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Nocturne for a Widow (Sybil Ingram Victorian Mysteries Book 1) by [Amanda DeWees]

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Amanda DeWees

Nocturne for a Widow (Sybil Ingram Victorian Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Amanda DeWees (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

567 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Sybil Ingram Victorian Mysteries

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“Delightful.” --InD'Tale magazine

The ghost may be the least of her problems... Vivacious actress Sybil Ingram looks forward to a life of security when she leaves the theater in 1873 to marry a wealthy American. But when he dies on their wedding night, she finds herself a penniless widow. Her only legacy is Brooke House, a Gothic revival manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. However, the eerie mansion comes with two tenants. One is a hostile ghost. The second, and far worse, is former violinist Roderick Brooke--the most insolent, dangerous, maddeningly gorgeous man she's ever met.

As Sybil and Roderick engage in a battle of wills--and wits--an even greater threat arises: the mysterious queen of local society, Mrs. Lavinia Dove. For reasons that Sybil can't imagine, Mrs. Dove is determined to have Brooke House and Roderick for herself... if necessary, by deadly means.

Nocturne for a Widow is a delightful fusion of gothic romance, mystery, and romantic comedy, perfect for readers who love dashing Victorian women sleuths like Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell and Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody. And be sure to explore Sybil's continuing adventures in The Last Serenade, A Haunting Reprise, and the short stories "Spectral Strains" and "Christmas at Gravesend"--now available in one convenient collection!

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 27, 2014
File size

2384 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A win for gothic romance. Fans of the genre will eagerly enter the desolate Brooke House and unearth its secrets." --Library Journal
"A delightful tale that anyone with a sense of humor will enjoy." --InD'Tale magazine (crowned heart review)

From the Author

Nocturne for a Widow began as my idea of what might happen to Shakespeare's bickering lovers Beatrice and Benedick if they were stuck together in a haunted house. I already had the perfect heroine: spirited actress Sybil Ingram, whom I originally invented for a minor role in a more serious gothic romance, With This Curse. Readers who enjoy confident heroines, romantic banter, and a little bit of ghostly spookiness in their mysteries should find something to delight them here. And for more of Sybil's adventures, don't miss the following books in her series, The Last Serenade and A Haunting Reprise, as well as the short story "Christmas at Gravesend"!

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00QB38G5G
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 27, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2384 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #9,571 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #57 in Historical Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #408 in Women Sleuths (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
567 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		49%
4 star		30%
3 star		13%
2 star		4%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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MAP

Superficial read with some fun aspects (not the romance though)

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2019

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This is one of those books that is defined as a "guilty pleasure." Amanda DeWees' Nocturne for a Widow is a fun but rather predictable read. Sybil Ingram is an actress past her prime (a.k.a. almost 30). She has decided to settle down with a hotel mogul... who she soon finds out is completely bankrupt... and he also dies on their wedding night. She leaves to stake a claim to his country estate and has a battle of wills with her late husband's step son for the property. Oh yeah... it's also haunted.

Sybil was an okay protagonist. She's a little oblivious, far too trusting, and overly dramatic, but she has a spark and wonderful candor that made me appreciate her. However, I was very disappointed in the love story. Roderick was a wretched person who constantly sexualized and berated her. They both had the emotional capacity of 14-year-olds. They had one heart felt conversation and went from super hatred to super in love super fast. I rolled my eyes every time a stupid pet name was uttered... why are you calling someone you kissed once "darling"? My hope is that this was a tongue-in-cheek commentary on early Victorian/Gothic romances... but I really don't know.

The entire story lacked depth. Themes of age, identity, sexuality, and loyalty were touched upon but the conclusion undermined most of the independent, self-made woman talk. The motives of the other characters were also superficial. It was just a strange mix of Victorian sensibilities, supernatural occurrences, and attempts at feminism.

That being said, the supernatural element gave the story the "umph" is needed to be something other than Victorian-esque drivel. The Gothic style and Sybil's open mindedness was entertaining and gave the novel a dimension it was sorely needing.

Nocturne for a Widow was a quick, relatively superficial read. There was not much focus on characters, motives, or plot, but it was a fun book none-the-less. If you like supernatural murder mysteries with an entertaining female protagonist and a Gothic style, you'd definitely enjoy this. I'm not sure if I will read the 2nd book. If I do, it will be to try and find some depth and redeeming quality for Roderick, who I don't think deserves Sybil in the slightest.

25 people found this helpful

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David Cochran

Unbelievably formulaic

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2018

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You know that standard, predictable, summer rom-com movie where something dramatic happens to a woman and she's thrown into an unexpected situation and she meets some guy that she's hopelessly incompatible with and yet somehow they fall in love and near the end something happens that makes it seem like it won't work out but then in the last 10 minutes it all works out even better than they thought?

This book is that movie.

