Category: Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1590882253
Type: Fiction
Pages: 402
Copyright: OCT 2003
From inside the palatial walls of an Indian harem to across the seas in far off Victorian England, one woman must discover the truth about her lost identity.
I never imagined when I awoke today that it would be the beginning of a great adventure; an adventure I would always remember for it dramatically altered the direction of my life. Up to this day, my existence seemed confined to these palatial walls and I daily dreamed of escape. I wondered what awaited me outside those walls, walls I was forbidden to leave. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I knew I did not belong here...
PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS:
Sigh… What can I say about Joanna Challis’ writing style that I haven’t said in a previous review? I was raised on Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, romantic suspense and gothic tales, and it is rare to find a skillfully written page-turner in this sub-genre these days. But Ms. Challis does it with panache and style and I drum my fingers, impatiently waiting for her next book. THE SECRET OF THE PHOENIX does not disappoint and from chapter one feeds your curiosity till you can’t wait to find out what happens next. --Torie West, The Romance Studio
RT Rating: Category: HISTORICAL Setting: 1800s England and India Publisher: www.wings-press.com Published: January 2005
Hindu princess Anjika Tarbia's Indian mother and white father were both murdered when she was a baby. Raised in the harem at her grandfather's palace, Anjika longs for the impossible—a chance to explore her father's white world. But her mother's royal blood makes her a pawn in a political marriage.
When her chance to escape arises, her haphazard flight leaves her with amnesia and lands her in the arms of British major Nicholas Cameron. The roguish Nicholas bestows the name Angel upon her when the only clues to her identity are a locket and a Phoenix brand on her wrist. With his help, she finds her father's family and takes her place as the rightful heiress to her father's estate.
Angel's new life is far from perfect, however. Her heart yearns for Nicholas, but he seems content with slipping in and out of her life. In her new home, dark family secrets abound, deceit taints the air and someone wants Angel dead.
Angel is irresistible and her journey engrossing and memorable. Challis cleverly ties up loose ends and finds romance for each deserving couple and retribution for the villains. SWEET (Jan., 410 pp., $12.95)—Susan Mitchell, ROMANTIC TIMES
Professional Reviews
Victoria Holt / Mary Stewart tradition
Wonderful, suspenseful engaging tale
Joanna Challis pens a wonderful, suspenseful and engaging tale of betrayal, spies and love with The Secret Of The Phoenix. From India to England and back again, Anjika and the reader are taken on an exciting and dangerous journey that will have the reader on the edge of their seat. There are so many questions that needed answering in this tale and with each one answered, Ms. Challis would continue to intrigue us and have us asking even more. It is beginning to end wonder, suspense and adventure within the pages of The Secret Of The Phoenix. This book comes very highly recommended. Readers won’t want to miss it! --Tracey West, The Road to Romance
"Sigh… What can I say about Joanna Challis’ writing style that I haven’t said in a previous review? I was raised on Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, romantic suspense and gothic tales, and it is rare to find a skillfully written page-turner in this sub-genre these days. But Ms. Challis does it with panache and style and I drum my fingers, impatiently waiting for her next book. The Secret of the Phoenix does not disappoint and from chapter one feeds your curiosity till you can’t wait to find out what happens next." ~ Torie West, The Romance Studio
Book three in series. Excitement and tension begin on the first day of filming a Restoration drama on location at the historic Jacobean mansion, Ham House in Surrey.
