A “Throwback” post from a year ago-Still aching to see Biltmore in person!
“A meticulously researched, well-crafted mystery; this is historical fiction at its best.” Publishing December 1, 2020 To Pre-Order: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Gilded-Moon-Joy-Jordan-Lake/dp/1713518384
Joy Jordan-Lake is the bestselling author of eight books, including the #1 Amazon Bestseller A Tangled Mercy and Blue Hole Back Home, which won the Christy Award in 2009 for Best First Novel. Her upcoming novel Under a Gilded Moon to be released on 12.01.20.
She holds a PhD in English Literature, founded a food pantry in New England for women and families experiencing homelessness, and has taught literature and writing at several universities.
https://www.joyjordanlake.com/at-a-glance
The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
The Approach Road leading to Biltmore is a three-mile drive lined with trees purposefully planted to shield the view of the towering spires and laced with twists and turns until the magnificent residence comes into focus. In Under a Gilded Moon Joy Jordan-Lake takes readers on a similarly breathtaking journey through the Blue Ridge Mountains right up to the grand entrance of the estate as it nears completion. Welcome to Biltmore!
Christmas Eve, December 1895, is a few days away and the manor is crawling with stonemasons, bricklayers, carpenters, and painters from around the world. George Washington Vanderbilt II, youngest child of eight, an artist and a scholar, is preparing to entertain and house his guests in America’s largest, fabulously ornate mansion. As guests are arriving a “bad thing at the station” occurs and just like the twists and turns of the Approach Road, the mystery of how and why slowly unwinds.
Just on the border of the estate, in the shadow of “fairy tale turrets and the glint of copper on gables and towers,” is the run-down cabin of Kerry McGregor. Determined to retain this generational land, she has returned from Barnard College, her chance to escape her mountain life and Dearg Tate, in order to defend her cause and care for her dying father and twin siblings. George Vanderbilt, John Cabot, Madison Grant-all are well- aware of Kerry, the raven-haired daughter of John McGregor, and one of the last holdouts of the mountain folk refusing to sell.
New Orleans elite, Lilli Barthelemy and her mother, due to unrest and protests, have been induced to depart the muggy Delta for the sidewalks and streetcars of New York City. Now Lilli travels to Biltmore with more on her mind than trunks brimming with a wardrobe from posh department stores. Will her past follow her to the hollows of North Carolina and Biltmore?
Entanglements with Sicilian immigrant, Sal, and his brother, Nico, who have connections to George all the way from Florence; keep the reader traipsing the estate from the stables to the kitchens, and from the library to the dining room-breathless-as guests, detectives and George Vanderbilt bolt into the night in search of a murderer. There are many twists and turns on the Approach Road to Under a Gilded Moon. Clasp your diamond necklace and step into a stunning designer gown in anticipation of this exquisite Christmas Eve gift. It is definitely worth the wait. ***** GR
Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House, the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet (16,622.8 m2) of floor space (135,280 square feet of living area).[2] Still owned by George Vanderbilt’s descendants, it remains one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions.
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