Jan Selbourne
When history whispers,
I pass it on.
When history whispers,
I pass it on.
Their love affair ended in anger and painful consequences. Lady Katherine Ashford has guarded a secret through years of abuse. Fighting wars and hard living has numbed Julian Ashford. Then fate steps in. A traitor is smuggling gold across the Channel to Napoleon Bonaparte and Julian is ordered back to Halton Hall and Katherine. It’s her secret and the increasing danger that rekindle the love they once shared, then a murder reveals the shocking truth of the gold smuggling. However, nothing could prepare them for the devastating betrayal when they finally face the mastermind behind this sordid operation.
"I loved this fast paced, edge of your seat murder mystery romance combination page burner of a read. The emotions the characters depicted were outstanding. The hero and heroine without a doubt compatible. The story line flowed brilliantly. It was as if you were watching in on a big screen. Lies of Gold is an absolute must read!"
Tricia Davis. Historical Romance Addicts
5 Stars: "A masterfully crafted, gripping plot with historically accurate depictions of the foibles and excesses occurring in England during the Napoleonic era. It keeps you hanging to the last page."
Linda Dare
5 Stars: "Erotic and cerebral at the same time.
Phenomenal read! Erotic and cerebral at the same time. When the hero and heroine finally do see past the intricate web of deceit and betrayal that surrounds them, it will have you cheering. No one deserves a measure of happiness more than these two characters. I don’t want to give away the ending, so I will only say that there is a glorious twist that I didn’t see coming. A definite five stars."
Suzanne Smith
5 Stars: "Just finished Lies of Gold and was completely blown away. Set in in 1813, the book's impetus is gold being smuggled from England to Napoleon's France. But the love story is at the forefront. Julian and Katherine find each other but they aren't happy about it. Julian is back on the estate where he grew up in very unhappy circumstances. Katherine lives in the main house with her two children as the widow of the former earl. Somehow, the gold is being funneled out to the coast from this area, and Julian has been sent to discover how. The intrigue that follows is pretty shocking and provides a mystery with plenty of twists and turns.
Jan Selbourne's historical knowledge combined with her rich, deep characterization makes this book crazy good. Her details bring the reader in until we feel like we're right there with the characters, making discoveries, uncovering secrets, and catching criminals. Normally I would recommend this book to those who love historical novels, but truthfully, I recommend Lies of Gold to anyone who loves a gripping good story. Jan Selbourne is now one of my favorite authors!"
Dee S. Knight
5 Stars: "This book was hard to put down. Excellent character development and accurate setting details. The plot was easy to follow, but not simplistic. Would recommend this book to mystery buffs, and those who like historical novels. I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Margaret Nyberg
5 Stars: "I was truly drawn into this story of romance, adventure and suspense. The characters were rich and deep and the storyline was captivating. Lies of Gold is a the best historical romance novel I've read in years! I look forward to reading more of Jan Selbourne's books in the future. Well done!!!"
Betty Ann Harris
5 Stars: "I love Jan Selbourne stories. The characters are rich and varied in their contribution to the story line. It is the history and the historical settings that grab my interest and propels me along in time and space of the period."
Gail Beardslee
5 Stars: "I didn't want the book to end I wanted more time with the characters. That to me is. the definition of a fantastic book."
Carol Rising
5 Stars: "A pleasure to read, enjoyed every minute. A wonderful mix of historical romance, mystery and adventure, something for every taste. Was anxious, surprised and pleased at every turn. Looking forward to her next book."
cjm
5 Stars: "IF ALL HISTORICAL FICTION WERE THIS GOOD, I'D NEVER READ ANOTHER GENRE!
Until I read Jan Selbourne's first book, BEHIND THE CLOUDS, the last genre I would dream of reading is historical fiction. But Jan's first book was so amazing I began looking for more books like hers. So I was delighted to find she had now written a second historical fiction book. LIES OF GOLD, held me spellbound from beginning to end. The characters were so clearly drawn and well-developed. Evil was evil and good was good and I was never sure what would happen and who was behind all sinister events in the story until I turned the last page. Talk about keeping readers in suspense!
LIES OF GOLD has just enough romance and sensuality to satisfy those who love that kind of thing. And yet it's a tension-filled whodunnit of a different kind set in a different era. This is top-notch writing by a gifted writer who has an undying fan in me. Bravo Jan Selbourne."
Viga Boland, author No Tears for my Father
5 Stars: "Even better than "Behind the Clouds". A masterful blending of genres, historical romance, mystery, and adventure! Far better than anything you will find on anybody's bestseller list. Well crafted, plotted with ingenuity, and written with the excellent command of language we have come to expect from Ms. Selbourne, it demands a sequel."
