The Secret Portrait

by Lillian Stewart Carl

Overview

(First print-published by Five Star/Gale 2005)

"The Flowers o' the Forest are a' wede awa'."

Death in the Highlands. It came by claymore and cannon fire in 1745, when Bonnie Prince Charlie's men died at Culloden, and the last Stuart fled back to France, leaving his followers to death by noose and firing squad, and his gold hidden in the heather for others to find. After a thousand years of bloody history, death in the Highlands is nothing new. But it should not be happening now.

Jean Fairbairn has a coin from Prince Charlie's hoard, and a story, she thinks. Until the story comes to murder, up close and personal, and Jean isn't just a reporter, she's a prime suspect. Nose to nose with Chief Inspector Alasdair Cameron, whose forebears led Charlie's rising, and Rick MacLyon, who thinks being a dot.com millionaire makes him an expert on Charlie's life, Jean finds herself entangled in a story that's getting grimmer than the Dark Mile by Loch Arkaig and twistier than Stuart politics. And it's all too likely to end with Jean trapped by a murderer, on her way to becoming the MacLyon mansion's newest ghost.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011515293
Publisher:	Lillian Stewart Carl
Publication date:	12/04/2010
Series:	Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron Mysteries
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	668 KB

About the Author

After starting out in science fiction and fantasy, Lillian Stewart Carl is now writing contemporary novels blending mystery, romance, and fantasy, along with short mystery and fantasy stories. Her work often includes paranormal themes. It always features plots based on history and archaeology. While she doesn’t write comedy, she believes in characters with a sense of humor.

Her fantasies are set in a mythological, alternate-history Mediterranean and India. Her
contemporary novels are set in Texas, in Ohio, in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, and in England
and Scotland.

Of her Shadows in Scarlet, Publishers Weekly says: "Presenting a delicious mix of romance and
supernatural suspense, Carl (Ashes to Ashes) delivers yet another immensely readable tale. She
has created an engaging cast and a very entertaining plot, spicing the mix with some interesting twists on the ghostly romantic suspense novel."

Of her Lucifer's Crown, Library Journal says: "Blending historical mystery with a touch of the supernatural, the author creates an intriguing exploration of faith and redemption in a world that is at once both modern and timeless.

Among many other novels, Lillian is the author of the Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron cross-genre
mystery series: America’s exile and Scotland’s finest on the trail of all-too-living legends. Of The Secret Portrait, Kirkus says: Mystery, history and sexual tension blend with a taste of the wild beauty of the Highlands. Of The Burning Glass, Publishers Weekly says: "Authentic dialect, detailed descriptions of the castle and environs, and vivid characters recreate an area rich in history and legend. The tightly woven plot is certain to delight history fans with its dramatic collision of past and present."

With John Helfers, Lillian co-edited The Vorkosigan Companion, a retrospective on Lois McMaster Bujold’s science fiction work, which was nominated for a Hugo award.

Her first story collection, Along the Rim of Time, was published in 2000, and her second, The
Muse and Other Stories of History, Mystery, and Myth, in 2008, including three stories that were
reprinted in Year's Best mystery anthologies.

Her books are available in both print and electronic editions, and her web site is
http://www.lillianstewartcarl.com