Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: The Guilded Curse by Marilyn Turk

Book: The Gilded Curse

Author: Marilyn Turk

Genre: Historical Suspense

Release Date: July 31, 2023

In early 1942, a mysterious telegram draws Lexie Smithfield back to the island her mother thought was cursed. Now the only heir to the dwindling family fortune, Lexie plans to sell the family’s vacation “cottage” in the Millionaire’s Village on Jekyll Island. But someone else is interested in the cottage and is getting more desperate to find what they’re looking for, even to the point of murder.

Lexie’s childhood friend, Russell Thompson, is now the Jekyll Island Club’s superintendent and the keeper of members’ secrets, especially one that would shatter Lexie. When he learns Lexie is in danger, he stays close to protect her, but soon discovers an attraction to Lexie he didn’t expect.

Could the danger be from someone they know or is it possible that the threat of Nazi invasion on their coast is a reality? Or is the island really cursed?

Russell and Lexie must work together to discover the real danger and keep from getting hurt or killed in the process.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

Historical Novels have been a favorite of mine for a long while. The past couple of years I have really been enjoying Suspense Novels a lot.  The Gilded Curse by Marilyn Turk fits both of those and the most recent book that I had the opportunity to read.

I was drawn into the storyline from the very first chapter and I kept reading until I was done. The time is 1942 on Jekyll Island. Lexie Smithfield is one of the main characters and has returned to the Island to sell the family "cottage. Her family hasn't been to their "cottage" in 10yrs becaus Lexi's Mom believes teh Island is Cursed. Russell Thompson is the other main character and he manages the resorts on Jekyll island and is also a childhood friend of Lexi's. I really LOVE that Russell comes to protect Lexi when they realize that someone else on the Island also wants to buy Lexi's Family Cottage. They are both in danger, yet they work together to figure out how to stay safe. Russell finds himself attracted to Lexi in the midst of the danger. Russell and Lexi are really strong characters and their story is very intriguing. The book is one of Suspense, Action, and History. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Historical Suspense Novels. FANTASTIC BOOK!

Award-winning author Marilyn Turk writes historical and contemporary fiction flavored with suspense and romance. Marilyn also writes devotions for Daily Guideposts, Walking in Grace, and contributes to other Guideposts publications. She and her husband are lighthouse enthusiasts, have visited over 100 lighthouses and also served as volunteer lighthouse caretakers at Little River Light off the coast of Maine.

When not writing or visiting lighthouses, Marilyn enjoys reading, walking, boating, fishing, gardening, tennis, and playing with her golden retriever. She also sings in the choir at her church and leads a women’s Bible study group. Marilyn and her husband have a combined family of four sons, one daughter, and four grandsons. She’s still hoping for a granddaughter someday.

She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Word Weavers International, and the United States Lighthouse Society.

Marilyn is also the director of the Blue Lake Christian Writers Conference.

More from Marilyn

When my agent told me a certain publisher was looking for Southern Gothic novels,

I wondered what those were.  What I found out was that they were gothic-style novels set in the South, usually an old antebellum mansion, for example, “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.” Think “Jane Eyre” or “Wuthering Heights” set in the southern United States. I had just visited Jekyll Island, Georgia and toured the Millionaires’ Village there, so those mansions came to mind.  These homes, which were actually vacation “cottages” of the rich and famous, were built in the Gilded Age of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is said that the 100 members of the club represented most of the wealth in America at that time. However, the members aged and passed away, leaving their wealth or debt to their descendants, the Great Depression caused many to lose their fortunes, then two world wars wreaked havoc on the country, so most of those homes were abandoned. Thanks to ongoing renovation efforts by the state of Georgia, many have been rebuilt. My main character in The Gilded Curse, Alexandra Smithfield (Lexie), inherits one of those abandoned mansions right at the start of World War II. The family fortune gone, she intends to renovate and sell the mansion she hasn’t seen since childhood since her mother believed the island cursed, due to some tragedies that happened to their family while there. So Lexie is “cursed” in two ways – by inheriting something she can no longer afford to keep and by the imagined curse her mother believes. When suspicious events happen around her cottage, she wonders if her mother was right.

Today, you can take tours of the Millionaires’ Village and see the former “cottages” of Pulitzer, Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, etc. You can also stay at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, renovated and now part of the Jekyll Island Club Resort. Some of the characters in my book were real people who lived in 1942, particularly the Maurice sisters, two single sisters who loved the island and never wanted to leave it, even when the President of the United States wanted the island vacated during the war. One interesting thing about the Maurice house: efforts to renovate it have met one obstacle after another, leading some people to believe the sisters’ spirits are still there and very particular about what they want done to their house.

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 11

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, December 11

Pause for Tales, December 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 13

Mary Hake, December 13

Betti Mace, December 14

Texas Book-aholic, December 15

Min Reads and Reviews, December 15

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 16

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 17

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 18

Holly’s Book Corner, December 18

Blogging With Carol, December 19

Cover Lover Book Review, December 20

For Him and My Family, December 21

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 22 (Author Interview)

Little Homeschool on the prairie, December 22

Connie’s History Classroom, December 23

Lily’s Corner, December 24

To celebrate her tour, Marilyn is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/293d1/the-gilded-curse-celebration-tour-giveaway

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: The Guilded Curse by Marilyn Turk

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