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Alyssa Richards

Mystery, Suspense, and Romance with a Supernatural Twist

  • Home
  • Books
    • The Alcott Manor Trilogy
      • The Haunting of Alcott Manor
      • A Murder at Alcott Manor
      • A Stranger in Alcott Manor
    • The Fine Art of Deception
      • The Fine Art of Deception
      • Somewhere in Time
      • Lost in Time
      • The Fine Art of Deception Boxed Set
    • Chasing Secrets
      • Chasing Secrets
  • About Alyssa Richards
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Sign Up

A STRANGER AT ALCOTT MANOR – Sneak Peek!

January 22, 2019 by Alyssa Leave a Comment

Sneek peek into A STRANGER AT ALCOTT MANOR

copyright 2019 Alyssa Richards

A STRANGER AT ALCOTT MANOR

Chapter One

Ancient water oaks swayed in the warm, salty breezes and threw their inky shadows against the front pillars of Alcott Manor. Peyton Alcott stood next to the passenger side door of the rental and dropped the car keys onto the seat. She stared at the front of the house, tracing the outline of the bottle of Xanax bulging in her small soft-sided purse.

The manor’s first floor windows were warped with age, and the darkness inside appeared deep and cold and formless. The home’s secrets were palpable, but unseen. They shifted like forgotten spirits, hidden memories and old nightmares.

This visit to her family’s ancestral estate was her first alone in twenty years. The prescription bottle lid flicked open with a pop. Just one dose would cushion whatever memories came to light. She glanced at her overstuffed computer bag in the backseat. Remembering the mountain of work she had to do, she reluctantly recapped the bottle.

She lifted her work satchel, filled well beyond its unzipped brim with a laptop, client files and instructions from her mother. Rounded oyster shells crunched beneath her Jimmy Choos.
At a long squeal of brakes, she spun, squinting at the black car with its round headlights and narrow front grill. She lowered her bag to the ground, her stomach clenched. The car’s white-haired driver was a ghost from her past she’d hoped to outrun.
An oceanic updraft caught her work papers and they scattered. She snatched at them, catching only one. The rest danced and twirled down the stark white drive and away from Alcott Manor. She envied their ability to escape.
She cursed the wind and the lost papers, the manor and the land it was built on, and her own attendance at this godforsaken place.

The old Plymouth rattled to a rolling stop behind her rental car with another long screech of brakes. The elderly woman exited with a slowness that made Peyton wonder if it was wise for her to be driving.
“Mrs. Miller?”
“Hope those papers weren’t important.” Her smile was broad and welcoming, a gesture Peyton knew better than to trust. Her eyes were moist, more from age than emotion. One was glassy.
“My goodness, it’s been years.” Peyton leaned down to hug her. Mrs. Miller was frailer than she remembered, but her perfume was the same. The delicate scent of roses infused with Mentholatum.
“Well, let me take a look at you.” Mrs. Miller cocked her head to the side. She raked her good eye in a slow survey from the top of Peyton’s jeweled hair combs to the tip toes of her polished heels.
Peyton stood trying to hold her smile, feeling like the blue-ribboned pig at the county fair where winning made you the blue plate special.

“Still have your daddy’s good looks, I see. Let’s hope you kept his temperament. Your mother says you’re a big city girl now, but coming home to get married?”
“Yes, ma’am. I live in Boston, and the wedding is in four days.” Peyton wished she had remembered to spin her large diamond engagement ring to the inside of her hand. But Mrs. Miller caught sight of it and Peyton saw her lips tighten.
“Mmm. You still take all those pictures like you used to?” Mrs. Miller asked.
“No, sad to say, I haven’t had the time for much photography these days.”
“I thought as much.” She patted Peyton’s shoulders twice. “I’ve got just the thing for you. Carry these inside.” The rear car door groaned when she pulled it open. Mrs. Miller pointed to two large gray containers and instructed Peyton to be careful.
“These are more of the estate’s cameras and tintypes that we had at the museum. We’re bringing much of it here, now that you’re organizing the house for tours. You’ll need them for exhibits and whatnot. Jayne Ella insisted I bring these. You know how your mother is.” She raised one eyebrow.
Yes. She knew exactly how her mother was.
“Are you still working at the museum?” Peyton hoisted the first plastic carton from the back seat and directed the small talk away from herself.
“Lord, yes, honey. I’ll probably die in the place. No one else in Charleston knows as much about the city’s history. Or Alcott Manor’s history. Except for you, of course. I taught you especially well.”
“Yes ma’am.” She put the container near the double front door, and the tintypes shuddered with a metallic clatter. She stared at a sign that was pasted to one of the front pillars, and her stomach dropped to the floor.

