Six Sisters of Shame by Liza O'Connor

Six Sisters of Shame

By

Liza O’Connor

A Victorian Mystery/Romance 

Jack the Ripper is a perfect example of hiding the truth behind too many trees.

But is it even safe to see the tree? People, some clever authors, have mysteriously died after writing their conclusions that agree with mine. I feel a little safer, being in the US. But if I mysteriously die due to the characters I attribute to having murdered SOME of the women, claimed to be by Jack the Ripper, let it be a lesson: No one likes a smart ass, especially not British Royalty.

Here are the items that drew me to whom I chose, for my fictional book, to portray as the murderers.

That’s right, I’ve two men, which explains much of what confused Scotland Yard by the letters they received…IF they were confused at all. In my story, they are not confused, they are simply following the Queen’s orders to obfuscate matters and accuse everyone possible so the true culprits won’t be found.

Stepping out of the forest, most of my evidence is based on odd coincidental items.

The original murders have two entirely different styles of murder, one in which the bodies were cut in two, the other in which they are slashed. I tossed the cut in two bodies out since they were clearly done by someone else.  Then I looked at the pictures of the remaining dead women and discovered a very odd coincidence: They all resembled the queen, except for one, who resembled Princess Alexandra, the mother of Prince Albert (Eddy).

Jack the Ripper seemed focused on killing heavy-set, jowled, middle age prostitutes who resembled the queen, and then one younger, prettier woman who looked like the prince’s mom.

Pure coincidence, I’m sure, but in my fictional story, I ran with it.

Another coincidence is that the murders stopped when Prince Albert (Eddy) got sent to India.

When he returned, all remained quiet until he was told he couldn’t marry the woman he wished, because she was Catholic. And thus, began a new spree of killings, only despite they had the same profile as the prior Jack the Ripper deaths, Scotland Yard refused to attribute them to Jack the Ripper.

In my fictional book, Scotland Yard was ordered by the Queen, to obfuscate or be fired. So my Scotland police are not a happy lot. And when my six young ladies get taken by Edwin and Jack Stephanos (the Jack the Ripper duo in my story) there is nothing they can do. (Slight name changes are my hopes of me not being sued or worse.)

One final coincidence: When Eddy and Jack died, the murders stopped.

Their official causes of death: After two new slayings occur, Prince Albert Eddy is whisked away, only to ‘die of a cold or influenza’, and his crazy tutor Jack Stephens dies two weeks later. They claim he was so broken-hearted over the loss of Albert (Eddy) that he refused to eat. Seriously? The guy was a deranged bully. He cared only for himself.

If I had written my deadly duo’s explicit deaths, Edwin would have probably died by an overdose of Laudanum.  Jack Stephanos would have died in his cage from starvation after they refused to give him food. He was a mass murderer and had pulled the prince into this mess. He deserved to suffer before dying. Since it took him two weeks to die, they might have once in a while given him something gross to eat to extend his torture.

In this fictional story, my fabulous sisters are the reason why Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror ends. Six brilliant and talented sisters, plus the men who love them. Jack the Ripper never had a chance.

Six Sisters of Shame

By Liza O’Connor

Blurb

In his second marriage, a marriage of true love, Douglas Marsh has acquired six beautiful, identical daughters, who have made a pact never to marry. All are a challenge to the strict mores and interests that young ladies of Victorian England should have, but all are uniquely wonderful. He strives to match his new daughters to men who can appreciate each girl’s talents and interests. Only, one of his daughters wishes to choose for herself, and her choice sets off repercussions that could destroy them all.

WARNING: THIS STORY INCLUDES SOME SEXUALLY EXPLICIT SCENES.

Excerpt

After much discussion, the girls elected Charity to face Prince Edwin. Her personality was less likely to get them killed.

She stumbled into the parlor, shoved viciously by the prince’s tutor.

“Here’s your trollop, Edwin. Retrieved as you requested.” The anger and resentment was evident in the man’s voice.

 She kept her head bowed, as Chase had advised, and stood before Prince Edwin with her hands clasped. She studied him beneath her lashes to get a better understanding of the man who now controlled their fate.

