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*Each Sunday for ten years, the young and prominent Maidens of Mapleton club have met in the town schoolhouse and told each other all. A town with a violent past, now-booming Mapleton dotes on its favorite Christine, a performer at the town's beautiful music hall, Mina, the daughter of the newspaper owner, Esme, a ward of the church and Lucy and Elizabeth, daughters of the widower Mayor-one ladylike, the other a hellion. Slowly, the truth begins to cloud. The pieces of the past don't add up, and familiar tales and faces fail to comfort. In this five novella series from Marie Piper, comprised of Old West adaptations of gothic/horror tales, the Maidens find their friendships tested, fall in (and out) of love, and are forced to unravel the mystery of that one terrible day. What really happened on the day of the Mapleton Massacre?*
In this third installment, Lucy Carew has had enough of being perfect. In the aftermath of MINA Lucy stood up to her Papa and has taken over as the schoolteacher after Miss Thorpe's commitment to Whitby Asylum. Now engaged to Henry Jekyll, Lucy is finally experiencing life as an independent woman. As the Governor's railroad representative arrives in Mapleton to make his decision, more strange things begin to happen. Innocent people are attacked and hurt, and it seems Henry might be the main suspect. In this old-west-set take on THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, it's up to Lucy and the Maidens to solve yet another mystery in Mapleton before more innocent blood is spilled, even as they get closer to finding out the truth about the Mapleton Massacre!
In this third installment, Lucy Carew has had enough of being perfect. In the aftermath of MINA Lucy stood up to her Papa and has taken over as the schoolteacher after Miss Thorpe's commitment to Whitby Asylum. Now engaged to Henry Jekyll, Lucy is finally experiencing life as an independent woman. As the Governor's railroad representative arrives in Mapleton to make his decision, more strange things begin to happen. Innocent people are attacked and hurt, and it seems Henry might be the main suspect. In this old-west-set take on THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, it's up to Lucy and the Maidens to solve yet another mystery in Mapleton before more innocent blood is spilled, even as they get closer to finding out the truth about the Mapleton Massacre!
132 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2016
8 people want to read
About the author
Marie Piper
30 books101 followersMARIE PIPER is a graduate of Michigan State University, a former actor/director, and a lover of stories. She’s especially interested in writing stories set in the weird and wild history of America.
The steamy western trilogy, FIRES OF CRICKET BEND, is available from Limitless Publishing. The five-part dime store serial, MAIDENS & MONSTERS, can be found on Amazon. Marie's short stories, ranging from erotica to sci-fi fairy tales, can be found in a variety of collections.
Marie lives in Chicago with her husband, kiddo, and three cats. In non-pandemic times, she goes on adventures with her zany family, reads everything she can get her hands on, loves visiting all the museums Chicago has to offer, and tweets too much. (Tweets have increased because, you know, pandemic.)
Currently, she is wearing a mask like a responsible citizen while working on a romance set during the Salem Witch Trials, as well as the third and final book in THE GILDED BRIDES.
Find her on Twitter/Instagram at @mariepiperbooks and say hi!
The steamy western trilogy, FIRES OF CRICKET BEND, is available from Limitless Publishing. The five-part dime store serial, MAIDENS & MONSTERS, can be found on Amazon. Marie's short stories, ranging from erotica to sci-fi fairy tales, can be found in a variety of collections.
Marie lives in Chicago with her husband, kiddo, and three cats. In non-pandemic times, she goes on adventures with her zany family, reads everything she can get her hands on, loves visiting all the museums Chicago has to offer, and tweets too much. (Tweets have increased because, you know, pandemic.)
Currently, she is wearing a mask like a responsible citizen while working on a romance set during the Salem Witch Trials, as well as the third and final book in THE GILDED BRIDES.
Find her on Twitter/Instagram at @mariepiperbooks and say hi!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 1, 2017
Lucy is one of two Carew sisters, who also happen to be the mayor’s daughters, and who are both members of the Maidens & Monsters secret clique. I’m telling you, these girls are straight up down to some Mean Girls level stuff in this one.
Because this one finally unravels a little bit more of the mystery of the Mapleton Massacre. (But not all of it. No worries. Marie is keeping the real truth hostage until the end of Elizabeth.) Don’t cross these girls, though. Seriously. They will cut you. (Lucy did cut a guy, legit.)
Lucy is the lady of the house, and the schoolteacher now that Miss Thorpe has been committed to the insane asylum. (That happened in Mina in case you weren’t paying attention.) She’s prim, proper, and even engaged to Dr. Henry Jekyll. (Once again, we didn’t get to see this courtship. I get that these are turning out to be more gothic than romance… but… if you want my biggest gripe, that’s it. At least we got it with Christine.)
Then weird things start happening. Someone is attacked. Someone is killed. Who did it?
All signs point to… I’m not telling you. But you know it’s not someone you want to do it. Otherwise I’d tell you, right?
But it’s not what you think.
Or is it?
Remember the Mean Girls stuff I mentioned? Yeah, now that Christine is home, the real fun begins. There’s midnight meetings, there’s vindictive little plans concocted that actually work. (I mean, come on, it seemed far too transparent to me… especially for The Spider to see through with her eight eyes… but hey, if it works, it works.) They claim Mina’s the head of the Maidens, but I disagree. Christine all the way. The way they came back together and were all like girl power once she was back. Yeah.
Because this one finally unravels a little bit more of the mystery of the Mapleton Massacre. (But not all of it. No worries. Marie is keeping the real truth hostage until the end of Elizabeth.) Don’t cross these girls, though. Seriously. They will cut you. (Lucy did cut a guy, legit.)
Lucy is the lady of the house, and the schoolteacher now that Miss Thorpe has been committed to the insane asylum. (That happened in Mina in case you weren’t paying attention.) She’s prim, proper, and even engaged to Dr. Henry Jekyll. (Once again, we didn’t get to see this courtship. I get that these are turning out to be more gothic than romance… but… if you want my biggest gripe, that’s it. At least we got it with Christine.)
Then weird things start happening. Someone is attacked. Someone is killed. Who did it?
All signs point to… I’m not telling you. But you know it’s not someone you want to do it. Otherwise I’d tell you, right?
But it’s not what you think.
Or is it?
Remember the Mean Girls stuff I mentioned? Yeah, now that Christine is home, the real fun begins. There’s midnight meetings, there’s vindictive little plans concocted that actually work. (I mean, come on, it seemed far too transparent to me… especially for The Spider to see through with her eight eyes… but hey, if it works, it works.) They claim Mina’s the head of the Maidens, but I disagree. Christine all the way. The way they came back together and were all like girl power once she was back. Yeah.
September 10, 2017
I started this series as a Phan, intrigued by an Old West version of the Phantom of the Opera in Book 1. The interplay between the Maidens and the well-crafted tales kept me reading books 2 & 3, curious to see the answers to the mysteries spun within.
Using the classic Gothic tales interlinked in a unique setting is a great premise to the series. Finding more logical explanations for the supernatural - though they can be guessed early - is a brilliant move.
Each book is an enjoyable, quick read. This book is as well done as the others in the series, telling the tale of Jekyll & Hyde and furthering the sordid history of Mapleton, while leaving questions for the next book, Esme.
Using the classic Gothic tales interlinked in a unique setting is a great premise to the series. Finding more logical explanations for the supernatural - though they can be guessed early - is a brilliant move.
Each book is an enjoyable, quick read. This book is as well done as the others in the series, telling the tale of Jekyll & Hyde and furthering the sordid history of Mapleton, while leaving questions for the next book, Esme.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews