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The Heir of Hawksclaw: A novella of Victorian gothic mystery Kindle Edition
Amanda DeWees (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateFebruary 27, 2016
- File size2041 KB
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From the Author
About the Author
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:
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 Chris Evans, not necessarily in that order. Visit her at www.amandadewees.com for book extras and other delightful diversions.
Customer reviews
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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.
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.
Love romance and suspense
Also, you can always tell a Dewees story by the lovely clothes. So sad the red dress got ruined.
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