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The Expectation
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By: A. O'Connor
Publisher: Poolbeg Press Ltd
Published: October 2026
Pages: 450
Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literature
Language: English
Available as: Paperback
On sale at:
ISBN-13: 9781781996461

A missing woman. A suspicious death. And a housekeeper who knows too much. Ireland, 1847. As famine devastates County Kerry, Nancy Spencer arrives at Thornbury Hall to take up the position of housekeeper. Armed guards patrol the estate, locked doors conceal its secrets, and the family inside seems determined to keep the outside world at bay. But Nancy is not who she claims to be. She has been sent to discover what has become of Lady Caroline Thornbury, the young widow who has not been seen in public for months. Some say Caroline is ill. Others believe she is hiding. But there are darker rumours—that she has become the victim of a terrible crime. Two years earlier, Caroline married the wealthy Sir Louis Thornbury, despite admitting that she did not love him. His daughters, Lucy and Grace, feared that if Caroline produced a male heir, they would lose their inheritance. Then Sir Louis was killed in a suspicious accident—and Caroline announced that she was pregnant. Now the doors to the East Wing are permanently locked. Lucy secretly visits a heavily pregnant young woman living on the estate. No one is permitted to see Caroline. And local anger is being deliberately turned against the new Lady Thornbury, whom some blame for the famine itself. As Nancy uncovers the secrets buried within the house, she realises that the chaos outside Thornbury Hall is providing someone inside with the perfect cover for a heinous crime. Time is running out to discover the truth. What happened to Lady Caroline? Who benefited from Sir Louis's death? And what is hidden in the East Wing? The Expectation is a dark and atmospheric Irish historical mystery filled with family secrets, disputed inheritance, betrayal and suspense.

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