The Jeweller's Niece

by Alexandra Connor

A compelling and dramatic new saga of the north west

Emma Coles' life is shattered when her widowed father Frederick is imprisoned for theft. She never believes that he is guilty - but her intimidating uncle, David Hawksworth, thinks otherwise. Reluctantly giving Emma a home over his jewellery shop, he forbids all contact with the convicted man. But Emma secretly visits her father in prison. As time progresses, Emma's relationship with friend Ricky, who works at the prison, deepens and for a while it seems that the future might not be as difficult as she feared. Then tragedy strikes. Caught in a welter of family politics and feuds, Emma remains determined to prove her father's innocence. Yet when the identity of the real culprit is uncovered, the revelations are shattering. Only by facing the truth about the past can Emma find happiness - and see justice finally done.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Alex (Alexandra) Connor was born in the UK. After beginning her career writing family sagas, she went on to write art thrillers and then historical novels. Having been published and translated in sixteen countries and enjoyed a No 1 best seller, she won the Rome Prize for Literature. Now returning to her love of thriller writing, she is extending her series of art thrillers with A WREATH of SERPENTS.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was recommended to read this British novel by an older woman selling books at St.Helena's carnival. It is set in 1920's Burnley in northern England. The poor heroine had so many traumatic tragic experiences it was a little far fetched. And the ending was very unrealistic. But overall I enjoyed it because I thought of the sweet lady who so wanted me to read it. She likes the author so much she would buy the books and have them delivered from England because she couldn't buy them in the U.S.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, set in Burnley in the 1920s

[Shaindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It was fine, a quick read to fill some time. Surprised by the high rating though and I suspect the glowing reviews are diehard fans of the author. It had a pretty predictable ending, characters who were cookie cutter, and the 'twists' weren't really twists. It killed a couple of evenings for me, but that's it. It didn't push me to seek out anything else by this author, unfortunately.

[Kate McDougall Sackler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. This was like Danielle Steele, but without the sex. A lot of everything is terrible, everything is wonderful, terrible, wonderful, terrible, wonderful….you get the picture. I couldn’t like the main character and she just was so was so stubborn and selfish. Ugh.

[Ruth Gatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit predictable but still a pleasant read.