Prospect Street

by Emilie Richards

Moving into her family's dilapidated Georgetown row house with her two children to start a new life, Faith Bronson begins to restore the house to it's former glory and unexpectedly uncovers dark secrets that unlock the mysteries of her family's past. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Mystery, Novels, Contemporary Romance

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

I'm the author of seventy-something novels, including romance, women's fiction and mystery. When We Were Sisters debuted in June 2016, a stand alone novel about two foster sisters traveling back into their past together. I loved writing it and love the cover my publisher chose.

I'm also excited about my recent series, Goddesses Anonymous, which started with One Mountain Away and was followed by Somewhere Between Luck and Trust. The third book in the series, A River Too Wide, came out in July 2014. The Color of Light debuted in August 2015. Will there be more? We'll see.

I'm also putting up my newly edited romance backlist and love re-reading and updating them a bit.

Last year my husband and I moved from Virginia, to Osprey, Florida, the state where both of us were raised, met, and married. In the summer we live in Chautauqua, New York. I'm a quilter, knitter, kayaker, and the mother of four children, whom I regard as my greatest creative endeavors. And now there are four wonderful grandchildren to spoil.

Visit me at my web site, emilierichards.com, and my blog, www.emilierichards.com/blog. You can also find me at Twitter and on my Facebook reader page.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading Emilie Richards' romance novels because I loved her mysteries. I was delighted to find that her romances actually had more plot and characterization than I expected -- I'm not surprised that her recent books are on the mainstream fiction shelves. Prospect Street delivers all that I've now come to expect from Richards but on a multi-generational level this time. Set in Georgetown, the book flirts with politics but never delves deep; instead, Georgetown is the plot and politics are the setting.

I should warn everyone, in case any of you pick this up -- I almost put the book down after the first 20 pages (I won't tell you why, because that would be a spoiler, albeit one you'd get to quickly). I'm very thankful that I decided to trust Richards and the sensitivity I've seen from her in other books. As I read further I discovered that what I'd feared was prejudice and hatred was actually the very heartfelt emotions of a character who I grew to love.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a nice surprise this book was. I enjoyed it from the first chapter. It was about a family who was going through hard times, and yet the heroine kept it together with integrity. She was almost too perfect/selfless sometimes, but defintely someone that I would aspire to be.

The background story was great and held my interest without going over the top. Best book that I have read in quite a while. :)

[Pat Jorgenson Waterchilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.This is my first encounter with Emilie Richards but it won't be the last. The story is very well written with enough twists and turns that you won't want to put it down. I really cared about the characters and wanted to see that their lives come out alright. The Georgetown setting was realistic along with the historical perspective. A good read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've decided I really like Emilie Richards, and this book was good, but the story got kind of unrealistic towards the ends.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this one several times and it never loses its appeal. It was a wonderful book - great storyline, awesome characters.

[PY · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's too long and not so exciting as much as I expected.

[Marilyn Miles]

I'm working my way through all of Emilie Richard's books and I haven't been disappointed yet. Glad I discovered this author!

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to the very last page!!

[Molly Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emile,
I have read most all of your work. Therefore, whenever I see a new title, I claim with confidence.
Today, I am 3/4 through and do want Prospect Street to ever end! Per usual, character development is at its best and know that I have to be invested in the protagonist, the myriad characters or I am not interested or I will fade. In other words, I need to really care about the people to continue. In my view, you once again, have outdone yourself! I adore this book.

Emile, thank you for the pleasure, the comfort, the depth of your portrayals of people that resonate so deeply with me! Let me know, when I can, once again join your chosen people that become our mentors in this chaotic, hurting world. Molly

[Zogié Emokaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books can test ones capacity to think.
Its quite amazing to see, family dynamics, drama, history, secrecy, lgbtq, and immerse characters all in one.
This book will not only test your thinking, but also make you question yourself and the reason you act the way you do and your attitude towards others.
This story drives you deep in history digging up locked secrets, of forbidden love and marriage.
I grew to love adult fiction and this suites my taste for the genre. Its an interesting read, one that's difficult to put down.

