1870's England: Alice, and her horse, Ace are caught in a storm and forced to ask for shelter at an enormous manor in-between the outskirts of the English countryside and London. But all is not well in this home, and before long, Alice faces a bizarre problem: the manor's lord, William Gladstone, claims his estranged wife Adelaide is going to murder him that evening. Adelaide, meanwhile, claims that William is going to murder her. After dinner, both are found dead, in the library, seated as if having a rational discussion, but both dead as a doorknob. There is no obvious murder weapon, and quite possibly, the murderer is loose in the manor. Alice is no detective, but she might as well figure this out. Given that storm, help won't be coming until it's too late.
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]