As featured in USA Today’s “Happy Ever After” blog–a sparkling, suspenseful mixture of Gothic romance and romantic comedy from the Daphne du Maurier Award-winning author of With This Curse and Sea of Secrets!
Vivacious actress Sybil Ingram looks forward to a life of security when she leaves the theater to marry a wealthy American. But when he dies suddenly on their wedding night, she finds … on their wedding night, she finds herself a penniless widow. Her only legacy is Brooke House, a Gothic revival manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. However, the eerie mansion comes with two tenants. One is a hostile ghost. The second, and far worse, is former violinist Roderick Brooke—the most insolent, dangerous, maddeningly gorgeous man she’s ever met.
As Sybil and Roderick engage in a battle of wills—and wits—she finds herself increasingly drawn to him despite her growing suspicion of a connection between him and the spirit that haunts Brooke House. But soon an even greater threat arises: the mysterious queen of local society, Mrs. Lavinia Dove. For reasons that Sybil can’t imagine, Mrs. Dove is determined to have Brooke House and Roderick for herself… if necessary, by deadly means.
By turns mysterious and moving, sparkling and spooky, Nocturne for a Widow follows a spirited heroine through adventures in life, love, and death. From the colorful theatrical world of late-Victorian London to the American wilderness, Sybil’s travels will test her mettle–and her heart.
Length: 97,000 words ~ Sensuality level: mild/sweet
Categories: Victorian era, historical fiction, gothic romance, romantic suspense, mystery, historical, romantic comedy, ghost story, Victorian mystery, historical romance, sweet romance, supernatural, 19th-century theater, Victorian England, cozy mystery
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Couldn’t get into this no matter how hard I tried.
I could not see one single thing about this man that would make anyone fall in love with him. Both main characters needed an IQ boost.
not wrotein a way i like
If I read it, it was excellent !!!!! I READ IT. JAK,jr.
A 19th century romance that manages to be 1) not-quite a bodice ripper, 2) a ghost story, 3) a murder mystery, and 4) a lot about artistic passion (and the other kind too)
This book is a historical mystery story with a ghostly twist. A young widow inherits a gothic manor and a ghost. There is confusion as to who will actually inherit the house – Sybil or the stepson. You must just settle in and enjoy the story. It is well written, the time period research seemed good. What I enjoyed was the author’s use of vocabulary set to the time period. I had to look up many words and found
their meanings were spot on. Too bad we don’t write or speak as concisely today.
The mystery was well plotted and there were no boring spots. Give it a look.
A great story. Had me guessing what would happen next.
I wrote a review
Enjoyable read.
This was a fun read because of the characters and circumstances they found themselves in. I loved the beginning, the ending was rather obvious unfortunately.
Interesting and different, although I saw the end coming by the middle of the book.
Enjoyable character, easy to read… great for readingon a trip!
got the audible version. The story grows on you. I’m a historical mystery fan, and not that much into “romance”. This tale has both. I’m not the biggest fan of the ending, which tends to be more romance than mystery, but the mystery and story of the heroine is worth it. Have gotten the sequel to this and will see if the author can improve on a good start.
If I were a young woman it most likely would have been more interesting for me.
This was my first Sybil Ingram book, and I look forward to reading more! The Victorian setting was interesting, as was the freshness and honesty of Sybil throughout the book!
I enjoyed the story as it unraveled across oceans. A good blend of suspense and romance.
An interesting transcontinental twist to an historical mystery, with a peek into the acting and performing world of that time period. Fun to read.
We have our thirty year old British main character who is past her prime as an actress in this period story. To protect a dear friend, she decides to take the blame for a serious situation since she will soon be leaving for the United States where she will marry a man twice her age. When she gets there the husband dies on their unconsummated wedding night, the fortune’s gone, everyone hates her including the handsome step-son, and the house is haunted by the first wife. Guess who falls in love, marries, and lives happily ever after! The reader often has to suspend belief, but if you don’t mind romance stories that don’t always make sense, you’ll enjoy this one.
NOCTURNE FOR A WIDOW, Amanda DeWeiss
In 1873, Sybil, an English actress, ages out of her acting company’s ingenue roles. The company’s manager begs her to save him from financial collapse by making way for a younger, more saleable ingenue. Seeing the limits to her acting career, Sybil decides to marry a wealthy long-time suitor, whom she values greatly as a friend, but for whom she as no great passion.
When she joins him in New York, she finds him deathly ill. Shortly after the wedding, he dies. His lawyer explains that the estate has been decimated, and that the widow’s legacy is a remote mansion in the Hudson River Valley, to which his stepson also has a legal claim. Sybil takes on the responsibility of the mansion and the stepson, whom she imagines to be a young child she can help through his bereavement. He is, in fact, a young man determined to wrest her claim from her grasp.
The house itself is not welcoming, and numerous unexplained manifestations occur. The neighbors are similarly unwelcoming, past the point of cruel gossip into dangerous territory. Fortunately, the spirits are on Sybil’s side.
The novel is a Gothic romp on American soil – an entertaining read about a smart, resourceful woman.
I love this series!! More, more, more!!!