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This book is on my summer reading list so I was thrilled to have the chance to showcase it for ya!

Check it out, and enjoy the exclusive excerpt!

Secrets of Hallstead House    

Amy M. Reade

 

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.

Date of Publication: July 17, 2014

eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-299-3 / eISBN-10: 1-60183-299-0

ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-300-6 / ISBN-10: 1-60183-300-8

Number of pages: appr. 273 / Word Count: appr. 82,000

Formats available: ebook, print-on-demand

 

Book Description:

Macy Stoddard had hoped to ease the grief of losing her parents in a fiery car crash by accepting a job as a private nurse to the wealthy and widowed Alexandria Hallstead.

But her first sight of Summerplace is of a dark and forbidding home. She quickly finds its winding halls and shadowy rooms filled with secrets and suspicions. Alex seems happy to have Macy’s help, but others on the island, including Alex’s sinister servants and hostile relatives, are far less welcoming.

Watching eyes, veiled threats…slowly, surely, the menacing spirit of Hallstead Island closes in around Macy. And she can only wonder if her story will become just one of the many secrets of Hallstead House…

 

Available at Amazon

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Enjoy this glimpse inside Secrets of Hallstead House

I must have been so engrossed in my drawing that I didn’t hear

Vali come up into the turret room. When I looked up, she was standing

at the top of the stairs, watching me. I gave a start and her lips

curled in a crocodilian smile.

“Yes?” I inquired tersely. I was not pleased that she had come up

here and I wanted her to go away. She had broken the turret room’s

spell and I was feeling a little peevish.

“I came up here to see if I could clean. But I see you’ve taken it

over. You have a habit of doing that.”

“Vali, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t taken anything

over. If you’re still upset about my asking you to set two extra

places at dinner last night, then I apologize. But we couldn’t send

Brandt and Giselle out into that storm.”

“What I mean is that you’ve inserted yourself into this household

rather nicely. You walk around here like you own the place. I’d advise

you to remember that everyone at this house was here long before

you were.”

I didn’t know what to say in the face of this tirade. I was starting

to feel a little nervous up here alone with this woman. I tried to talk to

her calmly.

“Vali, I am here to do a job, just like you. And of course I’m aware

that I have the low spot on the totem pole here. I can assure you that

I have no delusions about my position on Hallstead Island.”

“You aren’t even wanted here. Why don’t you just go back where

you came from?”

Not this again, I thought. “Vali,” I responded evenly, “I was hired

to be Alex’s nurse. I am not leaving until she asks me to. Besides,” I

added, “I spoke to her just this morning and she assured me that she

wants me to stay.”

She said nothing but stared at me venomously. I met her stare and

tried not to flinch. She’s a bit unstable, I thought. I waited for her to

say or do something. Finally she spun around on her heel and left. I

listened until she slammed the turret door behind her, and then sank

back onto the sofa. What am I doing here? I wondered.

I was at a loss to explain why Vali and Will disliked me so. Pete

had warned me on my first day at Summerplace that I wouldn’t find

a warm welcome here, but I had no idea that the feelings against me

would be so strong. I laid my head against the back of the sofa and

closed my eyes, sighing deeply. How could I convince Vali and Will

that I meant no harm to anyone and that my only purpose at Summerplace

was to be a good nurse to Alex?

I didn’t have long to think, because I heard footfalls on the turret

steps again. My body tensed, waiting for another uncomfortable en-

counter with Vali, but to my surprise it was Stephan’s head that poked

into the turret room. He looked around and saw me on the sofa.

“Mind if I come up?” he asked genially.

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About the Author:

Amy M. Reade is a debut author of romantic suspense. A native of upstate New York, she grew up in the Thousand Islands region and was inspired by the natural beauty of that area to write her first novel, Secrets of Hallstead House. She now lives in New Jersey with her husband, three children, a Bouvier des Flandres named Orly, and two rescued cats who refuse to answer to their names of Porthos and Athos.

Upon graduation from Cornell University and Indiana University School of Law, Amy practiced law in New York City, but soon discovered that her dream job was writing. In addition to volunteering with school, church, and community groups, Amy is currently working on her second novel, set in the area around Charleston, South Carolina.

Though Amy lives within sight of the Atlantic Ocean, she is partial to the blue waters of the Pacific and spends as much time as possible on the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the setting of her as-yet-unwritten third novel.

 

Website ~ Blog ~  Twitter ~ FB ~ Kensington website

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