The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

Written by Hester Fox

Narrated by Ell Potter

 "Weaves a spell of darkness that’s mysterious and magical, and binds it with a knot of deathless love." —New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley on A Lullaby for Witches

In post–World War I England, a young woman inherits a mysterious library and must untangle its powerful secrets…

With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which she’s descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home.

The abbey is foreboding, the servants reserved and suspicious. But there is a treasure waiting behind locked doors: a magnificent library. Despite cryptic warnings from the staff, Ivy feels irresistibly drawn to its dusty shelves, where familiar works mingle with strange, esoteric texts. And she senses something else in the library too, a presence that seems to have a will of its own.  

Rumors swirl in the village about the abbey’s previous owners, about ghosts and curses, and an enigmatic manuscript at the center of it all. And as events grow more sinister, it will be up to Ivy to uncover the library’s mysteries in order to reclaim her own story—before it vanishes forever.

Lush, atmospheric and transporting, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is a skillful reflection on memory and female agency, and a love letter to books from a writer at the height of her power.

Delve into the magical power of flowers in Hester Fox's captivating new novel, THE BOOK OF THORNS, where long-lost sisters reunite on opposite sides of the Napoleonic Wars and must uncover the secrets of their mother's disappearance and their mystical powers…

Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox: 

• The Witch of Willow Hall
• The Widow of Pale Harbor
• The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
• A Lullaby for Witches

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin Audio
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781488218323

Hester Fox

Hester Fox is a full-time writer and mother, with abackground in museum work and historical archaeology. She lives in New England with her husband and their two children.

Reviews for The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

[Mrs.sears · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Heroine was an absolute idiot and my blood pressure couldn't handle the stress. I skipped chapters when the stress was too much. That helped. There was an obsession with Ralph's shirt that was annoying. Every time I thought we would delve into mysteries, we instead delved into someone's eyes. The plot line was great but the characters kept getting in the way .

[charlotte · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was a good book. A little slow to start but got more interesting.

[Dean Marais · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good book by Hester Fox. Interesting story and characters. I just wish we could have gotten a better picture of the blooming romance between Ralph and Ivy and there are a few inconsistencies throughout the book.

[Sara Bramble Lingerman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am left slightly bewildered. There are a lot of missing pieces, and I still have questions. Maybe that’s what the reader is supposed to have, perhaps that’s the point. Much of the book is about missing memories…
I really wanted to love it. The plot itself is very interesting. However I wish the whole book was a little more “developed”.

[Genevieve Methot · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

That just wasn’t good. I don’t like to disparage authors because it’s quite a feat to create and publish a novel, but this was quite silly and the main character was a bit of a dumb-dumb.

[Jodie Pedano · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Found it very hard to stay engaged. The story is kind of all over the place. Frankenstein patchwork are usually like her books but this one was just Soso for me

[Holky · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Heroine did stupid too long asked no questions ..?stopped reading