The Lantern

Book excerpt: “A whirlwind love affair, a wife who dies under mysterious circumstances, and a string of murder—and ghosts!—all set in a crumbling countryside estate in Provence. This haunting tale is everything you could want in a Gothic mystery that doesn’t also include a heroine named Jane Eyre.” — Redbook Set in the lush countryside of Provence, Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern is an atmospheric modern gothic tale of love, suspicion, and murder, in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Drawn to a confident and artistic wealthy older man she barely knows, bookish Eve recklessly embarks on a whirlwind affair that soon offers a new life and a new home—Les Genévriers, a charming yet decaying hamlet nestled amid the fragrant lavender fields of Provence. But with autumn’s arrival the days begin to cool—and so, too, does Dom. Though Eve knows he bears the emotional scars of a failed marriage—which he refuses to talk about—his silence arouses suspicion and uncertainty. And, like its owner, Les Genévriers is also changing. Bright, warm rooms have turned cold and uninviting; shadows now fall unexpectedly; and Eve senses a presence moving through the garden. Is it a ghost from the past—or a manifestation of her current troubles with Dom? Can she trust Dom—or could her life truly be in danger? An evocative tale of romantic and psychological suspense, The Lantern masterfully melds past and present, secrets and lies, appearances and disappearances—along with our age-old fear of the dark.