New Releases by Kathleen Ernst

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, 1895. Bordered by mountains and the mighty Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, the area's scenic beauty is legendary. A dark current is rippling through the town, however, and threatening to tear lives apart. Ida Mae Parker will soon graduate from high school. Although her parents want her to become a teacher, she yearns to become a professional singer. A descendant of enslaved people, Ida Mae wants to focus on her studies and to stay away from trouble caused by the Jim Crow laws designed to keep Black people from thriving. As racial ugliness targets her own family, though, she struggles to find her place in the world. Circumstances force Hazel Whitaker to leave her poor white family and support herself. Finding only wretched jobs, her survival becomes difficult. She longs to create a better future for herself, but her dearest dream of becoming a photographer seems impossible to achieve. Hazel and Ida Mae have nothing in common. When fate throws them together, however, an unlikely friendship emerges. After tragedies strike, will supporting each other provide the inner strength that Ida Mae and Hazel need to stand tall for themselves?

Wisconsin widow Hanneke Bauer, a German immigrant, is a fervent abolitionist. After yearning to play an active role on the Underground Railroad, she agrees to help shepherd a Negro woman on her journey from slavery to freedom. Several Railroad conductors have recently been killed in southern Wisconsin, so she is acutely aware of the dangers she faces. Finding the latest victim's body is frightening, but does not deter her. She soon learns, however, that nothing could have prepared her for the perils waiting along the journey. Hanneke believes that future Underground Railroad trips are essential...but can she live long enough to make them?

Hanneke Bauer quickly learns that Wisconsin farm life in 1855 is not as bucolic as it seems when she finds her husband dead upon her arrival.

The poems in Balancing were inspired by the experiences of women who, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, sought new homes in the Upper Midwest. The first waves of pioneers, predominantly Yankees from Northeastern states, were soon followed by European immigrants. Few women recorded their struggles and satisfactions, but by juxtaposing research and imagination, Kathleen Ernst breathes new life into their forgotten stories.

Chloe has a devil of a time unraveling the mysteries of Norway's fiddle and dance traditions After her mother's unexpected death, curator Chloe Ellefson discovers hidden antiques that hint at family secrets. Determined to find answers, Chloe accepts a consultant job in Norway, her ancestors' homeland. She's thrilled with the opportunity to explore Hardanger fiddle and dance traditions . . . and her own heritage. Once their plane lands, however, Chloe and her fiancé, cop Roelke McKenna, encounter only disharmony. Chloe's research reveals strong women and the importance of fiddle music in their lives. But folklore warns against "the devil's instrument" and old evils may yet linger among the fjords and mountains. As Chloe fine-tunes her search for the truth, a killer's desire to stop her builds to a deadly crescendo.

"In this heartfelt tale of labor and love, Ernst produces one of her most winning combinations of historical evocation and clever mystery."—Kirkus Reviews Greed, Uncertainty, and Death Get Tangled in the Mystery of a Rare Piece of Belgian Lace Curator Chloe Ellefson needs distraction from the unsettling family secret she's just learned. It doesn't help that her boyfriend, Roelke McKenna, has been troubled for weeks and won't say why. Chloe hopes a consulting job at Green Bay's Heritage Hill Historical Park, where an old Belgian-American farmhouse is being restored, will be a relaxing escape. Instead she discovers a body in a century-old bake oven. Chloe's research suggests that a rare and valuable piece of lace made its way to nearby Door County, Wisconsin, with the earliest Belgian settlers. More importantly, someone is desperate to find it. Inspired by a courageous Belgian woman who survived cholera, famine, and the Great Fire, Chloe must untangle clues to reveal secrets old and new...before the killer strikes again.

"The eighth in the series contrasts the difficult life of Wisconsin's Cornish miners with the heroine's burgeoning romance, highlighting both her researching skills and her unusual feel for the past."—Kirkus Reviews Digging Up Secrets Uncovers a Legacy of Peril Chloe Ellefson is excited to be learning about Wisconsin's Cornish immigrants and mining history while on temporary assignment at Pendarvis, a historic site in charming Mineral Point. But when her boyfriend, police officer Roelke McKenna, discovers long-buried human remains in the root cellar of an old Cornish cottage, Chloe reluctantly agrees to mine the historical record for answers. She soon finds herself in the middle of a heated and deadly controversy that threatens to close Pendarvis. While struggling to help the historic site, Chloe must unearth dark secrets, past and present, before a killer comes to bury her. Praise: "Richly imagined and compelling, Mining for Justice once again highlights Kathleen Ernst's prowess as a storyteller...Ernst is a master of reconstructing the past."—Susanna Calkins, author of the Macavity-winning Lucy Campion Mysteries

Two stories follow Felicity's life in Revolutionary-era Virginia, while a third book allows the reader to join Felicity as she spends time at her father's store, sips tea at the Governor's Palace, or participates in a gunpowder plot.

