In The Cards

I

Laura wants to live her life.

Laura hasn't had an easy time since she was fifteen. Illness, recovery, and then a rough few years after her father's presumed death have left her reeling. Now in her mid-twenties, Laura can finally have the life she always dreamed off, full of parties and perhaps even romance and love.

Her first attempt ended badly - disastrously, actually. But now Laura's determined to put that all behind her. When she's invited to a house party on a remote island off the coast of Cornwall, she's glad to accept. If nothing else, the scenery will be stunning.

Friendship is everything.

Martin and Galen have been best friends since their first year in school. Martin is building a career as a journalist, but Galen hasn't had the same chance. His parents have kept him close since Galen's brother returned from the Great War with a devastating facial injury.

Recently, Galen's mother has become determined to get him married. She's planned an intimate house party and an evening ball. After his father unexpectedly invites a brash American brother and sister, the gathering takes an odd turn.

When the American woman turns up dead in the solarium and the entire island is cut off by storm and magical interference, Galen, Martin, and Laura must work together to find out who killed her and why. The investigation uncovers secret after secret, and Galen and Martin's membership in a radically progressive group puts them both at risk.

In The Cards is the fifth novel in the Mysterious Charm series. It is a locked room murder mystery full of Tarot cards, friendship, family secrets, living with chronic illness, and a bit of espionage. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1925 with a happily ever after ending!

Content note details
Main character survived tuberculosis, but spent a decade in and out of sanitaria, including surgical treatments, all of which is referenced. A murder (of someone rather unpleasant, discussion of the method as part of the book). A secondary character has major facial injuries from the War. Class issues. Discussion of past addiction (due to the events of Goblin Fruit).

Want a little more background? Check out blog posts about In The Cards.

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Showing books 1-13 of 13

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Period: Victorian

Romance: M/F, First relationship, Closed door

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Cover of Enchanted Net: A silhouetted man and woman in Victorian dress stand with their backs to the viewer. She is holding a glass of wine as they look toward each other. The background is a purple damask, crossed by pipes and gears and a streak of lightning, with a book inset in the top left corner.
Enchanted Net

Period: Information not available

Romance: M/F, First relationship

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Cover of Silent Circuit: A silhouetted man and woman in Victorian dress face each other. He is holding a book open for her, as her hand moves to turn a page. They’re on a background of green damask with green pipes, a streak of lightning behind them. A bee is inset on top of a gear in the top left.
Silent Circuit

Period: Victorian

Romance: M/F, First relationship

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Cover of Elemental Truth: A silhouetted man and woman in Victorian dress waltz hand in hand on a golden damask background bordered by pipes and gears with a streak of lightning behind them. A jewelled ring is set in the top left.
Elemental Truth

Period: Edwardian

Romance: F/F, Late in life romance, Closed door

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Cover of Complementary. Two women in Edwardian dress in silhouette stand talking with each other. One is taller and calmer, the other is shorter, gesturing. They are on a green background, with an artist's palette in the bottom right.
Complementary

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F, Established relationship, Closed door

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Cover of Winter's Charms, a seasonal novella collection. Three figures are silhouetted on a blue background with snowflakes, in front of a roaring fireplace decorated with a red and green garland. One man is sitting in a chair, gesturing, a woman stands wearing a translucent shawl, and another man leans his hand on the mantlepiece. Oranges and cinnamon sticks are inset in the top left.
Country Manners

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F, First relationship

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Cover of Perfect Accord: Two silhouetted figures in 1920s casual clothing. The man is handing the woman a perfume bottle, and she is testing it on the inside of her wrist. The right upper corner has a perfume bottle inset.
Perfect Accord

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F, Bisexual

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Cover of Goblin Fruit. A man and woman in 1920s dress are silhouetted on a glowing red and golden yellow background. She turns toward him and he holds her hand. A bottle of golden liquid is inset in the top right corner.
Goblin Fruit

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F, First relationship

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Cover of In The Cards. A man and woman in 1920s dress silhouetted on a pale purple and blue cover. She turns away from him, and they are looking at something to the right of the image. A set of divination cards are inset in the top right.
In The Cards

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F

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Cover of Magician's Hoard. A man and woman in 1920s dress silhouetted on a teal background shading to sandy brown. A hedgehog is inset in the top right.
Magician's Hoard

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F, Closed door

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Cover of Mistress of Birds. A man and woman in 1920s clothing silhouetted on a purple and deep blue-grey background. He holds a walking stick as tall as he is and wears a cap, she wears a hat and long sweater. Apples are inset in the top left.
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Period: Second World War

Romance: Not a romance

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The cover of Three Graces has three women in silhouette, two standing and one sitting, her hand resting on a cane. All three are wearing clothes from during the Second World War, against a deep brown cover with a map. An astrology chart to the back left has the Moon and Venus picked out in brighter gold.
Three Graces

Period: Post-war (late 1940s)

Romance: Not a romance

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Cover of The Magic of Four: Four students in silhouette on a blue background of a map off the west coast of Wales. Three stand around a table, the fourth is perched on the near corner, leaning forward and gesturing.
The Magic of Four

Showing books 1-13 of 13

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By Celia

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