Delicious Historical Fiction in Susan Carroll's THE LADY OF SECRETS

Susan Carroll specializes in historical fiction that mixes intrigue, magic and sweeping romance. Carroll's newest book, The Lady of Secrets, is the sixth volume in her Dark Queen series. Like the others, it involves a smart, somewhat haunted heroine, a "daughter of the earth" who practices healing arts on a French island.

The newest Lady of Faire Isle is Meg Wolfe, whose mother was a very dark and dangerous witch. With her mother's death behind her, Meg attempts to make her own path, a much more peaceful one than her mother envisioned, but events conspire against her, beginning with the arrival of two mysterious Englishmen. With talk of spells and witchery connected to a Silver Rose -- a name Meg's mother once attached to her -- Meg is pulled to England, where King James has made a habit of putting a torch to women who take any steps toward magic.

Carroll jumps into the 17th century and across the English Channel with this book, which gives her an opportunity to move beyond Catherine de Medici, the Dark Queen who gave her name to the series. As always, Carroll's characters are terrific, and Meg is a truly worthy heroine, trying to live down the shadows of the past and find a place where she fits in the world. She has two potential suitors, and we're left in the dark as to who's who or which she'll choose for a good long while, but I have to say, I found the Right Man much more appealing than the Wrong Man from the get-go. There is danger and real suspense as the story unspools, with a backdrop of Guy (also known as Guido) Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot as well as James' superstitions and penchant for witchhunting.

One last note -- the cover, as you can see above, is simply gorgeous. Carroll has had some great ones from Ballantine, but The Lady of Secrets may just be her most beautiful yet. And everything that the cover promises, the book delivers. In this case, you can judge a book by its cover.

The Lady of Secrets is available at bookstores right now, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If you'd like to catch up with some of Susan's older titles, she is now offering Kindle and iBook editions. You'll find details on those books here.

Three Susan Carroll (AKA Serena Richards) Novels Now Available on Kindle

The publishing industry has been undergoing a lot of changes since the ebook has taken hold, with many authors taking advantage of the chance to resurrect their backlists. Susan Carroll, the award-winning author of the Dark Queen, Bride Finder and St. Leger series of historical romance novels, has made three of her older books available on Amazon for Kindle readers. That means current readers now have the opportunity to read these wonderful books.

All three of these newly available titles were written for Berkeley in the early 90s under Susan's Serena Richards pseudonym. That means you might be able to find used copies if you look hard enough, but the Kindle editions are 1) easy to locate, 2) easy to use on your Kindle, and 3) lovely, with spiffy new cover images.

Susan has chosen more representative covers for these new editions of her books, as you can see here. There's Masquerade, set in 18th century England and France, with Lady Phaedra Grantham (you have to love a book with a heroine named Phaedra) fascinated by a mysterious French nobleman. As the Kindle listing teases: "Phaedra is drawn to the man, despite her growing suspicion and fear. What secret does Armande hide behind his aristocratic mask? And what danger does Phaedra face when love itself may prove to be nothing more than a masquerade?" Masquerade was very much loved by readers when it was first published, and well worth adding to your Kindle now.

The second book she's made available is Rendezvous, a delicious romantic suspense tale set mostly in France during Napoleon's Empire period. (That qualifies it as a Regency for romance readers, even if it is in France instead of England.)  Isabelle Varens and Sinclair Carrington are both spies, both involved in all kinds of intrigue, including trying to take down Napoleon himself.

And last, Susan brings us to one of my favorite historical periods -- the turn of the 20th century -- with Escapade, set in New York City. The heroine, Rory Cavanaugh, owns a hot-air balloon company that isn't doing too well, so she turns to a dark, handsome millionaire for help. But that comes with complications. This romantic adventure "sweeps from the glittering mansions on Fifth Avenue to the dark underworld of Five Points."

You can visit Amazon to find Kindle editions of Escapade, Masquerade and Rendezvous for $4.99 each.