Paroled felon. Rich doctor's wife. Famous clairvoyant. Cassie Chadwick, one of history's most successful con artists, was a master of reinvention. In the dusk of the Gilded Age, she swept from town to town, assuming fresh identities to swindle a fortune so large that it rivaled the robber barons of the time. Then came arguably the greatest con in American history. Using forged documents and her peerless wits, Cassie convinced prominent men from Cleveland to New York City that she was the illegitimate daughter of the world's wealthiest man—Andrew Carnegie. Businessmen loaned her hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time; the ensuing crash shattered banks and bankers alike. Her sensational trial made her a household name. The newspapers called her the "Queen of Swindlers," the "Duchess of Diamonds," the "High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance." Interspersing Cassie's crimes with stories of an unsuspecting Andrew Carnegie, author Annie Reed spins an enthralling, page-turning tale of true crime. Long before Anna Delvey captivated national attention, there was Cassie Chadwick—the mother of the American con.

HE’D NEVER BEEN AS ATTRACTED TO—OR SUSPICIOUS OF—A WOMAN IN HIS LIFE… Raising horses—not spying on scheming females—was rugged Russ Simon’s passion. Still, for his family’s sake, he grudgingly agreed to discover whether poor if pretty rancher Marigold Crowley was a gold-digging impostor…or a truly missing heiress. Cynical-about-women Russ never expected to fall for his golden-haired quarry. With her unsuspecting smile, her soft lilac scent and her innocent love of horses, orphaned Mari seemed hungry for a family, not a fortune. And Russ ached to make her his. Trouble was, could he trust her? Worse, once Mari uncovered his seductive charade, would she trust him?

THE EXQUISITE PRETENDER In dress, manner, and speech, Miss Elizabeth DeLisle seemed every inch a leisured lady. No one could guess she had been forced to take a position in trade—or that she had come to the Earl of Auden’s estate to entice him into naming her dismayingly disagreeable cousin Anthony heir to a fortune that she then could share. But Elizabeth had stiff competition for the Earl’s imperious favor…from the schemingly seductive Lady Isabel Courtney and her odious little boy, Owen…from the implacably upright Richard Courtney and his unfortunate honesty…and from the memory of the Earl’s first wife, who had made him despise women who deceived. Elizabeth knew she could never reveal the truth to the Earl—even when she forgot about gaining his fortune and began losing her heart….

Lambda Award-winning author Debra Hyde returns to the rich terrain of late 19th century New York City as she follows genteel lady detectives Charlotte Olmes and Joanna Watson on their quests to find the secrets hidden under the petticoats of women’s live. Margaret Sutherland is a tattered heiress, her life torn apart by death, sorrow, and the loss of prosperity and status. She skulks about the Ladies Mile, furtive and avoiding, draped in an ancient, worn cape. Until Joanna Wilson, faithful companion and lover to detective Charlotte Olmes, spots her in the famed shopping district and knows something's wrong. Once, they were all debutantes, celebrating their coming-out season, but fate and fortune cast them different outcomes. As Joanna recalls that time, she and Charlotte scramble to aid the desolate Miss Sutherland, only to find a trail of deception, fraud, and extortion blocking their way. Jumping every hurdle of opposition and rallying allies new and old, Olmes and Wilson must race to see the fair Miss Sutherland to safety and freedom. Be sure to read Of White Snakes and Misshaped Owls, the first volume in this exciting homage to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.