The Third Heiress [Hardcover]

Brenda Joyce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

When Jillian Gallagher's fiance is killed in a car accident, the last name he utters is "Kate." And Jillian's world suddenly becomes a nightmare. After bringing his body back to his aristocratic English family, Jill discovers that a woman, Kate Gallagher, disappeared mysteriously almost one-hundred years ago. Who was Kate? What had she meant to Jill's fiance? And how is she connected to Jill? Her search pits her against a secretive and hostile family, and plunges her into a puzzling mystery that quickly obsesses her. As Jill delves deeper into the life of Kate Gallagher, she enlists the help of one man...a man who may be there to protect her, seduce her, or destroy her. And Jill must face her own doubts, question her own beliefs--and even her sanity--before the truth is revealed to her. As the shocking events unfold, The Third Heiress will keep you riveted...and keep you guessing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: London, present day and early 20th century
Sensuality Rating: 5

Bestselling author Brenda Joyce makes her hardcover debut with The Third Heiress, a tale of suspense and romance that spans a century. Following a car crash, professional dancer Jill Gallagher holds her dying fiancé in her arms as he whispers, "I love you... Kate." Left with the wretched task of returning Hal's body to London and the aristocratic Sheldon family, Jill encounters hostility, malevolence, and a 90-year-old mystery involving a beautiful young American woman named Kate Gallagher and her impossible love affair with Edward Sheldon, Viscount Braxton.

A tangled web of love, lies, and murder begins to unravel as Jill digs into the scandal, revealing that very little has changed in the century since Kate Gallagher first caught Edward Sheldon's fancy--especially when the blue-blooded family lineage is threatened by an American upstart. When someone begins warning Jill off her research by ransacking her rented flat and slicing her car brakes, she isn't sure if Hal's American-born cousin Alex Preston is friend or foe. Alex claims to want to help, but Jill suspects that he is not telling her the truth. And with the threats against her life intensifying, Jill is running out of options quickly. A well-crafted novel infused with passion and suspense, The Third Heiress will both delight Joyce's devoted fans and attract new readers. --Alison Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

The heroine of romance novelist Joyce's (The Finer Things) hardcover debut thinks she will live happily ever after, and instead unearths a nest of family secrets. Born into a working-class family, talented ballerina-turned-Broadway-dancer Jill Gallagher is ecstatic with her new fianc?, aristocratic Brit Harold "Hal" Sheldon. But as they drive along a New York highway, he breaks off their engagement, saying he wants to return to his family in London. A devastated Jill turns to confront himAand wraps the car around a tree. Though Jill escapes unscathed, Hal dies in her arms, his last words, "I love you... Kate." Accompanying Hal's body to London, Jill obsesses: who is Kate? Was Hal leaving her for another woman? Hal's family blames Jill for the accident, except for his cousin Alex Preston, who's just a bit less prickly than the Sheldons. In Hal's old bedroom, Jill discovers a 1906 photo of two young women, Kate Gallagher and Anne Bensonhurst. Anne was Hal's grandmother, but Kate, a nouveau-riche American heiress (with Jill's last name), mysteriously disappeared the year she turned 18. As Jill abandons her life in New York in her single-minded hunt for Kate (whom she believes is her own ancestor), Alex becomes a provocateur, helper and saboteur on the case. The mystery deepens when Jill finds a decapitated cat on her porch and discovers that the brakes on her car are cut. Joyce's occasionally trite prose ("Hal is dead. Ghosts make poor lovers") is easily ignored as she blends the stories of Jill and Kate, piecing together sexual intrigue, betrayals and century-old coverups that connect them. This genealogical thriller is a page turner that should please the readers of Joyce's previous 24 paperback romances (with seven million copies in print) and could perhaps prove her breakout novel. (Sept.) in August, and Joyce's Web site (www.brendajoyce.com) is already advertising her hardcover launch.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Griffin; 1st edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031220387X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312203870
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,722,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brenda Joyce is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fourty-nine novels and five novellas. There are over fourteen million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries. A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs and numerous Arabian and Half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions' writing powerful love stories and her quest to become a nationally ranked Top Ten equestrian. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her websites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.francescacahillseries.com www.thedewarennedynasty.com and www.mastersoftimebooks.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What happened to Brenda Joyce?, November 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Third Heiress (Hardcover)

I first would like to say that I was a true Brenda Joyce fan. For anyone who read "Promise of the Rose", you know what I am talking about. I love all types of romance ---comtemp. hist. funny. suspense, ect...Unfortunately, this book, "The third Heiress" did not live up to the hype. I felt no emotional involvement with the characters at all. There was nothing about Jill for me to want to read about! The mystery was lacking and I did not care for the whole "Who am I" plot line. It was played...so played! I know Brenda Joyce has written five star books before, I have read them. This book fell short. I hope she can lure me back with something better in the future.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the usual fare., October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Third Heiress (Hardcover)

I picked up "The Third Heiress" because I have always enjoyed Brenda Joyce's works. This book has more of a suspense edge to it; as do a lot of romances now.

The problem with The Third Heiress is that the principle characters and their motives were not established early on in the book. One hundred pages into the book, I was still wondering what was going on in the book and why I should care.

Going to a fiancee's funeral with his bitter hateful family, seeing a photo with the name "Kate," and her last name on the of it does not make for a compelling mystery or much of a drama. Believe me, I did not stay up all night reading this one. There was no reason to. I did not like any of the characters, or care what happened to them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This broke my heart, November 16, 2005

By 

Love to read (Logan, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Third Heiress (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't like to read books where the "good guys" lose. Kate was such a lively character and in spite of the fact she disappeared nearly 90 years ago, the explanation of how she "ends" was horrible! Edward never found happiness and was estranged from the son he should have loved more than life itself. Anne's complete transformation to a hateful woman was hard to believe. Alex falling for Jill was tough to swallow, as she lost control of the car that killed his cousin. Hal's obsession and stalking of Jill was never fully explained. The ending was not only unsatisfying, it didn't bring closure to the "Kate" mystery. Pick up another one of Brenda's books to read...