Synopsis
‘There’s nothing logical about Pencradoc!’
Aspiring actress Cordelia Beaumont is fed up of spending summer in the city. So, when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps straight on a train to pay a visit to Pencradoc – the beautiful Cornish estate where her friend Merryn works.
But far from the relaxing break Cordy imagined, she soon finds herself immersed in the glamorous yet mysterious world of Victorian theatre sensation, Lily Valentine. Lily was once a guest at Pencradoc and, with the help of visiting artist Matt Harker, Cordy comes to discover that the actress left far more than memories at the old house. She also left a scandalous secret …
Book 2 – Cornish Secrets. Book 1 – A Secret Rose. Book 3 – Holly’s Christmas Secret. Book 4 – Summer’s Secret Marigold.
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 …
I’ll be honest, I found the storyine at the start a little difficult to get into. Not sure why but was pleasantly surprised once it really got going. I was gripped, loved the characters of Cordy, Matt, Lily and Edwin. Not forgetting little Elsie. I found my imagination going wild – picturing my own version of how the characters looked, what they saw and could smell. When my mind does that, I know it’s a great book.
Another great read by Kirsty Ferry – thank you!
This is a very well written novel which pulled me in immediately. Not my preferred genre if I am honest but, I enjoyed it very much nevertheless.
Kirsty captures the relationship between Lily and the little girl perfectly, and is clearly someone who has observed how children can manipulate and coerce to get what they want. However, the little girl is portrayed in a beautiful way showing a mischievous but determined countenance.
I think the balance between current day and latter day events are well planned with a perfect amount of intrigue for the past keeping my interest. The modern day characters are spunky and fun and I completely fell in love with both Matt Harker and Edwin Griffiths!
This is one of a series but fully stands on it’s own feet. I really enjoyed the way the time slip was dealt with within this book. It was seamless and both periods had their own romance, story and relatable characters. I found it totally gripping and wanted to find out
what happens next in both times. The first heroine, Cordelia, was totally believable and likeable. I loved the way the second heroine, Lily of the title, really gripped me as you learnt about her history. The heroes, Matt and Edwin, counterbalanced their ladies well, both supportive and understanding. The children were also an integral part of the story and so well portrayed. Enjoy this dose of time travel.
I was concerned that my previous delight with Kirsty Ferry’s books makes me rather biased, but I have tried to consider the book objectively, and I know I wouldn’t say I liked it if I didn’t. I really think that Kirsty is well into her stride now with these dual timelines, exploring a contemporary story and an historical one (I love that we get two for the price of one within the same novel) – she writes confidently, and with style, but retaining her super imaginative streak. I fail to see how anyone couldn’t enjoy her books. I know it’s a good one when I have to read every word and not skip some or even whole chunks – it doesn’t happen often these days as I bore easily – so it’s another winner for me. Who’s next? There are some tempting teasers in here ….