Maidens & Monsters Series by Marie Piper

Each Sunday for ten years, the young and prominent Maidens of Mapleton club have met in the town schoolhouse and told each other all. A town with a violent past, now-booming Mapleton dotes on its favorite daughters: Christine, a performer at the town's beautiful music hall, Mina, the daughter of the newspaper owner, Esme, a ward of the church and Lucy and Elizabeth, daughters of the widower Mayor-one ladylike, the other a hellion. Slowly, the truth begins to cloud... moreEach Sunday for ten years, the young and prominent Maidens of Mapleton club have met in the town schoolhouse and told each other all. A town with a violent past, now-booming Mapleton dotes on its favorite daughters: Christine, a performer at the town's beautiful music hall, Mina, the daughter of the newspaper owner, Esme, a ward of the church and Lucy and Elizabeth, daughters of the widower Mayor-one ladylike, the other a hellion. Slowly, the truth begins to cloud. The pieces of the past don't add up, bad dreams are haunting Esme, and familiar tales and faces fail to comfort. In this five novella series from Marie Piper, comprised of Old West adaptations of gothic/horror tales, the Maidens find their friendships tested, fall in (and out) of love, and are forced to unravel the mystery of that one terrible day. What really happened on the day of the Mapleton Massacre? In the first installment, CHRISTINE, there's a music hall under new management, a mysterious patron, a dancing girl turned soloist, and murder to boot. It's a Western romance tribute to a story that has delighted for decades, this time with a mystery girl squad! less

Lucy Carew has had enough of being perfect. In the aftermath of MINA (Maidens & Monsters, #2) Lucy stood up to her Papa and has taken over as the schoolteacher after Miss Thorpe's commitment to Whitby Asylum. Now engaged to Henry Jekyll, Lucy is finally experiencing life as an independent woman. As the Governor's railroad representative arrives in Mapleton to make his decision, more strange things begin to happen... moreLucy Carew has had enough of being perfect. In the aftermath of MINA (Maidens & Monsters, #2) Lucy stood up to her Papa and has taken over as the schoolteacher after Miss Thorpe's commitment to Whitby Asylum. Now engaged to Henry Jekyll, Lucy is finally experiencing life as an independent woman. As the Governor's railroad representative arrives in Mapleton to make his decision, more strange things begin to happen. Innocent people are attacked and hurt, and it seems Henry might be the main suspect. In this old-west-set take on THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, it's up to Lucy and the Maidens to solve yet another mystery in Mapleton before more innocent blood is spilled, even as they get closer to finding out the truth about the Mapleton Massacre! less

*Each Sunday for ten years, the young and prominent Maidens of Mapleton club have met in the town schoolhouse and told each other all. A town with a violent past, now-booming Mapleton dotes on its favorite daughters: Christine, a performer at the town's beautiful music hall, Mina, the daughter of the newspaper owner, Esme, a ward of the church and Lucy and Elizabeth, daughters of the widower Mayor-one ladylike, the other a hellion. Slowly, the truth begins to cloud... more*Each Sunday for ten years, the young and prominent Maidens of Mapleton club have met in the town schoolhouse and told each other all. A town with a violent past, now-booming Mapleton dotes on its favorite daughters: Christine, a performer at the town's beautiful music hall, Mina, the daughter of the newspaper owner, Esme, a ward of the church and Lucy and Elizabeth, daughters of the widower Mayor-one ladylike, the other a hellion. Slowly, the truth begins to cloud. The pieces of the past don't add up, and familiar tales and faces fail to comfort. In this five novella series from Marie Piper, comprised of Old West adaptations of gothic/horror tales, the Maidens find their friendships tested, fall in (and out) of love, and are forced to unravel the mystery of that one terrible day. What really happened on the day of the Mapleton Massacre?* In the final installment, a mystery/romance take on Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN, the youngest and bravest of the Maidens of Mapleton, Elizabeth Carew, has fled for Denver with railroad man Walton Wolf. But Walton isn't who he said he was, Elizabeth isn't who she thought she was, and monsters from the past soon follow our heroine across the cold landscape of the west. Are we who we are by our nature, or by choice? And once trust has been killed, can it live again? less