Avalon Castle is set in 1867 England when being a thirty year old woman with no marriage prospects nearly deemed you a spinster for the rest of your life. Rachel Garland had accepted that love and romance may not be a part of her future, but she had found solace in caring for and spending time with her sister Lucy who was nine years her junior. That is, until Lucy elopes with Mr. Nicolas Blackwood and leaves their seaside home to move into an eccentric castle that is nearly as eccentric and mysterious as the family that inhabits it.

“I had a disagreeable, rather sinister fancy that I was waiting for something to happen. I had no idea what, save that it was likely to be deeply unpleasant.”

Rachel has her doubts about the noble intentions of Mr. Blackwood but Lucy is madly and blindly in love. When Rachel is invited to Christmas at Avalon Castle, she accepts with the hopes of gaining better insight into the reclusive Mr. Blackwood and her sister’s true happiness in her new home. What Rachel doesn’t plan to find is a handsome neighbor to fall in love with and a darkly mysterious home with dangers lurking all around. The question is, who of these unusual characters in the Blackwood family is capable of murder and can Rachel protect herself and her sister?

Author Rosemary Craddock creates a story of intrigue and unusual circumstance. There is mystery, suspense, romance and family loyalty all rolled into one story of greed and murder.

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