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London is alive with gossip about the thrilling new book by sensationalist author Henry Ellis Margam, but only a select group of people know that the real author is beautiful widow, and member of high society, Bella Wallis. One of her confidantes is the dashing Philip Westland, who comes to Bella now with a problem: his best friend Kennet is smitten with the heiress Mary Skillane but Mary''s father, Sir William, has promised her to Robert Judd, a vulgar treasure-seeker. Mary is due to inherit the Skillane pearls, which are currently residing in a Cornsih bank vault, but it seems that the pearls were ill-gotten. Can Bella and her friends reunite the young lovers and escape the attention of the villainous Judd?
About the author
Brian Thompson is a word geek with an analytical mind and an imaginative heart. His background in legal tech means he love puzzles and precision, but his passion for stories lets him bend reality and explore the unknown. Both sides fuel his writing, whether he's geeking out over word origins or unraveling supernatural mysteries.Brian Thompson was born and raised in Minnesota. His first professional writing foray was as a freelancer for Cracked.com. One of his articles was chosen to be published in Cracked.com's first physical collection You Might be a Zombie and Other Bad News which made the NYT Non-Fiction bestseller list. Being surrounded by other talented writers, he saw many of them participate in National Novel Writing Month. One November he decided to try too and failed miserably, but it did kick off the start of his first novel, The Observer. Many of the items researched while writing for Cracked.com were inspirations for parts of the novel.When not writing, Brian enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, singing with the Angelica Encore Choral Ensemble, watching Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPG content, and playing RPG video games.
Summary
It is London, 1875. At Lady Cornford's famous soiree (sugared almonds and tittle-tattle) everyone is gossiping about Henry Ellis Margam's latest hit, The Widow's Secret. Only a few people know that one of Lady C's guests, the enigmatic Bella Wallis, is in fact the bestselling novelist.
