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The End of Temperance Dare


The End of Temperance Dare

Eleanor Harper's years as a journalist working the crime beat for the city paper have taken their toll. So, when she's offered the Director position at Cliffside Manor's renowned artists' retreat, she jumps at the chance to trade courtrooms and criminals for paintbrushes and poetry—even if she isn't entirely sure why she's been offered the job.

The residency program that Eleanor has been charged with leading at Cliffside has brightened the estate's dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a "waiting room for death." She can hardly wait to be surrounded by writers and artists—the peaceful lakeside grounds just as much a retreat for her as for them.

Eleanor quickly realizes the death, suffering, and rage that filled Cliffside are far from erased by time.

From her first fog-filled moments at the manor, Eleanor is seized by a sense of impending doom. On her first night, she is horrified to find Penny Dare, daughter of the estate's original owner, dead by suicide, her face covered in garish makeup as though it had been done by a child. After the arrival of the new fellows—including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks—she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose this particular group with a dangerous purpose in mind.

As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows—and herself—from sinister forces.

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Praise

"[In] this solid supernatural thriller...Webb succeeds in escalating suspense while keeping her story grounded, but goes full-on Exorcist for the finale."
   —Publishers Weekly

"A deftly crafted and consistently compelling novel by an author with a genuine flair for originality...Unreservedly recommended."
   —Midwest Book Review


Lake Union Publishing, Paperback, June 2017, ISBN: 9781477824115