The prince had thinning brown hair and sunken eyes. There was a dullness to his focus, which indicated either poor eyesight or mental deficiencies.

“You look nothing like the woman I remember.” His focus turned to the man who had brought her. “Jacky boy, you brought me the wrong one.”

“This is the whore your father wanted,” James Stephanos replied and poured himself a drink. “Perhaps it’s her more modest dress that baffles you.”

“Yes, that must be it.” He glared at her. “Trying to hide behind decency. Well, it won’t work. Jack and I saw you at the Circus, enticing my father.

SALES LINK

Six Sister of Shame

AMAZON

About the Author

Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.

Click here For ALL Novels by Liza including other genres

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A Right to Love by Liza O'Connor

Having nothing better to do....
Today I interview my character Alice Collins from

 A Right to Love.

Liza: Welcome, Alice. I understand you are a friend of Victor Hamilton from the Adventures of Xavier & Vic series.

Alice: I am. We were best of friends for many years. Then as we matured and my step-father kept demanding I marry the various odious young men he forced me to entertain, I realized Vic was far superior in all ways and unlike these cretins, he would never steal my fortune or take over my estate farms and run them into the ground. So I tried my hardest to make him fall in love with me, which unfortunately had the reverse effect than I’d hoped for. Instead of drawing him in, my every effort scared him away. When in desperation, I went to Claire, asking for her assistance.

Instead of help, she picked up a picture from her shelf and laid it on the bed between us. Then she advised me to look elsewhere, for her brother would never marry. All the while she tapped on the picture frame.

At first I thought she meant he preferred other young men, but her constant tapping caused me to take note of the picture. It was of her aunt and two young girls. The younger girl was Claire, but the older girl confused me, for she had Vic’s facial features. I cannot tell you how stunned to the core I was when I realized what it meant. I had known Vic for years and never once had I suspected he was anything but a boy.

Claire then made me swear to never tell anyone. I, of course, promised her I wouldn’t.

Liza: But you just shared it with the entire world.

Alice: Your world, not mine. And in your world, Liza O’Connor has already told everyone that my childhood best friend was a young girl who decided life would be better if she became a boy. And he is the finest young man I’ve ever met. And now to all his other attributes, he determined where my vicious step-father had hidden my mother and with the help of Jacko B. Goodnow, saved her from being murdered and enabled me to meet and fall in love with a fabulous man.  Without Victor, I would have lost my mother, gone to prison for killing my step-father had never meet Jacko.

Liza: It sounds as if you still love Victor.

Alice: Without question, I do. Only it is a love of deep friendship. To be honest, once I discovered Vic’s secret, I gave up on men. I intended to remain single for my entire life. But when Jacko rescued and brought my mother home, I fell in love with him at first sight. I had not thought such a thing possible.  But he was everything I wanted in a man: kind, loving, caring, honest, brave…

Liza: I believe he’s also a gypsy, pirate, and thief. By his own admission, he has also murdered people

Alice: He was never a pirate by choice, but, yes, he is a gypsy by birth.

Liza:That won’t go over well in society.

Alice: We are telling people in my time that he is a wealthy
Spaniard and his name is Jacon Bienora. As to his love of stealing, he only takes something for good reasons, such as stealing my mother from Bedlam, and to the deaths attributed to him: he has only done so for the good of his country or when forced to defend himself, neither of which, do I consider murder.

Liza: He sounds most intriguing, let’s find out more.

BLURB

Jacko, a gypsy with a great love for stealing, rescues a suffragette from Bedlam. Upon returning the elderly woman to safety, he meets her blue-stocking daughter. Alice has decided she prefers managing her estate farms over London society. She is resigned to never marry until the handsome and surprisingly wealthy man with a dark past and several identities steals her heart.

EXCERPT

Rob shook his head and smiled. “I apologize if I have embarrassed you. It is only that your people are worried about their futures. They fear you will marry a gentleman from town and return to London, or you will not marry at all, and leave us with no future. So they sent me to speak to you.”

“About?”

“About marrying the right type of fellow. I know you are a fine lady, but it seems to me you don’t particularly care for the ‘fine’ gentlemen, at least not the one you nearly drowned two years ago.”