Jeanette Beardslee
5 Stars:
shadl717
Julian walked out of the drawing room and felt a sliver of shock when he opened the door to his bedchamber. He couldn’t remember how he got here. Swearing softly, he walked to the window overlooking the front courtyard and rested his head against the glass. He’d fathered a child, a daughter. For nine years, his daughter had lived in this house as Charles’s daughter. His vision blurred. Ten years of hard living had buried those deep painful scars and all it took was one look at Katherine and that small girl’s face to peel it all away. Like peeling an onion, his eyes were stinging like hell.
He remembered the night he met Katherine as if it were yesterday. Charles was in France and he was in London attending a debutante’s ball. Bored out of his head with the simpering young females and strutting males he was looking for an excuse to depart when his cousin’s tall, elegant wife, Katherine was introduced to him. The orchestra began playing and he asked her to join him on the floor. It was a waltz; he took her in his arms, her eyes met his and he knew he’d met the only woman he’d ever love. They’d set off murmurs behind fans for dancing twice and they didn’t leave each other for a week. They’d made intense, passionate, love, they’d laid in each other’s arms and talked for hours, they were as one. She’d confided Charles was a hard, brutish man but she would not leave him because she’d lose all rights to her four years old son. He’d begged her, made promises he knew he couldn’t keep. She’d shaken her head in despair. As soon as Charles returned to London they would go home to Halton Hall.
He’d prayed Charles’s ship would sink to the bottom of the Channel. She’d cried in his arms; he’d cried in her arms. The day before Charles was due to arrive in London they became tense with each other and finally, distraught, he’d accused her of selling herself for the title and privilege. She’d thrown a heavy teapot at his head. When it struck, he’d seen stars for several seconds before shouting more insults. She’d furiously told him he couldn’t afford to keep her on his army pay. He’d walked out.
Julian barely remembered the following months of heavy drinking and angry self-pity until the army knocked his arrogance and selfishness out of him and saved his sanity. He knew damn well his army pay wouldn’t have kept her and he knew damn well she’d have lost all rights to her son. Knowing Charles, he would have demanded she be brought back to him and the law and the church would have supported him. Her life would have been worse than hell. Now this, Christ, never in a million years did he expect this. He wanted to walk away but he couldn’t because the whole damn top secret investigation would crumble or blow up in his face.
He sat down by the fire and put his head in his hands. He didn’t know it then, but that night fourteen months ago, changed his life. Benjamin Bloomfield, aide de camp to His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, had ordered Brigadier Sir Ian MacDonald, Sir Henry Whitton and himself to meet at a nondescript location on the outskirts of London. On their arrival, they’d been momentarily lost for words to find a sober and serious Prince Regent waiting for them. Senior government officials had drawn the Regent’s attention to the alarming amounts of gold leaving England. Well-placed sources in France had reported English gold was being smuggled across the Channel to help finance Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. Intensive investigations along the east coast had failed to find any solid evidence but the Regent was not satisfied. He and Bloomfield were convinced someone in the upper echelons of power and influence was behind it or protecting the smugglers. That night the five men present decided that from now on the Prince Regent would shrug it off as rumors and lose interest.
That night MacDonald, Whitton and Julian agreed to begin their search for the source. The Prince Regent named the secret investigation Spider’s Web. The three men thought the name childish but they dutifully indulged His Royal Highness. Not one word of the meeting was recorded and at the conclusion the Prince Regent instructed the three men to meet on the first day of each month and report their progress to Bloomfield the day after. Their investigations were secret and painstaking and gradually they began to close in on this part of the coast. They had observed from a distance, they had moved a little closer and then, as with every other investigation, the scent disappeared. However, they were convinced and MacDonald decreed Julian was the only suitable person to come and go around the Ballingford estates and the coast without raising suspicions.
Julian stretched his feet towards the fire, remembering his furious refusal to return to this place he despised intensely and how he nearly resigned his commission when summoned to a private audience with the Prince Regent. High Treason was involved and as an officer of the Crown he was expected to do his duty. He’d reluctantly bowed to HRH’s orders and it was agreed that to be convincing he’d have to be in dire straits to return. His debts, scandals and fistfights were carefully and authentically orchestrated culminating in him being bawled out by Ian MacDonald who’d conveniently forgotten the raw young corporal and scandal loving clerk in his office. Then their one reliable informer, who’d only agreed to meet him under strict conditions of anonymity, was found with his throat cut. He and Baker had arrived at Halton Hall with no idea of where to start or where to look for the needle in the haystack of boats and fishermen and identify whoever was behind this well organized group of traitors. When he did find evidence, his orders were to send a coded message to MacDonald and Whitton and the net would close in.
No matter what was thrown at him now, he could not walk away. They were so close and if the web was broken it could not be repaired. Nor could he let down Ian MacDonald, his uncle and mentor, to whom he owed so much.
