The Solace of Stars

The Solace of Stars

Kathleen Ernst

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers / History

Four months after her turbulent arrival, Pomeranian immigrant Hanneke Bauer is still struggling to feel at home on the Wisconsin farm she inherited from her husband. She does savor a growing friendship with tinsmith Karoline Ketzler, but that solace vanishes when Karoline's daughter Jacobine finds her father dead from a vicious attack.When the deputy sheriff's suspicions fall on Karoline, Hanneke employs her own talents to investigate the crime. The search reveals dangerous cultural rifts and astonishing family secrets. Hanneke's tenacity and intellect help edge her closer to the truth...but will her efforts provoke the killer to strike again?
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Lies of Omission

Lies of Omission

Kathleen Ernst

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers / History

When Pomeranian immigrant Hanneke Bauer reaches Wisconsin in 1855, she believes her dearest dreams are coming true. After reuniting with her husband Fridolin at his farm near Watertown, she will help create a true home. Instead, she receives the shocking news that he is dead. Hanneke quickly learns that Wisconsin life is not as bucolic as it seems. Alone and destitute, she is determined to discover the details of Fridolin's death. Her efforts prompt animosity from his friends, anger the deputy sheriff, and entangle her in the rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment. Finding herself in danger, Hanneke races to learn the truth about her husband's secrets and lies...before a killer can silence her forever.
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The Heirloom Murders

The Heirloom Murders

Kathleen Ernst

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers / History

Working for Old World Wisconsin, Chloe Ellefson delights in losing herself in antiques and folk traditions—and forgetting her messy love life. Then the ethnic outdoor museum becomes a murder scene. Does the missing Eagle diamond, a legendary gemstone unearthed in 1876, have anything to do with it? Could Simon Sabatola, a rich AgriFutures executive who possibly drove his wife to suicide, be responsible? Chloe learns that some things never change in this compelling mystery of oldfashioned greed, Swiss green cheese, and a nearly extinct heirloom flower.
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Fiddling with Fate

Fiddling with Fate

Kathleen Ernst

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers / History

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.
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Whistler in the Dark

Whistler in the Dark

Kathleen Ernst

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers / History

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 newspaperEmma 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...
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Mining for Justice

Mining for Justice

Kathleen Ernst

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers / History

"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,...
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