A Cold Legacy

by Megan Shepherd

Overview

What darkness began, only madness can end.

After killing the men who tried to steal her father's research, Juliet-along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward-has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet's secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor's own walls.

Then she uncovers the truth about the manor's long history of scientific experimentation-and her own intended role in it-forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she'll follow her father's dark footsteps or her mother's tragic ones, or whether she'll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Sweet Madness trilogy is about the things we'll sacrifice to save those we love-even our own humanity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781961447042
Publisher:	Kestrel House
Publication date:	01/08/2024
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Megan Shepherd grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The travel bug took her from London to Timbuktu and many places in between, though she ended up back in North Carolina with her husband, two cats, and a scruffy dog, and she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. She is the author of the Madman’s Daughter and Cage trilogies. Visit her online at www.meganshepherd.com.

Editorial Reviews

Fast-paced and romantic, this page-turning volume [is] . . . a satisfactory ending to the trilogy.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Riveting…A creepy and compelling tale.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for HER DARK CURIOSITY: “Unexpected twists and a cliffhanger ending that should leave [readers] craving more.” — Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER: “The fast-paced book is rife with excitement, romance, and intrigue.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

Praise for THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER: “A deft twist on a familiar classic, THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER has the best of everything: beautiful writing, breakneck pacing, a pulse-pounding mystery, and an irresistible romance.” — Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth series

Praise for THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER: “Romantic, haunting, and full of spine-tingling thrills, THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER kept me reading late into the night.” — Veronica Rossi, New York Times bestselling author of UNDER THE NEVER SKY

From the Publisher

Praise for THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER: “Romantic, haunting, and full of spine-tingling thrills, THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER kept me reading late into the night.

Veronica Rossi

Praise for THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER: “A deft twist on a familiar classic, THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER has the best of everything: beautiful writing, breakneck pacing, a pulse-pounding mystery, and an irresistible romance.

Carrie Ryan

2014-10-01
The mad scientist's daughter, Juliet Moreau, must flee or fulfill her diabolical biological destiny in the ghoulish series ender. After releasing monsters to kill three members of the King's Club, Juliet and her unhappy band of misfits seek refuge in Elizabeth von Stein's Scottish sanctuary. Edward Prince tries to recover from his self-poisoning and to battle his inner Beast, while Lucy Radcliffe frantically seeks unorthodox methods to save her split-personality lover. Montgomery James and Juliet want to marry—much to the delight of the mostly female and mysteriously mutilated household staff—but both deny and fear that she may be taking up her father's trade. Elizabeth invites Juliet to study Victor Frankenstein's rules for reanimation, but even the spectacularly unsettling child-thing, Hensley, cannot dissuade Juliet from (impossibly advanced) scientific experimentation. While Juliet's ad nauseam struggles over her inheritance may grate, her determination to redefine herself, defend her friends and destroy her foes is riveting. The story employs clichéd Gothic horror elements—castles, odd servants, a Romany girl, a windmill and a windswept countryside—and relies heavily on Frankenstein and The Island of Dr. Moreau, threatening to fall under its predecessors' shadows. However, Shepherd (albeit anachronistically) addresses gender issues, English-Scottish politics, class divisions and medical ethics, ably intermixing them with horrific, romantic and comedic moments. Daddy issues aside, a creepy and compelling tale. (Horror. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews