New Releases by Patricia Elliott

Penniless, and escaping the horrors of life as a governess to brutal households, Maud seeks refuge with the cousin-by-marriage she never knew. But her efforts to please Juliana are met with increasing levels of contempt as it becomes apparent that Juliana is jealous of Maud''s youth and beauty. Further, Juliana quashes Maud''s emerging friendships with the staff and locals - especially John, the artist commissioned to restore the sinister Doom in the local church. John, however, is smitten with Maud and makes every effort to woo her. Maud, isolated and thwarted at every turn, continues to take the laudanum which was her only solace in London (and which was commonplace in Victorian London). Soon she becomes dependent on the drug - so is this the cause of her fresh anxieties? Or is someone - or something - plotting her demise? Is the devil in the corner of the Doom a reality, or a figment of her imagination? And what is its power? Will Maud ever learn the truth of her inheritance and be free? Will she lose John for ever?

Edward''s vision of a land far across the sea brings him hope that his father is alive and well, and didn''t perish in the storm. If only he could reach the island and look for Dad. When he rescues Bur, the mysterious young man from the waves, Edward is given the chance to attempt the perilous quest, but time is fast running out . . .

Footsteps in the dusk. Pale hounds howling through the night. Hollow-eyed children pleading for his help. And, most sinister of all, the return of an old friend, grown more powerful than ever. Daniel''s life is falling apart; then Cora, his beautiful step-sister, disappears. He''ll give anything to get her back ... but will he have the courage to face his own demons?

Eugenie de Boncoeur is growing up in Paris, unaware that her guardian has contracted her to marry the sinister spymaster known as ''le Fantome'' when she turns sixteen. She finds herself falling for the handsome lawyer, Guy Deschamps, but there is little time for romance; France is descending into chaos as the Revolution takes hold. Soon Eugenie is fleeing for her life. Her brother Armand has become involved in a plot to save the King from the guillotine, the mob is searching for aristocrats, and le Fantome, the pale assassin, is on their trail - desperate for revenge.

A companion book to "Murkmere" and a compelling gothic mystery in its own right, "Ambergate" is rich with suspense and unforgettable characters.

A village girl, newly companion to the Master''s ward in the days following the Ministration, challenges the motives of the religious leaders of the Divine Beings, the birds.

Rethinking the Future is a Fifth House Books title.

In early 1790s' Paris, as the Revolution gains momentum, young and sheltered Eugenie de Boncoeur finds it difficult to tell friend from foe as she and the royalist brother she relies on become the focus of "le Fantome," the sinister spymaster with a long-held grudge against their family.

In 1793, Eugénie de Boncoeur arrives at the home of her English uncle and cousin, but the French Revolution has pursued her in the form of Guy Deschamps, who is determined to bring her back to Paris to marry the Pale Assassin.