Alice laughed in outrage. “I did not drown him. I simply turned over the boat to see whom he would save, himself or me. When he clung to the boat and left me to sink or swim, I swam to shore‒end of story.”

“He remained out there for several hours, bleating like a frightened lamb.”

Alice realized Rob’s house was on the other side of the lake. “I apologize if he upset your sheep.”

“You laugh, but my sheep were unsettled for a week from all that noise.” Rob sobered. “If you don’t care for the gents, might you consider someone a bit humbler in birth, but stronger in character? I think character is what you find missing among the gentry. You deserve a man who thinks of you first, who steps forward when danger approaches and would face death to keep you safe.”

His words shocked her, as did her heart’s reaction to them. Dear God, he voiced exactly what she wanted.

A Right to Love

Amazon

Free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited

A Right to Love is a spin off

of the Adventures of Xavier & Vic’s

Humorous, Late Victorian, Romantic Sleuth series

About the Author

Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved normally. But all those bad behaviors has given her lots of fodder for her humorous romances. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

For all of Liza's Many Books Go HERE

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

Liza O'Connor shares Rana: Teenage Queen

Some Interesting Facts about the Planet Hope

The Planet Hope is smaller than Earth, but nearly twice as old.  They have some birds, squirrels, and chipmunks, but nothing dangerous until the humans arrived two hundred years ago. Now, the human farms have huge bulls, horses, cows, pigs, goats, lambs and chickens. Except for the lambs which are gentle and soft to touch, the fairies stay far away from these new creatures.

The fairies have control over time, so asking how long they have lived here will only baffle you, since they can, if they wish, pop back to the beginning of time and marvel at the planet’s creation, then return to the present for a cup of tea.

Fairies are mostly responsible, kind, and thoughtful humanoids. However, once in a while, one will go bad, and the good fairies will cast the creature out. It’s possible that has caused resentment by those cast out, making them doubly mean and vengeful. For whatever reason, there are some really mean fairies and humans causing trouble on Hope now.

The bad fairies might even be casting spells on the good fairies because the good fairies rarely have children anymore. A fairy can live hundreds of years, but, on average, they are only having one child. Realizing this could end their race, when the ship of humans arrived two hundred years ago with their strange four legged creatures, the fairies did not send them away. Instead they sent out their tallest females, with their wings safely tucked away, to see if they could mate with giant humanoids, and it turned out they could and better yet, healthy children, somewhat taller came from the mating and they tended to have fairy power. Thus, taller female fairies, who could pass for a short human were strategically placed in the various holds that the humans built.

Rana’s mother was sent to seduce the King of Stronghold, and she quickly did. However, when Rana was born, the king was so horrified at his daughter’s tiny size, he decided he would get his sons from a larger woman.  While he loved her mother and Rana, he refused to give her more children, leaving Rana an only child.

We never know if the King had other children. One claimed he was the son of the King, but the King never acknowledged him, so when the King and Queen died on one horrible day, 16 year old Rana became queen of two Kingdoms.

BLURB

Rana is only sixteen when she becomes queen. Her first challenge is to quell an internal coup while a massive army storms the gates of her castle. Her enemies believe her to be a child, but she has powers they’ve never suspected. She also has great dreams for her people, and she will do whatever is necessary to make them happen, even marrying a prince she does not want.

EXCERPT

Rana still remembered the shock that filled her when her mother confessed she wasn’t human, that Rana was only half-human, but to her eye, not even that. Her mother’s words horrified her at first, but then she realized she wasn’t a sorry excuse of a human, but a different entity. That made her special!

Her mother’s race had been on this planet since the beginning of time, or so their legends claim…Rana had rolled her eyes when her mother first said it.

However, the more she learned about their ability to manipulate time, the more probable and also less meaningful that statement became. It turned out she could go back to the ‘beginning of time’ herself, so the fact that some of her people wish to hang out and watch life evolve into its earliest forms didn’t really surprise her. In fact, it sounded like a nice way to spend a week or two.

SALES LINK

RANA: TEENAGE QUEEN

AMAZON

About the Author

Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.