Curator Chloe Ellefson is happily planning to spotlight home-front challenges and German immigrants at Old World Wisconsin's first Civil War reenactment, but her overbearing boss scorns her ideas and proposes staging a mock battle instead. And when a reenactor is found dead at one of the historic site's German farms, Chloe's boyfriend, cop Roelke McKenna, suspects murder. The more Roelke learns about reenacting, the more he fears that a killer will join the ranks. Then Chloe discovers a disturbing secret about Roelke's Civil War–era ancestors. Together they struggle to solve crimes past and present...before Chloe loses her job and another reenactor loses his life. Praise: "Veteran Ernst provides a new perspective on the Civil War woven together with a compelling mystery." —Kirkus Reviews "Extremely well-written."—Suspense Magazine "Kathleen Ernst knows how to spin a tale, weave an intricate plot, and hide clues in the embroidery. A Memory of Muskets takes two stories separated by more than a century and knits them together into one thoroughly satisfying read."—Kathy Lynn Emerson, Agatha Award-winning author of How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, Murder in the Merchant's Hall, and other historical mysteries

Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari, have long dreamed of visiting each historic site dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Chloe takes custody of a quilt once owned by the beloved author, the sisters set out on the trip of a lifetime, hoping to prove that Wilder stitched it herself. But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the "Little House" devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe's boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact—and her own heart—before a killer can strike again.

"This is a book with great meaning for those of us who grew up on farms, and a book to be shared with young people eager to know more about pioneer life." --Jerry Apps, author of "Old Farm: A History" and "Whispers and Shadows: A Naturalist's Memoir" "A Settler's Year" provides a rare glimpse into the lives of early immigrants to the upper Midwest. Evocative photographs taken at Old World Wisconsin, the country's largest outdoor museum of rural life, lushly illustrate stories woven by historian, novelist, and poet Kathleen Ernst and compelling firsthand accounts left by the settlers themselves. In this beautiful book, readers will discover the challenges and triumphs found in the seasonal rhythms of rural life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As they turn the pages--traveling from sprawling farm to tidy crossroads village, and from cramped and smoky cabins to gracious, well-furnished homes--they'll experience the back-straining chores, cherished folk traditions, annual celebrations, and indomitable spirit that comprised pioneer life. At its heart "A Settler's Year" is about people dreaming of, searching for, and creating new homes in a new land. This moving book transports us back to the pioneer era and inspires us to explore the stories found on our own family trees.

Book 5 in the award-winning historical Chloe Ellefson Mystery series Curator and occasional sleuth Chloe Ellefson is off to Minneapolis to help her friend Ariel with a monumental task. Ariel must write a proposal for a controversial and expensive restoration project: convert an abandoned flour mill, currently used as shelter by homeless people, into a museum. When a dead body is found stuffed into a grain chute, Chloe's attention turns from milling to murder. Back in Milwaukee, Chloe's love interest Roelke has been slammed with the news that a fellow officer was shot and killed while on duty. Sifting through clues from both past and present, Chloe and Roelke discover dangerous secrets that put their lives—and their trust in each other—at risk. Praise: "Ernst keeps getting better with each entry in this fascinating series."—Library Journal "Everybody has secrets in this action-filled cozy."—Publishers Weekly "All in all, a very enjoyable reading experience."—Mystery Scene "A page-turner with a clever surprise ending."—G.M. Malliet, Agatha Award-winning author of The St. Just and Max Tudor Mystery Series "[A] haunting tale of two murders...This is more than a mystery. It is a plush journey into cultural time and place."—Jill Florence Lackey, PhD, author of Milwaukee's Old South Side and American Ethnic Practices in the Twenty-First Century

Two stories follow Caroline as she travels across Lake Ontario to visit her father who is being held prisoner and works to keep her local shipyards out of British hands, while a third book allows the reader to join Caroline in nineteenth century America.

Nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery: In 1732, a twelve-year-old girl of Ojibwe and French heritage must clear her father of a stealing charge—or risk being separated from him forever Suzette Choudoir always looks forward to summer, when her family leaves the Ojibwe people’s winter camp and returns to the summer gathering place on La Pointe Island. This year her papa, a French fur trader, hopes to win a trappers’ competition. If he does, he can remain with his family year-round, instead of paddling away to far-off Montreal in autumn. When someone steals a bale of valuable furs, however, suspicion falls on Papa. Determined to find the real thief, Suzette gathers clues and tries to track down the missing furs. But it will take all of her courage to clear her father’s name. If she can’t, her family will be forced to leave La Pointe Island in disgrace, and Suzette—a black-haired, blue-eyed girl of mixed cultural heritage—may never find a true home. This ebook includes a historical afterword.

