The Unintended Heiress

by Colleen Coyne

This dual timeline saga is based on the scandalous lives of Belgium's brutal King Leopold II, his young mistress, her longtime lover, the King's three daughters, and the mystery of a vanishing fortune.
THEN
At his death in 1909, Leopold was believed to be the wealthiest man in the world. A fortune made from enslaving the people of the Congo to harvest ivory and rubber went to lining his pockets rather than filling his kingdom's coffers. He triggered the genocide of an estimated ten to fifteen million people to satisfy his greed.
NOW
Oceane's life is turned upside down when she joins her grandmother on the French Riviera during summer break. She is surprised to learn that her family owns a magnificent villa on Cap Ferrat (the peninsula of billionaires) that has been unused for decades and nearly untouched for over a century. Gran is forced to prepare Oceane for an advancing threat by telling her the unvarnished truth about her family and their connection to Leopold’s lost fortune.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2023

About the author

Colleen Coyne lives in coastal New England, and also spend parts of the year in Roskilde, Denmark, and Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. Her newest thriller, LET IT BE, explores the consequences of concealed truths. Secrets don't die; they wait.

Her first two novels were contracted for publication within days of one another. THE UNINTENDED HEIRESS, Colleen's debut novel is a Firebird Book Awards winner in the category: Fiction (First Time Published), and it was shortlisted for the Goethe Book Award, which recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in post-1750s Historical Fiction. This book was also 2024 American Fiction Award Finalist in the Mystery/Suspense: Historical category and finalist in the Storytrade Book Awards "Mystery/Historical" category. BEWEPT, her second novel, placed Third in the Women’s Fiction category of the 2024 National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) Contest, is a 2024 American Fiction Award Finalist in the Family Saga category and is a semi-finalist to receive the Chanticleer International Clue Award for Suspense and Thriller Fiction. BEWEPT was also awarded the 2024 International Book Impact Award for fiction and is a winner of the Storytrade Book Awards “Suspense/Thriller” category.

Reviews

[T.P. Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and entertaining story. I really knew nothing about King Leopold until I read this and I was shocked at the things he did. The research the author did was very thorough. The dialogue and setting and terminology were excellent and made me feel like I was in that time period. Caroline was a great character. I love the mix of mystery/suspense and historical genres. A truly wonderful novel!

[Colleen Gibbons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. It’s like an anti Hallmark movie. Like those bad villainous Lifetime movie with murder, mistresses, and mega million/billionaire lifestyles but with a heart of gold. I’m annoyed I used my credits to buy it.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The past is woven seamlessly with the present. Interesting, informative, captivating storyline! You won’t be disappointed!!

[Jenmalloy Chirichillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Leopold and mistress Caroline. If half of the stories about leopold are true, truly disgusting human

[Georgena D Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow,captivating!

I couldn't put this read down. I read late into the night and all day to finish this. I highly recommend!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book.