The Secrets of Thorndale Manor

She risks everything for the truth. He threatens her heart. Athena Taylor realizes a life dream when she and her sister open the Darkmoor Bridge School for Girls at beautiful Thorndale Manor in Yorkshire. But the standing of the ancient estate is tarnished by the story of a convicted murderess who once lived there, and soon after school starts, one of the maids is found dead. Athena believes the maid's death is connected to the murder that took place nine years ago, a crime of passion of which an innocent woman may have been unjustly convicted. Athena's determination to investigate both deaths puts her at odds with Ian Vernon, a handsome, talented architect who lives on a scrap of land next door. Thorndale Manor was Mr. Vernon's birthright, but he was obliged to sell it after his father gambled away the family fortune. He harbors a grudge against Athena, the new owner, and he is firmly against her looking into the old murder case. His sister paid for that crime with her death and revisiting it, he tells her, will just stir up old wounds. Athena refuses to give up. Although she and Mr. Vernon start off on the wrong foot, she is soon heart-thumpingly attracted to him, and their stolen kisses cause her to rethink her policy to never wed. But her sleuthing threatens to complicate everything. As the clues mount up against a growing list of suspects, Athena uncovers long-held secrets that threaten her bond with Mr. Vernon and put her own life in mortal danger. Can Athena solve the mystery and reconcile her feelings for her home's former owner before a determined villain silences her forever? The Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire Book 1 - The Mysteries of Pendowar Hall Book 2 - The Secrets of Thorndale Manor Book 3 - Danger at Darkmoor Park