The Invitation

The sumptuous new novel set in the Gilded Age, from Belinda Alexandra, author of Tuscan Rose and White Gardenia Sometimes the ties that bind are the most dangerous of all …Paris, 1899. Emma Lacasse hasn’t seen her older sister fornearly twenty years, since Caroline married a rich American and left France. Sowhen Emma receives a summons from New York, she is intrigued – her sister has something of a proposal for her.But what she hoped would be an emotional reunion with her onlyfamily isn’t quite as Emma imagined. Caroline lives a life of unimaginable excessas one of New York’s Gilded Age millionaires, but the society she moves in hasa set of complicated and mysterious rules that bohemian Emma struggles tounderstand.As she is increasingly seduced by the luxury surroundingher, she begins to lose sight of what is really important. But when a tragedystrikes she realises that there is much more going on beneath the surface. The glamour of New York society hides a seething nest of deceit,betrayal … and perhaps even murder. Praise for Belinda Alexandra:‘Reading her novels is like going on holiday for a longtime. You don’t want to come back’ WestAustralian’[Belinda’s] scene-settings drip with atmosphere and hercharacterisations are colourful … She is a passionate and confident storytellerand her writing is like an artist’s dream’ BookMuster Down Under’Every good holiday break requires some escapist reading, and this latest novel from Belinda Alexandra makes the perfect beach or pool-side read’ Sunday Age