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The Heir of Hawksclaw: A novella of Victorian gothic mystery by [Amanda DeWees]

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Amanda DeWees

The Heir of Hawksclaw: A novella of Victorian gothic mystery Kindle Edition

by Amanda DeWees (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A haunting Victorian gothic mystery from the author of the Daphne du Maurier Award-winning With This Curse!

In this short novella of about 80 pages, when governess Medora Yates sets out for mysterious Hawksclaw House in the dying days of 1856, she has no idea what is in store. Hired to care for her employers’ young son, she arrives in Yorkshire to find the boy too sick to meet her or Gerard Redfern, the new tutor. When surly Mr. Hawksclaw abruptly announces the next day that his son has died, Medora and Redfern know that there is far more to the matter than he is telling them.

Was the child murdered, perhaps even by one of his parents? Or is the story of his death a lie to conceal something else just as sinister? Medora and Redfern decide to investigate, but their task is a difficult one. The boy’s fragile, grieving mother is in no position to help them, and the servants are unwilling to confide in the newcomers, especially Mrs. Hawksclaw’s loyal maid, Constance, whose fate is entangled more closely with that of her employers than anyone knows. Along the way their investigation will unearth dark family secrets, past tragedy, and the true fate of the heir of Hawksclaw... all of which will culminate in an astonishing act of redemption.

Readers who enjoy the Victorian mysteries of Anne Perry and Barbara Michaels, as well as those who have come to love DeWees’s Victorian romantic suspense novels such as With This Curse and Sea of Secrets, will relish The Heir of Hawksclaw.

Print length

87 pages
Language

English
Publication date

February 27, 2016
File size

2041 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

My short novella The Heir of Hawksclaw is a departure from my previous gothic stories set in the Victorian era. It's not a romance, for one thing, although love of various kinds, especially parental love, is a topic that comes into it a good deal. At 42, Medora is my oldest heroine yet, and she is also one of the least conventional, cherishing her independence over marriage and a traditional domestic life. Readers who enjoyed meeting her in Sea of Secrets may be intrigued to learn of her adventures after she leaves the troubled Ellsmere estate. And if you're new to my books, I hope you'll find this an exciting and intriguing gateway story!

About the Author

Atlanta author Amanda DeWees wrote her doctoral dissertation on 19th-century vampire literature, the perfect training (although she didn't realize it at the time) for writing Victorian gothic romance novels. These include With This Curse, which won the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award for historical mystery/suspense, and Sea of Secrets, a reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet that won the 2012 RONE award in mystery. Her other works include the Ash Grove Chronicles, a young adult paranormal romance series set in modern-day North Carolina.

Besides writing, Amanda's passions include theater, movies, costume design, and the preservation of apostrophes in their natural habitat. Visit her at amandadewees.com for book extras and other delightful diversions.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01CC31JZM
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 27, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2041 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 87 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #493,175 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,232 in Two-Hour Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads
- #2,350 in Gothic Fiction
- #4,299 in Two-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads

Customer Reviews:
32 ratings

About the author

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Amanda DeWees

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Atlanta author Amanda DeWees wrote her doctoral dissertation on 19th-century vampire literature, the perfect training (although she didn’t realize it at the time) for writing Victorian gothic romance novels. These include With This Curse, which won the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award for historical mystery/suspense, and Sea of Secrets, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that won the 2012 RONE award in mystery. Her other works include the Ash Grove Chronicles, a young adult paranormal romance series set in modern-day North Carolina.

Besides writing, Amanda's passions include theater, movies, costume design, and Chris Evans, not necessarily in that order. Visit her at www.amandadewees.com for book extras and other delightful diversions.

Customer reviews

5 star		33%
4 star		38%
3 star		19%
2 star		9%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Just a little Victorian Gothic downtime.

