cover image To Tell Me Terrible Lies: A Romance of the Pine Barrens

To Tell Me Terrible Lies: A Romance of the Pine Barrens

Katherine St Clare. Wainwright Press, $24.95 (335pp) ISBN 978-0-9632830-1-6

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, feisty Serena Wainwright returns home to the New Jersey Pine Barrens after spending months with her lover Stuart Brandon, a rugged privateer who harasses British ships. But her family has been turned against her by obsequious scoundrel Caleb Salem, who aims to control the Wainwright ironmaking business and has vowed revenge for Serena's refusal of his marriage proposal. Rejected and pregnant, Serena makes her own way in the world, first as an apprentice to a local healer, then as mistress of a wealthy man who promises to protect her daughter. Throughout her travails, Serena is sustained by her will to survive and her love for the rebel privateer. His final betrayal, and Caleb's death, change her life once again. Debut novelist St. Clare doesn't make much use of her historical setting, although it provides a mildly interesting backdrop for her characters' adventures. The first in a projected series of five historical romances, this title may startle readers with its ending, which makes a sophisticated departure from genre conventions. ( Apr. )