Beau Spencer
Missing
Last Seen at Alcott Manor
REWARD

Beau was in his early twenties, with bed-head-sexy blond hair and light blue eyes that were striking enough for a double take. The camera had caught him with his devil-may-care smile that won him a free pass whenever he wanted. Too many emotions knocked at the back door of her memory bank.

“Sad about Beau, isn’t it?” Mrs. Miller said.
Peyton started at the closeness of Mrs. Miller’s voice that squeaked like an old chair.
“He was such a wild child. Lord only knows if he’s really missing or if he just hopped a plane and left. Did y’all ever speak after he stood you up at the church?”
The question hit her like a slap, Peyton squeezed her eyes shut to stem the angry tide of memories: Waiting for an hour in the church parlor in her full-skirted wedding dress, her mother ultimately telling her they had waited long enough, that Beau obviously wasn’t coming. Her father saying he would make the announcement to the guests.
“No,” she finally said. “Do you know who posted this here?”
“His daddy, I’m sure. Austin Spencer has them posted all over town. He stuck one right on the museum’s front window.”
Beau had been gone for nine years, long enough to be declared legally dead. His parents had even held a funeral for him and erected a gravestone with his name on the front as if he were buried there.
Peyton peeled the tape from the white paint, folded the flyer in half, and half again.
Mrs. Miller’s phone rang like an old telephone bell. She retrieved it from one of the patch pockets of her cotton dress and tilted her head to look through the bottom half of her glasses. “Just a minute, honey. I have to take this.” She walked to the far end of the wide porch, her low-heeled shoes scuffling along the painted wood.
Mrs. Miller looked and moved like a woman far older than she actually was. She used to be a vibrant and beautiful woman, not much older than Peyton’s own mother, Jayne Ella. But when Mrs. Miller’s daughter went missing over twenty years ago, her hair turned stark white and everything about her physique withered and slowed and sagged.
Peyton loaded the other container to the front porch to keep herself distracted. Mrs. Miller was still talking on the phone. Peyton’s directions for the combination lock were gone with the wind, so she decided to wait. Maybe Mrs. Miller would have the access code.

She opened one of the containers and found seven neat rows of dusty tintype photographs. She hadn’t touched a tintype since college. The first captured memory—several Alcott family members posed in front of the grand staircase—sent a pang of anxiety from her head to her heart and back again. The threat of an old nightmare.
“Stop it,” she whispered to the fear as if she were the one in charge. She licked her dry lips and held a different glass plate to the light.

This tintype was a traditional wedding photo from the 1850s, and Peyton recognized the bride. She was a niece of the original owners of the manor, Benjamin and Bertha Mae Alcott. The wedding party had gathered in the ballroom and Peyton scanned the faces one by one. She knew them all, and their stories, thanks to her internship with Mrs. Miller at the museum.
One man at the side of the gathering sent a shiver of cold dancing across her back. His hair was shorter in length, though the layers had grown out. His light-colored eyes fixed straight ahead as if he looked right at her. The charm-filled smile he had often used as his ticket to get what he wanted was gone, but his lips were the same full shape she remembered.
It was impossible, though undeniable. The guest in the 1850s tintype was the man she almost married. He was the man who was missing, Beau Spencer.

continue with adventure with A STRANGER AT ALCOTT MANOR ~ AMAZON!

kindleunlimited

gothic romance

romantic suspense

metaphysical fiction

metaphysical fantasy

mystery thriller

paranormal romance

 

Filed Under: News

A Stranger at Alcott Manor – New Release!

January 22, 2019 by Alyssa Leave a Comment

From USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, ALYSSA RICHARDS, an addictive, Gothic romance filled with mysteries, ghosts and passion…

She thought she had escaped her past. But her haunted homecoming could resurrect an old flame and buried secrets…

Peyton Alcott thought she put the past behind her. Years after being stood up on her wedding day, she’s finally found a dependable new love and a sense of purpose with her high-powered big city lifestyle. So when she returns to help her family open the newly renovated Alcott Manor, she never expected to awaken old feelings she thought were long dead…

When Peyton discovers a tintype photo of her ancestor’s 19th century wedding, she thinks she’s found the perfect decoration for the gothic estate. Until, hidden among the guests, she recognizes the all-too-familiar face of her missing ex-fiance… Determined to solve the mystery, she’s drawn into a hidden dimension where time and truth are twisted. Confronted by secrets that threaten to unravel her bright future, she’s forced to choose between old feelings and new possibilities.

Torn between an old flame and a new beginning, can Peyton navigate a realm of dark forces without losing her way?