An Agatha Award nominee for Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery and a WILLA Award finalist for Best Children’s/Young Adult Book: In 1867, a twelve-year-old girl faces danger and disaster when she moves to the Colorado Territory with her widowed mother, who is hoping to start a newspaper Emma Henderson’s mother has changed since her father died fighting in the Civil War. First, she starts wearing an embarrassing bloomer costume—trousers under a short skirt. Then, she forces Emma to move to the far-off Colorado Territory so she can be editor of a newspaper! When Emma hears someone whistling her father’s favorite tune as they prepare to leave Chicago, she knows it’s a bad omen. The hardscrabble mining town of Twin Pines is very different from Emma’s former home in the city. Instead of having a house of their own, she and her mother must live in a boarding house. Worst of all, it’s clear from the moment they step off the stagecoach that someone doesn’t want them there. A troublemaker tries hard to sabotage the newspaper, and Emma continues to hear eerie whistling in the night. Is it the ghost of her father? With the help of her new friend Jeremy, Emma sets out to solve two baffling mysteries. This ebook includes a historical afterword.

A modern-day girl finds herself on the shore of Lake Ontario during the War of 1812, and as she and and Caroline Abbott experience life in this turbulent time, the reader is invited to choose how the twosome might help the Americans beat the British.

Dark Secrets Hidden in Norwegian Traditions For curator Chloe Ellefson, a family bonding trip to Decorah, Iowa, for rosemaling classes seems like a great idea—until the drive begins. Chloe's cop friend Roelke takes her mother's talk of romantic customs good-naturedly, but it inflates Chloe's emotional distress higher with each passing mile. After finally reaching Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Chloe's resolve to remain positive is squashed when she and Roelke find Petra Lekstrom's body in one of the antique immigrant trunks. Everyone is shaken by the instructor's murder, and when Mom volunteers to take over the beginners' class, Chloe is put in the hot seat of motherly criticism. As she investigates, Chloe uncovers dark family secrets that could be deadly for Mom...and even herself. Includes photos of featured artifacts from the real Norwegian-American museum! Praise: "Chloe's fourth...provides a little mystery, a little romance and a little more information about Norwegian folk art and tales."—Kirkus Reviews

Past and Present Collide Beyond Death's Door Solitude at last! Museum curator Chloe Ellefson leaps at the opportunity to be a consultant for the historic lighthouse restoration project on Rock Island, a state park in Wisconsin's scenic Door County. Hoping to leave her personal and professional problems at home, Chloe's tranquility is suddenly spoiled when a dead woman washes ashore. Determined to find answers behind the mystery, Chloe dives into research about the island's history and discovers the amazing, resilient women who once lived there. But will the link between the past and present turn out to be a beacon of hope or a portent of doom? Praise: Winner of the Lovey Award for Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth Mystery "Chloe's third combines a good mystery with some interesting historical information on a niche subject."—Kirkus Reviews "Framed by the history of lighthouses and their keepers and the story of fishery disputes through time, the multiple plots move easily across the intertwined past and present."—Booklist "A haunted island makes for fun escape reading. Ernst's third amateur sleuth cozy is just the ticket for lighthouse fans and genealogy buffs. Deftly flipping back and forth in time in alternating chapters, the author builds up two mystery cases and cleverly weaves them back together."—Library Journal "While the mystery elements of this books are very good, what really elevates it are the historical tidbits of the real-life Pottawatomie Lighthouse and the surrounding fishing village."—Mystery Scene "Kathleen Ernst wraps history with mystery in a fresh and compelling read."—Jane Kirkpatrick, New York Times bestselling author

Presents six stories featuring Caroline Abbott, whose father owns a shipyard in upstate New York during the War of 1812.

Continues the story of Caroline Abbott, a young girl living during the War of 1812.

When Caroline's father leaves with the rest of the town's men to battle the British in the War of 1812, Caroline promises to keep the family shipyard safe, but her loyalties are conflicted when her mother orders her to burn the shipyard to keep it from the enemy.

In 1863, during the tense week after the Battle of Gettysburg, a Maryland boy faces difficult choices as he is forced to care for a wounded Confederate officer while trying to decide if he himself should leave his family to fight for the Union.

Chloe Ellefson, starting fresh as curator of Old World Wisconsin, finds herself in the middle of a mystery when a woman looking for a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl dies in a mysterious car crash and Chloe beings to realize that someone is trying to erase all traces of the bowl's existence.

When Kirsten's neighbor and friend, Erik Sandahl, disappears, everyone believes he is skipping out on the money he owes Uncle Olav, but Kirsten believes that something is terribly wrong and sets out to clear her friend's good name.

Julia's Last Hope

Includes historical information about Appalachian Mountain culture.

A stranger leads Josefina to believe that the old stories about buried treasure in New Mexico might be true.

Having moved to North Carolina with her mother and sister following her parents' divorce, fifteen-year-old Tanya tries to ignore her anger at her family while also making some unexpected connections with her Scottish heritage.

While working as a reporter during her summer vacation in 1935, Kit uncovers a mystery at the Cincinnati Zoo involving suspected break-ins at the monkey house.