Under a Gilded Moon: A Novel

Written by Joy Jordan-Lake

Narrated by Kathleen Gati

“Crawdads meets the Crawleys…Threaded through with a meticulously researched, well-crafted mystery, this is historical fiction at its best.” —Fiona Davis, nationally bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

From the bestselling author of A Tangled Mercy comes an enthralling novel of secrets, a tumultuous war of ideas, and murder as classes collide in the shadow of Biltmore House.

Biltmore House, a palatial mansion being built by the Vanderbilts, American “royalty,” is in its final stages of construction in North Carolina. The country’s grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl, just as driven, who lives in its shadow.

Kerry MacGregor’s future is derailed when, after two years in college in New York City, family obligations call her home to the beautiful Appalachians. She is determined to distance herself from the opulence she sees rising in the Blue Ridge Mountains, however close its reach. Her family’s land is among the last pieces required to complete the Biltmore Estate. But something more powerful than an ambitious Vanderbilt heir could change Kerry’s fate as, one by one, more outsiders descend on the changing landscape—a fugitive from Sicily, a reporter chasing a groundbreaking story, a debutante tainted by scandal, and a conservationist prepared to put anyone at risk to stoke the resentment of the locals.

As Kerry finds herself caught in a war between wealth and poverty, innocence and corruption, she must navigate not only her own pride and desperation to survive but also the temptations of fortune and the men who control it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781713518396

Joy Jordan-Lake

Joy Jordan-Lake has written more than a half dozen books, including the novel Blue Hole Back Home, which won the Christy Award in 2009 for Best First Novel. The book, which explores racial violence and reconciliation in the post–Civil Rights South, went on to be chosen as the Common Book at several colleges, as well as being a frequent book club pick. Jordan-Lake holds a PhD in English, is a former chaplain at Harvard, and has taught literature and writing at several universities. Her scholarly work Whitewashing Uncle Tom’s Cabin draws on the narratives, journals, and letters of enslaved and slaveholding antebellum women, research that led her to the story behind A Tangled Mercy. Living outside of Nashville, she and her husband have three children. To learn more about the author and her work, visit www.joyjordanlake.com.

Reviews for Under a Gilded Moon

[John Martin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the story. It is the fourth book I have listened to by Joy Jordan Lake. She is a friend of mine. I found this recording very hard to listen to. The reader did a very poor and contrived job on the accents and often mispronounced names and words. For an example she would pronounce LeBlanc sounding the hard k . The c is silent. . Also I never thought it was possible to over enunciate. The reader often would do just that.
She sounded like a trained singer which is not a problem it if given another story to read it should be one that does not require accents. I cringed almost every time she went into one. They all sounded so contrived. The readers for Joys other books had no problem at all and were quite enjoyable to listen to. I am giving this three stars not because of Jous writing but because of the reader you chose to read it.

[Jeanetta du Preez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I struggled to get into the story due to the narration. Was determined to listen to the story becuase I enjoyed a tangled mercy so much.
Re listened the first 3 chapter 3 times