The Devereaux Legacy is a stand-alone romantic suspense and ghost novel by Carolyn Hart that, according to the author's introduction, originally was sold to Harlequin as a gothic romance because the New York publishers weren't very interested in buying mysteries by American women in the late 1970s. Yes, Ms. Hart is a bestselling mystery writer who was voted a Grand Master of Mystery by the Mystery Writers of America in 2014, but back then, she wrote seven books in as many years and sold none of them.

Our heroine is Leah Devereaux Shaw, who has been an orphan since her parents died nineteen years ago. Leah grew up believing her parents died in a hurricane off the Texas Coast. Then she read her paternal grandmother's last letter to someone named Carrie, which included a magazine article about a ghost known as "the Whispering Lady" that belongs to the Devereaux estate in Mefford, South Carolina.

Leah starts by visiting the Devereaux section of a graveyard in Mefford, South Carolina. The stone for her parents, listed as lost as sea, includes her own name and that of her father's mother. Obviously Leah isn't dead, and Louisa Abbott Shaw died only a month ago - in Rockport, Texas. That's definitely suspicious. It also explains why Leah's maternal relatives think Leah is dead.

From a visit to the Mefford Historical Society and the garden of the LeClerc home (last on the list of local homes to tour), it's obvious that Leah resembles her Devereaux kin. Of course the women who noticed are surprised she doesn't know what they're talking about.

Once Leah makes it to Devereaux Plantation, she meets John Edward, Merrick, and Carrie Devereaux, in that order. Carrie tells her she never saw Mary Ellen again. Carrie also mentions the origin of the Whispering Lady, which involves a Marthe Devereaux and her beloved, Timothy Shaw, back in 1861. Leah is the great-great granddaughter of Marthe's brother, Julian. They were both dominated by their elder brother, Randolph. So, did Marthe do the shooting on her own or because of Randolph?

Leah also learns that Old Jason, who was the butler back then, was the reason Mary Ellen and Thomas had been on the *New Star,* but Carrie is the reason they were caught in that hurricane. Carrie's maid, Lilac, was the one who told Jason that she'd seen the Whispering Lady. It seems to have been the first time since Albert Devereaux and his family went down on the *Titanic*. Carrie had two almost fatal accidents before Leah's parents were killed. She moved to Nice and this is the first time she's been back since. The Whispering Lady has been seen twice since she returned. Interestingly, the ghost was not seen when Leah's uncle and aunt were killed. Why not?

NOTES:

CHAPTER 1: Leah reads about the history of Devereaux Plantation.

CHAPTER 4: This is where we learn that Andrew Devereaux adopted his wife's children.

CHAPTER 5: Leah sees the octagonal tower for the first time.

CHAPTER 6:

a. Leah learns that her mother was supposed to marry Merrick's older brother, John Edward.

b. Her adopted cousins' original surname was Simpson.

c. Leah meets Old Jason.

d. Leah's family discusses her parents' visit to the plantation before they died.

e. Who took the silver dueling pistols?

CHAPTER 7:

a. There's a piece about Marthe, dated May 9, 1893. It's in italics.

b. Leah goes out at night because she heard a dog. She sees something. At least she goes looking again the next morning.

c. Leah meets Kent Ellis, archaeologist. His friend, a stray three-month-old collie/lab mix puppy named Bill is missing.

d. Something happened to Kent's excavation.

CHAPTER 8: Bill is found.

CHAPTER 10:

a. Mary Ellen had a maid named Cornelia, but she died two years ago.

b. Leah gets to see Marthe's grave.

CHAPTER 11:

a. Leah meets Mrs. LeClerc again. Mrs. Clerk shows her a box that belonged to Avery LeClerc, who died at Gettysburg two months after Marthe's death. It contains something that almost shocks Leah.

b. Merrick takes Leah to see his white house called Ashwood, which he restored..

c. Merrick and Leah go to Hilton Head Island.

CHAPTER 12: Is what Cissy tells Leah true?

CHAPTER 13: There's another bit about Marthe at the end of the chapter.

CHAPTER 14:

a. Carrie came to Devereaux Plantation in 1938, when she was a bride. Her husband's name was Samuel. She shows Leah Mary Ellen's silver charm bracelet.

b. There's another piece about Marthe.

I've been a fan of Carolyn Hart's books for decades now. This early effort isn't as good as what she's written when she's gotten to write in the genre she wants to: mysteries. She does manage to include two mysteries in this book, one from the Civil War era and what happened to the heroine's parents. They're both solved. The climax is good for atmosphere and makes sense. The romance is less convincing, but Ms. Hart had to have one for the original publisher.

Read this book as a murder mystery with a romance loosely attached and it's fun enough. ( )

An early stand-alone mystery from Carolyn Hart, that was originally bought by Harlequin and marketed as a gothic romance. This is one of those stories that is best discovered by someone who hasn't already read a fair variety of romantic suspense. With nothing to compare it to, one might find this a very lively and escapist story.

Leah arrives in South Carolina after the death of her paternal grandmother and Leah's subsequent discovery that she herself has been presumed dead since she was 2. Wanting to find out why, and the truth about what happened to her parents, she arrives at the Devereaux Plantation full of questions, discovering she still has a maternal grandmother who is thrilled she's alive, and 3 cousins that might not be so thrilled.

This slim volume reads exactly like a Barbara Michaels in many respects. Hart says in the introduction to this re-issue that she suddenly found herself in a market that had no interest in women writing murder mysteries, and after 9 years of rejection, found that she could sell her books if she made them romances. This bow to contemporary demands is apparent in the romance: it's insta-love at it's most glaring, and more than a little bit naive and awkward.

Sandwiched in between in the awkward romance is, unfortunately, only a slightly less awkward mystery, but knowing what I know about Hart's real mysteries, I have no problem believing it's because she had to cram it in along the edges. It's a good mystery; just not one that was allowed the space to unfold naturally.

It's definitely nowhere close to Hart's normal standards of writing, but hints of what will come in her future Death on Demand series are evident: haunting atmosphere and fully fleshed out characters that are capable of passionate acts of love and cruelty. ( )