top of page
Books
THE FOURTH WIFE
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets “Sister Wives” in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a young Mormon woman is haunted by a malevolent presence in the decrepit Salt Lake City mansion she shares with her new husband and his other wives…
Hazel Russon’s life in 1879 Utah territory is defined by three things: the Mormon church, polygamy, and the men who control both. She knows she’s supposed to suppress her sinful dreams of a monogamous life with her sweetheart, and her desire for the freedom to play her beloved piano. Every Mormon woman’s duty is to live obediently and meekly, devoted to her husband and her calling as a sister wife. Her eternal salvation depends upon it.
Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she’s never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob’s wives and children live in the same house—a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread.
Despite Jacob’s tenderness, Hazel senses dark secrets and resentments among her sister wives. She hears strange music, sees blood oozing from the very walls, and glimpses apparitions that grow more terrifying every day. And as her nightmares worsen, Hazel can’t be sure if she has more to fear from the living—including her mysterious husband—or from a sinister presence that seems to animate the house itself . . .
Drawing on little-known Mormon folklore and the author’s own polygamous ancestors, this fascinating, suspense-filled historical novel debut is by turns darkly romantic, spine-tingling, and wholly unforgettable.
ORDER NOW:
Barnes & Noble
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Books A Million
Books
THE FOURTH WIFE
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets “Sister Wives” in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a young Mormon woman is haunted by a malevolent presence in the decrepit Salt Lake City mansion she shares with her new husband and his other wives…
Hazel Russon’s life in 1879 Utah territory is defined by three things: the Mormon church, polygamy, and the men who control both. She knows she’s supposed to suppress her sinful dreams of a monogamous life with her sweetheart, and her desire for the freedom to play her beloved piano. Every Mormon woman’s duty is to live obediently and meekly, devoted to her husband and her calling as a sister wife. Her eternal salvation depends upon it.
Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she’s never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob’s wives and children live in the same house—a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread.
Despite Jacob’s tenderness, Hazel senses dark secrets and resentments among her sister wives. She hears strange music, sees blood oozing from the very walls, and glimpses apparitions that grow more terrifying every day. And as her nightmares worsen, Hazel can’t be sure if she has more to fear from the living—including her mysterious husband—or from a sinister presence that seems to animate the house itself . . .
Drawing on little-known Mormon folklore and the author’s own polygamous ancestors, this fascinating, suspense-filled historical novel debut is by turns darkly romantic, spine-tingling, and wholly unforgettable.
THE GLASS LOOKER
In an atmospheric blend of folk magic, Mormon mythology, real history, and Joseph Smith’s time in Upstate New York at the close of the Second Great Awakening, the bestselling author of The Fourth Wife reexamines the origins of Mormonism through an unapologetically feminist lens.
1827, Western New York: Sally Chase is the most successful glass looker in Palmyra, using her seer stone to find missing items and buried treasure for clients. Some view her talent as witchcraft. Her late Aunt Hester insisted that seership is a birthright, gifted only to women. For Sally herself, struggling to keep her family’s farm from failing, it’s not only the means to keep those she loves from starving, but the most essential part of herself. And as long as she protects her magic, it will not fail her.
While Sally can’t risk jeopardizing her abilities with marriage and motherhood, she has other reasons to set herself apart from men. Her former student, Joseph Smith, sought out her wisdom only to ultimately betray her—and now his accomplice has returned to Palmyra insisting that Sally locate a hidden treasure.
When she refuses, he turns to blackmail, and Sally strikes a deal with the town’s charming new Methodist minister to help in her quest. But that arrangement brings new risks and revelations, tempting her away from the defenses she’s built up to protect her secrets and her independence.
Distilled from real-life figures and the magical worldview and religious fervor that swept through the United States in its early decades, this intriguing novel explores one woman’s journey to claim her place and retain her power in a man’s world.
bottom of page