14 people found this helpful

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Elderflower

Masterly

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2018

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I was reminded of reading Daphne DuMaurier as a teenager, reading this book. One is aware of being in expert hands, ofbeing cleverly manipulated -- an interesting play on one of the main threads of the plot, come to think of it -- but it's just so enjoyable! I read it with breathless attention.

I'm perplexed by some of the unenthusiastic reviews here -- I think they must have to do with the fact that this is not a proper Romance novel, but instead quite a good Gothic. And very much a period piece, and a well-done one too. No anachronisms intrude to spoilt the Victorian atmosphere.

Me, I'm excited to see what these characters do in a much wider setting, so I'm back to buy the sequels -- although this is very much a complete novel in itself. I love a polished, satisfying ending; this one is mostly satisfying, and not so polished, as the book's smooth gears start to make a little noise toward the end. But it was engrossing from the first word to the last, and a tremendously enjoyable read.

9 people found this helpful

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Gerania

Gothic Gaucherie

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2015

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I lost respect for Sybil early on, when she agreed to take the rap for something she didn't do, potentially destroying her already shaky future. How did she think her wealthy husband would react to discovering his wife was a seeming criminal? She apparently didn't consider how that could affect his business and contacts. Her rash and impulsive decisions continued. Although Sybil was almost 30, her attraction to Roderick had the emotional depth of a teenager's. Dialogue, particularly in intimate conversations, was stilted and unbelievable. The best aspect of the book was its story line, which reminded me of popular vintage Gothic author Phyllis Whitney (although Mary Stewart was more my cuppa tea). The "bad guy" was obvious from early on, but spooky happenings would have kept my interest if not for the sloppy, superficial characters.

94 people found this helpful

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paminocala

Okie dokie

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020

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I’m not a romance lover and was thrilled that wasn’t a huge part of the story. There was a little mystery, a little romance, a little humor, no sex or foul language. You know who’s the villainess because it’s very clearly implied. I do appreciate when an author tends to make a mystery a mystery. Rather than just a story. This is one of those “I love you, I hate you, I love you, I hate you, I love you “ books. The character’s are presented as intelligent, unfortunately they have the emotional skills of a kindergartner. I will leave this with an “okie dokie”, not good, definitely not great but better than I could ever hope to pen. Right now I’m not interested in the remainder of the series. I’m not invested with these characters or interested in their futures. That’s not to say that one day I might be desperate for something to read and notice that I’ve previously purchased this author. I wish I could put an x on Amazon authors that I’m not a fan, I’m not following someone unless I’m interested in constant email.

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Top reviews from other countries

A Woman of a Certain Age

Not bad for a free book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

I downloaded this as it was free and a good way to try an author I had never read before. I thought the overall premise was good but not particularly well written. A lot of the plot was so obvious and trite that I could have written it myself, notably Mrs Dove not being the gentle soul that men took her for.
Like another reviewer I found it hard to believe that a not so young single woman of that period would agree to accept the blame for a crime she did not commit. Especially as their whole existence was so precarious at that time.
I found it even more unbelievable at the end that she would forgive a man, no matter how much she loved him, who threw her out of the only home she had knowing she was penniless.

2 people found this helpful

Hannah

Fast paced but simple

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2019

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The books begins with our main character Sybil leaving the theatre to start a new life abroad in America, she agrees to a shady deal with her mentor to keep him from ruining his chances with his new star, straight away I did not like the flamboyant character of Atherton as he seems sneaky and not very trustworthy.

After a disastrous twist of fate, Sybil finds herself in dire straits, I admired her tenacity and stubbornness to stand her ground against those who try to uproot her yet again.

This was an simple and enjoyable read, predictable and easy going, though I did find it hard to keep up with the main characters constant changes of feelings!

A good villain with bit of a twist at the end!

Father Ted

"Standard fare"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2019

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This was one of those occasions when you step back in time and instead of being transfixed by the characters, the settings and the intrigue you can't wait to return to the present. Although the settings matched the period the characters were over the top and any mystery was swept away by a convenient coincidence like a cobweb with a flick of a duster. Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.

One person found this helpful

jennetttwo

Not for me.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2019

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Liked the cover and the synopsis sounded promising. But was disappointed. Melodramatic and reminiscent of a gothic 50's Mills and Boon. Found some passages laughable when they weren't meant to be funny. Or were they? And the Hero- oh dear. Not for me.

One person found this helpful

Love Reading

A lovely story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

I'm giving Nocturne for a Widow four stars simply because I enjoyed it. I liked the way it was written in the first person emphasising the feelings of Sybil and all she endured after 'retiring' from the theatre. I also thought there were some poignant moments, for example, when Sybil pleads with the ghost to let her stay as she has nowhere else to go. That twanged my heart. There were some interesting characters and the plot kept me turning the pages. A well deserved four stars.

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