Where Darkness Lingers

by Eve Silver

The dead have been waiting for Minerva Ashworth. Now, they've finally brought her home.

Orphaned and destitute, Minerva inherits Cliff Cottage on the windswept Cornish coast from a cousin she's never met. It seems like salvation.

Until she discovers some inheritances demand a terrible price.

Her new home should be a sanctuary. Instead, floors creak where no one walks. Shadowed figures watch from the darkness. And vivid dreams haunt her nights. The dead want something from her, and they refuse to be denied.

Her nearest neighbor, brooding and enigmatic Dashiell Penrose, is a man of few words, followed by whispers that he is a murderer. He warns Minerva to leave Cliff Cottage while she still can, but she soon realizes he knows far more about the haunting and about her inheritance than he should.

As the dead draw ever closer and Cliff Cottage’s long-buried secrets begin to surface, Minerva must decide if Dashiell is her protector…or something far more dangerous.

For readers who crave haunted cottages, brooding heroes, slow-burn desire, and chilling ghostly mysteries, this standalone historical gothic romance will leave you breathless.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2026

About the author

National bestselling author Eve Silver has been praised for her "edgy, steamy, action-packed" books, darkly sexy heroes and take-charge heroines. Her work won the OLA Forest of Reading White Pine Award, was shortlisted for the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy, was listed as an American Bookseller's Association Best Book for Children and a Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens. She has garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Quill and Quire, two RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Awards, Library Journal's Best Genre Fiction Award, and she was nominated for the Romance Writers of America® RITA® Award.

Eve lives with her husband and two exuberant border collie/Australian shepherds.

Contact Eve through her website at http://www.evesilver.net

Reviews

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[Janice Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. It's a good ghost story and romance. There is a bit of explicit relations in it, but still a good read. I liked the characters and the setting had great mood and beauty.

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was sad it ended. Lovely supernatural romance

Very good book. I would have liked the ending to have been less quick. The solution was very fast to conclude. I also prefer less detailed love making scenes. I'd give it 4.5 it would be perfect to be drawn out longer at a slower pace at the finish because I didn't want it to end. I adore all her Victorian and Edwardian era novels. She is a gem and a comfort author for me. Very nice.

[Rebecca Byron · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Minerva inherits a cliff side cottage in Cornwall from her late aunt, along with a generous quarterly allowance, it seems like the answer to her prayers: a home of her own, financial independence, and the chance to begin again. Then she meets Dashiell.

Darkly handsome and unsettlingly mysterious, he knows far more about Minerva’s aunt—and the circumstances surrounding her death—than he first admits. And it soon becomes clear that Minerva hasn’t inherited only a cottage. Spirits haunt its rooms and shadow the windswept Cornish coast, some benign, others decidedly not. The villagers don’t trust Dashiell, but Minerva does, and she knows that somehow it will take them joining forces to stop the evil that inhabits the cliffs and the cottage. A classic gothic romance.

[Robin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gothic romance is my favorite genre, and Eve Silver does not disappoint! The prologue is a great set-up, and the book delivers just the right amount of thrills and chills. Minerva’s inheritance of a cottage in Cornwall seems like a dream, but soon turns into a nightmare. Long-buried secrets, malevolent spirits, a possibly murderous neighbor, and a secluded cliff-side make for an interesting and entertaining read. Throw in a slow-burn romance, and I’m hooked! The resolution seemed a tiny bit easy considering the events leading up to it, but still a wonderfully atmospheric gothic romance!
I received an ARC via Booksirens, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love intelligent books. At least that's what I call them. I want a book to read that intrigues me, one I feel immersed in, one that gives me characters of mystery and courage, one that teaches as well as entertains. It's a wonderful bonus if the writing is exceptional. I have read several of Ms. Silver's books and have not been disappointed. Even if gothic/horror is not your thing, if you appreciate a well written tale with characters that stay with you, try this one. I recommend it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eve Silver manages to evoke such atmosphere in her books. She really conveys Gothic moodiness and mystery with varying levels of paranormal activity. This one has a higher level of evil to me, with some questionable scenes for Minerva. This book has a well-crafted cast of characters and story. Dashiell was perfect except for his timing of the main love scene. I can't say more without giving things away, but let's just say I raised my eyebrows.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A destitute woman who follows an unexpected inheritance? Hauntings? Sign me up! The book starts with a prologue that had my nerves on end. The descriptions set the atmosphere of a foreboding darkness I could feel. I liked the characters and the manner in which the 'problem' at the cottage was solved.
The epilogue will satisfy any romantic sweet tooth.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Trisha Earley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eve never, never disappoints. This book speaks so well of that dark, melancholic essence in all our souls. Each character carries hidden bruises that resonates with us all. I love how Eve shows that these same bruises can be a strength or a curse. Min, Dashhiell, Kitty, Nessa, and Tamsyn were so wonderfully written and whose wombs made them so utterly human.

[Literati Literature Lovers · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOTHIC FUN

Ghost, vengeful spirits, death, ghost ship, and ancient evil make for a very gothic tale. Then add in a broody man named Dashiel, and a woman who lost everything and you have the romance. This book kept me flipping pages, long past my bedtime. It had all the elements of a good gothic, plus some sexy times between the characters.

[Rachel Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like a gothic romance, Eve Silver always delivers.