A fateful dream…since childhood, Ariana Lévesque has been haunted by a strange, frightening dream about a handsome young man and a dark, foreboding Scottish castle on the shores of Loch Ness. But what does it mean? A Gypsy fortune-teller divines a perilous destiny. Fleeing from France to Victorian London, Ariana soon finds herself caught up in a dangerous intrigue that began over two hundred years before she was born. A hazardous quest…after witnessing his father's nefarious murder and the fateful burning of his home, Malcolm Blackfriars makes a shocking, fearsome discovery: his family lies under a baleful curse, and their shadowed past conceals a multitude of dark secrets that have now placed his own life in jeopardy! In London, he ventures upon a hazardous quest to learn the truth about his cryptic heritage. A ninefold key…Ariana and Malcolm are fated to meet and to fall passionately in love. But will their desperate search for the ninefold key that will unlock the deadly hidden secrets of their past set them free to embark upon a joyous new life together --- or utterly destroy them both?
"From the prologue, it is apparent that The Ninefold Key is not a simple romance...that this is a brilliant, well-planned gothic tale much in the same vein as those of Susan Howatch. Mesmerizing from its opening page to its very satisfying conclusion, The Ninefold Key is impossible to put down. With well-written characters and a gripping premise, this is a not-to-be missed novel." ---Jani Brooks, for Romance Reviews Today, on The Ninefold Key
"Fans of historical romantic suspense with a touch of Egyptology will appreciate The Ninefold Key, a fascinating work that keeps reader interest starting from page one because the audience wants to know more about the scarab and the 'nine keys.' The ensemble cast contains numerous interrelated but unique players...readers will treasure this action-packed thriller that has a fantastic romance as a major sub-plot." ---Harriet Klausner, #1 Amazon.com Reviewer, on The Ninefold Key
Brandewyne appeals to the readership of Across a Starlit Sea with a lush novel brimming with rich historical details and written in the grand tradition of the Victorian gothic, complete with a huge cast of characters, a stolen gem, a curse, a mystery and a love story. More engrossing mystery than pure romance, it unfolds slowly, luring the reader in as each character is brought into this carefully constructed and intriguing tale (à la Dickens) that will captivate gothic fans." ---Kathe Robin, for Romantic Times, on The Ninefold Key