Indies Introduce

Fiction

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  The Animals at Lockwood Manor, Jane Healey
  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 9780358106401, March 10, 2020 (Fiction)
  

  “A lonely young woman is assigned to be the director of the mammal collection of London’s Natural History Museum upon its evacuation to a sprawling country estate at the onset of World War II. Dark forces are afoot as she navigates her relationships with the domineering widower and his mentally fragile daughter who reside with their servants at Lockwood Manor. Why are taxidermized animals from the collection disappearing? What were the circumstances surrounding the death of the lady of the house? Gothic and mysterious with a hint of Upstairs, Downstairs, The Animals at Lockwood Manor will keep you turning the pages until the dramatic ending when all is revealed.”

  Mimi Hannan, La Playa Books (San Diego, CA)
  
  

  “When German bombs threaten the museums of London, plans are made to move the most valuable specimens from the natural history museum to the country estate Lockwood Manor. Hetty Cartwright, one of the only female zoologists in the country, is tasked with the animals’ safe keeping. But as soon as they are moved in, strange things start happening. Large animals disappear. Display cases are moved, but only slightly. Several displays are vandalized. Nothing major, but enough to keep Hetty’s nerves in an uproar. Is a final act of vandalism enough to ruin her career? A love story buried within a mystery, The Animals at Lockwood Manor is sure to keep the reader turning pages.”

  Cary Shapiro, Plot Twist Bookstore (Ankeny, IA)
  

   

  “This thriller takes place during WWII when Hetty Cartwright arrives at Lockwood Manor to take care of specimens from a natural history museum in London to keep them safe during the war. The hosts of the large manor—the controlling Major and his anxious daughter, Lucy—welcome Hetty and the specimens but don’t fully understand her. As time passes, there are ghosts, unexplained visitors, fears, and moving animals that make the job of safekeeping the animals and fossils difficult. This book is a page-turner because we wonder, are there spirits? How do the animals move around the house? Is Lucy a prisoner in her own home haunted by her memories of growing up in the house? It is a thriller, a love story, a moving story with surprises.”

  Lauren Zimmerman, The Writer’s Block Bookstore (Winter Park, FL)