A Stranger in Alcott Manor is the third and final standalone book in a riveting paranormal romance trilogy. If you like contemporary gothic settings, romantic ghostly tales, and simmering chemistry, then you’ll love Alyssa Richards’ otherworldly conclusion.

AMAZON & KINDLEUNLIMITED 

romantic suspense  romantic thriller

metaphysical fiction   Metaphysical Fantasy  Psychic Mystery  Mystery Thriller

Filed Under: News

Grand Prize Giveaway from Love Under Fire Boxset

December 16, 2018 by Alyssa Leave a Comment

💎💞💎YOU 😲Could WIN In Our Grand Prize Giveaway!🎁 Vote for your 3 favorite taglines from our 💖LOVE UNDER FIRE🔥boxset📚 and you could WIN🎁 Everything😍 listed below in our GRAND 🎉PRIZE TREASURE CHEST💎💞💎

The Entire Love Under Fire Boxset PLUS 21 Other Prizes

1. The Entire Love Under Fire Boxset

Plus

2. A Copy Of Casi McLean’s Newest Lake Lanier Mystery––

Between The Shadows

3. A copy of Uvi Poznansky’s Twisted

4. A copy of Summer Girl by @LindaWatkins

5. An Exclusive Love Under Fire Water Bottle from Anna Celeste Burke

6. A copy of Fighting For Anna by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

7. Judith Lucci’s Medical Thriller: Crescent City Chronicles

8. A Fun Wine Glass From Stephanie Tullis-Washington

9. Book #1 in Margaret Daly’s Awakening Series ~>Dusgadh: Essence Of Life

10. $10.00 Amazon Gift Card from Inge-Lise Goss

11. A Tamara Ferguson ~> Book Memory Bracelet

12. From @ValerieJ.Clarizio – Romance Author ~>A Surprise Package

13. @StephanieQueen ’s ~> Beachcomber Investigations

14. Alyssa Richards ~> The Fine Art Of Deception

15. Kathryn Knight‘s ~> Gull Harbor

16. Suzanne Zannis Jenkins ~ A georgeous Charm Bracelet

17. S.R. Mallery (Sarah Mallery)’s Trouble In Glamour Town

18. Just For The Birds By Jinx SchwartzSchwartz

19. Walker Texas Wife by Kelly Manfredini

20. Lynx Box Set By Fiona Quinn

21. A booklight and a copy of Deadly Lies by Christine Patchell

22. Murder On The Brewster Flats By Aaron Paul Lazar

Take a look at a few of the prizes YOU could WIN––Then Click 👇this link to cast your Votes👇https://moonlightandmystery.com/grand-prize-explosion-give…/
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️BUT HURRY…CONTEST ENDS MIDNIGHT⏰ ON 🎄CHRISTMAS EVE🎄

Filed Under: News

CHASING SECRETS hits USA TODAY BESTSELLER LIST!

November 25, 2018 by Alyssa Leave a Comment

Happy to announce that my 6th novel, CHASING SECRETS, hit the USA TODAY BESTSELLER LIST!!

SO very grateful to have worked with such a great group of authors. Thank you to every reader to helped us help PETS for VETS!!

You can still get your copy at .99 for just a few more hours. Grab it fast before the price goes up to $4.99…

www.books2read.com/LoveUnderFire

 

 

 

Her husband’s secret is priceless. Her attempts to retrieve it could be deadly.

Barbara had everything she ever wanted—a successful career, a loving husband, and a beautiful baby on the way. She even had the incredible gift to know everything about a person from hearing their name. But when Barbara’s husband somehow evades her ability and secretly clashes with a ruthless criminal, it sends her whole world crashing down. As if the resulting tragedy isn’t bad enough, now a killer threatens everything she loves to reclaim a valuable cache of diamonds.

To protect her family, Barbara must use her gift and the help of a handsome archaeologist to find the stolen gems before time runs out. If she fails to discover the treasure and finally understand her husband’s covert double life, then her once happy family will never be the same.

Chasing Secrets is a compelling standalone romantic suspense novel. If you like fast-paced action, sizzling chemistry, and second chance relationships, then you’ll love Alyssa Richards’ edge-of-your-seat thrill-ride.

Buy Chasing Secrets to start a diamond of a mystery today!

 

Filed Under: News

Takeover Announcement: Games, giveaways, and sneak peeks!

October 31, 2018 by Charity Chimni Leave a Comment

Join me Thursday evening at 7pm EST at Kylie’s Fiction Addiction for an hour of holiday fun!! I’ll have games, giveaways and a sneak peek into my upcoming New Release: CHASING SECRETS ! Hope to see you there 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/groups/kyliesfictionaddiction/

Filed Under: Giveaways, News

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