Penhaligon brothers, Coren and Kit. However, there are other less substantial inhabitants of Pencradoc – ancestors of Coren and Kit – Ellory, Duke of Pencradoc in the 1880’s, his two wives, (Rose and Zennor), his brother Jago, and Alys, (Zennor’s cousin). The modern day characters become increasingly affected by the ancestors, discovering lots of secrets, eventually uncovering the truth behind the deaths of Rose and Ellory, but not without incurring some scars themselves, both mental and physical.
The story seems to take some inspiration from the Browning poem ‘My Last Duchess’, and I thought the way the plot was woven was clever, moving back and forth in time without detracting anything from the flow – in the excellent way I have come to expect from Ms Ferry. Another winner for her, and Choclit! A good 4 star rating – very nearly a 5!
I’m generally indifferent to paranormal or time travel genre and give them a miss, but this one caught my attention and I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. There’s nothing straightforward about the story. Although the plot is well defined, it required my full attention as it travelled backwards and forwards between past and present, faster and faster, resulting in a very satisfactory end.
An exceptionally well written paranormal romance, fully deserving 5*.