"The past has driven me back here," Beth Gray says when she returns to Wilder with her little girl, fifteen years after being convicted of murder. Sheriff Les Kendall advises her to leave, but what he doesn't know is that Beth cannot escape her nightmares. She delves into the shadows of her repressed memories and evades the real killer hidden somewhere in the breathtaking backdrop of mountain scenery, even as she allows herself to love again. SHADOWS FALL is a mystery with suspense that will chill you, and a romance that will warm your heart. Shadows Fall, by Barbara W. Klaser, is a romantic and sophisticated metaphor of betrayal, deception, and murder in a small California town. Wilder Mountain Lodge, in the thickly forested northern Sierra Nevada Mountains, began as a private estate with its own lake, when it was built during the nineteenth century. The Gray family later operated it as a fishing and hunting lodge. Dr. Lauren Gray groomed his daughter Beth to run it one day. Shortly before Ollie Stevens' murder, Beth was engaged to Gabriel Handley, her childhood sweetheart. Her romance with him ended when she was found standing over the dead body of Ollie one moonlit night, holding the gun that killed him. The case against Beth was open and shut. Beth's past behavior and conviction for murdering Ollie convinced townsfolk who'd known her that she was guilty. In prison, years later, Beth was severely injured and Peter Lloyd saved her life. Several years passed and Peter suffered a heartbreaking loss, so he quit his job and looked for Beth. Peter realized he'd fallen in love with her. But once he found Wilder Mountain Lodge he didn't know how long he'd have to wait. Nor did he know about Gabriel, who is now engaged to Nora Kendall, the sheriff's daughter. Emily Gray loves Beth dearly and is thrilled when, fifteen years after the murder, her now divorced daughter decides to come home to Wilder for a four-week visit to rest and recuperate. Beth wants her daughter Abby to meet and know her grandmother. She also hopes to find Gabriel still single, and to find out if she can reclaim any of what was lost. But Beth is confused and scared by her past, drained by her nightmares, and worried that she might not be in love with Gabriel after all these years. So many things have changed. Beth suffers panic attacks and claustrophobia, but Emily balks when Beth questions her about her early childhood years. Beth's nightmares intensify. Shortly after Beth's arrival at the Lodge, someone begins to torment her, and the crises escalate. Is Beth staging these incidents in a calculated bid to win her siblings' sympathy? They claim all Beth really wants is ownership of Wilder Mountain Lodge. Tempering the dislike shown by her family, Peter makes friends with Abby and courts Beth, but Gabriel keeps getting in Peter's way. This confuses Beth even more, as Peter warms his way into her heart, and Gabriel offers the love and security of her youthful but lost dreams. Les Kendall, the Sheriff of Wilder County, suggests it would be best if Beth takes her daughter and leaves town, and he can't understand why Beth refuses. What he doesn't know is that Beth cannot escape her nightmares. Leaving town won't get rid of them, and wherever she goes they torment and disturb her. Beth is convinced the only way to flush her demons out is to stay in Wilder, and lay them to rest once and for all. When another murder is committed, the evidence points to Beth, and she faces returning to prison once again or proving her innocence. Buoyed by the love of a lifetime most of us can only dream of, Beth faces her past and present with inner strength and tenacity. But will love be enough to slay the demon that haunts her? SHADOWS FALL by Barbara W. Klaser - Get eBooks About eBooks eBooks
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