[Deb White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith discover her husband in the arms of another man. She divorces him and takes her two children to Georgetown to a badly cared for row house. She starts to fix it up, meeting her neighbor, Dottie Lee, and a wonderful man, Pavel Quinn.
She is helping her children adjust to a new school, a public school, and new opinions and ideas.
She starts to look into her sister's kidnapping at one week old from the house she is now living in.
Lots of discoveries, all about forgiving and moving forward.
This is the third time I have read this book!! I keep picking it up!

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'M A BIG FAN OF eMILIE rICHARDS' BOOKS.s. Her gift for storytelling and development of characters that seem so real....well, you're captivated by them and don't want the book to end.

I highly recommend Prospect Street (and Emilie Richards as an author, if you've never read anything yby her). This book has a little bit of everything you like in a book for when you just need an escape into a really good book!. I call them "Calgon Take Me Away books"! :)

[Megan Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! I picked it up from one of those 'curbside libraries' that have popped up during the pandemic and it was a good read. Wonderful characters, a great 'back' story and an appealing setting. There was a little bit of politics and a little bit of real world issues and both were handled with sensitivity. I haven't read much from this author but I will search for her in the future. Thanks to all the people who are passing books on while the libraries are closed!

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story of a very flawed family trying to recover from two powerful events. Faith finds her husband of 15 years in the arms of a lover - a male lover. That event sets her on the path to learning the mysteries surrounding her older sister's disappearance as an baby. This second event impacted all of their family for the rest of their lives.

[Sue Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this to try to find a book for my mom. Mom’s an octogenarian, and she pretty much just reads Christian romance novels these days. She’s tiring of reading the same plot over and over, so I’m trying to get her to branch out a bit. If she can get past David’s affair at the beginning of the book, I think she will like it. It’s a good story about a family.

[Billie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prospect Street

Great story at so many different levels! So much pain at times but lots of discovery and happiness later. Life is definitely not black and white with no grey area so is always changing whether we are ready or not. I had several emotional ups and downs but really enjoyed the ending.

[Pythia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Godibile romanzo che svolge in modo intelligente e non banale il tema del fallimento di un matrimonio e di ciò che ne consegue, suggerendo che per voltare davvero pagina è necessario prima di tutto fare i conti con il passato.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - I like the writer's style and the story moves right along. Yes, it's generally a romance, but I liked the main character's struggle, her relationship with her children, and the whole "renovate the house" theme.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had so many hidden secrets that it was hard to put down. Great characters with flaws and yet very likable. The setting was well established and the historical family home with the eccentric neighbor was very homey.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only sorry to discover Emilie Richards so late in her career. Most of her books have been/are being weeded from collections due to age. I find her characters compelling and well developed, with or without cell phones!

[Heather Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always impressed with the way that Emilie Richards draws me in to her characters and makes me care about their lives. I figured out parts of the plot before they were revealed, but I still liked the book.

[Lisa George · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book that kept my attention all the way through with romance and mystery. The author whose husband is a minister made a statement through the fictional characters about homosexuality that was a surprise, however.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really close to 5 stars. I enjoyed the twists and turns, mystery and clues. The characters were likable even when they were being challenged or difficult. I wanted to keep reading even when the little time I had was up. I stayed up later than usual some nights just to read more!

[Linda Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining. A book with which to travel. I was on a car trip, and found this a book that I could pick-up for short periods and read. I enjoyed the description of life in Georgetown, DC, and the characters were engaging.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy her books, they hold your interest while also being easy to read

[Lori Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the mystery plot line, as it was interwoven with various characters and their interactions.

[TRACI · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book failed to hold my attention. I had to give up trying to read it.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and enjoyable read yet again from Emilie Richards.

[Stephanie Dahlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book well enough to try find more books by this author. I found One Mountain Away which was also very good. More! More! More! Please.

[carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Easy rating of 5 stars. I could mention several adjectives why, but just as easy to say - great book! Will definitely look for the author's previously written books.