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2016

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Two of my favorite things to do to relax are 1) enjoy an evening glass of red wine or 2) read a Victorian Gothic story. Or both at the same time is even better. And thanks to Amanda DeWees I had another Gothic novella to enjoy. At only 82 pages my downtime wasn't very long but it was fun. No paranormal here and no romance, just a little story about family secrets.

Medora Yates has been hired to be governess to young Louis. Strangely enough, a certain Gerard Redfern arrives at Hawksclaw House in Yorkshire at the same time, hired as tutor to the very same young boy. The father's and mother's behavior is somewhat puzzling and the child has yet to make an appearance. What's going on? Well, you must read this to find out, because more should not be revealed.

Medora is an interesting protagonist. In her mid 40s and a snappy dresser for a governess, she's independent and not looking for romance and she's not going to find it in this story, but we do get the idea that there may be more mysteries ahead for her to solve in future stories, with the collaboration of tutor Gerard Redfern. That will be fun so I hope it is DeWees' plan.

As for this particular story, it isn't especially suspenseful but it is well written, has interesting characters, and entertains for a short time.

4 people found this helpful

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Shawna

A Great Novella

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2016

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Amanda DeWees is a master at writing great gothic stories and this novella is another great addition to her other stories. This story will draw you into the mystery and secrets of Hawksclaw family.

As soon as Miss. Yates, the new governess, arrives it is quite clear all is not as it should be. Miss. Yates is eager to meet her new ward but when she arrives, she is not permitted and two and she notices the family and staff acting strange and peculiar. When a death occurs a day after her arrival she begins to suspect something a foul is a foot.

You will be swept away in the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death. Ms. DeWees does a great job and building the suspense through out the story. Each page had me guessing at the truth behind the matter.

Helpful

Roxane Twisdale

Kept me guessing

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2021

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I love books that keep me guessing this novella was short but kept me on my toes of what was gonna happen next. Loved the characters and the storyline. The ending was the best part. I love this author she never disappoints me. Recommended for ppl that
Love romance and suspense

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ShinyCat

A delightful short read

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2021

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DeWees delights me yet again, this time with a book short enough that it was perfect for filling the gap until i could pick up library holds. The characters are amazingly developed for something that took so little space, and are deeply relatable in their flaws and foibles!

Helpful

Peyt

Yates and Redfern FTW

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2016

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I had so much fun with this story, I want a whole series of Medora and Redfern mysteries. Of course, the Gothic atmosphere was excellent, with the weather playing along nicely. It's fun to get to revisit some of the side characters from her previous books and let them have their moment in the sun, and I really liked the new characters she introduced. I did think Medora might have been a little quick in her judgments of all the situations, but I suppose when you have to live in a stranger's house, it's probably safest to be on the presumptuous, cautious side.

Also, you can always tell a Dewees story by the lovely clothes. So sad the red dress got ruined.

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Darrell Grizzle

... delightful new Victorian Gothic mystery from one of the best writers in the genre today

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

A delightful new Victorian Gothic mystery from one of the best writers in the genre today. This fast-paced novella captivated me from the very beginning and I read it over the course of a single evening. Many of the familiar tropes are here (the isolated mansion by the moors, the locked tower, the family secrets), but with new life breathed into them by a gifted author. Here’s hoping for more stories from Hawksclaw House and Amanda DeWees.

3 people found this helpful

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squeaks1111

Short gothic novella

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2016

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I enjoyed Amanda DeWees other novel, and thought I would give this short novella a go. I was an entertaining gothic novel. I did think the solution was obvious (sometimes in Gothics) and the heroine a bit too bumbling in her ideas and notions. This is not a traditional gothic- as in the governess shows up to a house that has both a mother and father (no romance with the head of the house). Mild Gothic- safe for tween/teen/adult.

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Kindle Customer

Nice Setting, Weak Character Development

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

I finished this, but the actual plot that unraveled was quite obvious to the reader. The gothic setting was well done, but the characters didn't capture my interest.

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