Julie Brooks

A home. A disappearance. And a mystery that spans a century…When Cass leaves London with a fractured heart, she plans to settle in Australia, specifically in the beautiful area of Victoria coastline where she spent so many happy holidays. Yet when she arrives, her house is not quite what she''d envisaged - doing a place up is one challenge, living with things that go bump in the night is quite another.Years earlier, Minna and her mother have escaped war torn Europe to join the fairgrounds. There, Minna meets Albert, a man clearly who wants a wife who will also be a full-time worker on the farm near Venus Bay. Albert has no interest in Minna, nor tolerance of her desire to become a writer. When he, and then Minna, both disappear, the mystery of what has happened to them stays buried, seemingly for ever…It will take Cass, and the discovery of a hidden book, to unravel the secrets of a childhood and a marriage, and a story that will also help her live again.Two women, decades apart, and a house that brings them together.Readers love A Haunting at Venus Bay:''A thoroughly intriguing, haunting and mysterious tale'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''The writing wove magical pictures . . . an exceptional story'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''An addictive and atmospheric dual timeline story'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Compelling backstories of loss and haunting (literally and figuratively)'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Well written and thought provoking'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''A fabulous family legacy tale'' Peterborough TelegraphA surprise inheritance. A hidden past.Brisbane, 2024 Barista and budding artist Mia Curtis is shocked to receive a package all the way from England informing her she''s the heir to her late grandmother''s cottage. Feeling lost in her own life, Mia travels across the world to claim her inheritance, where she begins to unravel the secrets passed down through the generations of women in her family.Sussex, 1821 Philadelphia Boadle wakes to find her husband, the tailor Jasper Boadle, dead. As the daughter of the local cunning woman, Philadelphia is soon accused of murder by witchcraft. Her future and that of her own daughter is at stake, unless she can convince the village she''s done no wrong...Acclaim for Julie Brooks: ''A sweeping tale of family secrets, betrayal, jealousy, ambition and forbidden romance . . . Fans of The Thorn Birds and Downton Abbey will love the epic scope of this novel'' ALI MERCER ''I thoroughly enjoyed this immersive story . . . and I can pay it no greater compliment other than to say, I wish I''d written it'' KATHRYN HUGHES