“This is a spellbinding page-turner of a book.” —Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale.
A mesmerizing novel of dark family secrets and a young woman’s rise and revenge set against the backdrop of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
The eve of destruction. After her mother’s death, penniless May Kimble lives a lonely life until an aunt she didn’t know existed summons her to San Francisco. There she’s welcomed into the wealthy Sullivan family and their social circle.
Initially overwhelmed by the opulence of her new life, May soon senses that dark mysteries lurk in the shadows of the Sullivan mansion. Her glamorous cousin often disappears in the night. Her aunt wanders about in a laudanum fog. And a maid keeps hinting that May is in danger. Trapped by betrayal, madness, and murder, May stands to lose everything, including her freedom, at the hands of those she trusts most.
Then, on an early April morning, San Francisco comes tumbling down. Out of the smoldering ruins, May embarks on a harrowing road to reclaim what is hers. This tragic twist of fate, along with the help of an intrepid and charismatic journalist, puts vengeance within May’s reach. But will she take it?
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Somehow Megan Chance has stepped back in time and delivered a mesmerizing tale that will compel you to turn just one more page, to finish one more chapter as, along with the novel’s fascinating heroine, May Kimble, you try to learn the mystery at the heart of this powerful novel. San Francisco during the Gilded age has never been painted more lovingly or—during its devastating fire—more compassionately. An absorbing, tragic, heart-wrenching historical novel that [is] at once thought-provoking and ultimately so very satisfying. Brava!
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M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author of Cartier’s Hope