RANA: TEENAGE QUEEN

Click here For ALL Novels by Liza

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Liza O'Connor shares her cursed series

Liza O'Connor shares her cursed series

I confess, I can never tell which books of mine are going to sell well.

A Fortune to Die For is about a New Jersey gal who goes out with a girlfriend to NYC and get's pressured into buying a lottery ticket. Unfortunately, she wins and in a very short time her life begins to crumble apart. (That actually happens to a lot of the real lottery winners.) She gets two types of mail: Begathons and Threats. In all cases, people she has never met wants her to pay for whatever they need, and when she ignores them, some become deadly.

When a cute police officer sorts through her box of hate mail, he discovers several letters are from a serial killer that has been killing lottery receipients all over the country. The cop gets her in touch with the FBI and they get her a new identity and send her off to Iowa.

I have relatives in Iowa. Nice place. Did you know back in the early 19th century during prohibition that Iowa had plenty of Mafia dons.  

Now in current day, we don't expect lovely Iowa to still have mafia dons. So did they force their sons to open an Ice Cream Parlor, or did these fellows just hide in plan sight, operating a legal business that protected their less than legal operations. 

In my book, it is the latter.

I expected it to be a grand book, only it turned out that no promotion site would promote it,

After two years, it only has 14 reviews.
However, everyone who reviewed it, liked it.

Thus, it has a 4.7 ranking, but readers have been few and far between. Honestly, I began to think I had a mafia curse...

But that's just crazy! Right? The real mafia is gone now, right?

So I started tweeking stuff.

First, I removed 'Mafia' from the title, hoping someone would become enchanted before they realized some of the characters were in fact mafia. 

Didn't work....

Next, I performed a major upgrade to the cover. Now perhaps the big promoters would take it.
Nope, Nyet, Nine!

Now as we all know, if book one fails, so does the entire series. Only I had never conceived book one would fail. It's a mix of humor and danger, in what I thought was a lovely balance.


Since they were already written, I went ahead and published book 2&3. (I had left tendrils for another novel but my heart was crushed so I returned to other series.)

It's been two years now since I released these books, but I still love them, so allow me to attempt to entice you once again with some review clips from those who wrote reviews over the last two years for A Fortune to Die For.



Oh, and it has been suggest that I don't have a Mafia curse, I have a Lottery curse on these books.

5 star Review Clips for A Fortune to Die For @Liza0Connor Romantic comedy, where poor Megan trips from one trap into another, is the start of an intriguing new series.

The start of an intriguing new series.

Yet another winner by Liza O’Connor

I love the heroine most…just the right mix of strong and vulnerable

@Liza0Connor always has a great sense of humor

Just the right mix of… determined & cautious

Just the right mix of…crazy & relatable

Steve makes a great hero too, one I’d readily swoon over.

Steve… conscientious, caring, clever and charming

Ms. O'Connor's stories always feature a happy ending

Mystery, suspense, humor and genuinely nice characters

This is a great read. You will not be able to put it down (I couldn't)

O'Connor's stories always feature a happy ending

If you like your books with mystery, suspense, humor and genuinely nice characters who only want to help others... this is a great read.

A young woman reluctantly wins a fortune in a lottery.

I loved the twist in the ending

Liza has created wonderfully quirky characters

A fast-paced story with the perfect mix of suspense & sass

Pretty powerful message mixed in with mayhem and love!

enjoyed it from the first page to the last.

If you like gorgeous FBI agents you will love this story

If you like female leads with hearts of gold & enough sass to spark a fire you will enjoy this book

Liza O’Connor pulls you into the heart of the tale from early on

Her characters entertain, engage and have you on their side

The plot of A Fortune to Die For is full of twists & turns

I was cheering Megan on all the way as she struggled against circumstance and destiny.

As always, you can count on a great time reading

Humor. Suspense. A hot hero and a feisty heroine, with a dash of well developed side characters

One heck of a fun and entertaining ride. Nicely done!

A thrilling start to a new series

Liza O'Connor combines humor, a serial killer, the Iowa Mafia & a hunky FBI agent for a 'couldn't put it down' story

The story has twists you'll never expect

AMAZON

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

And check out Liza’s

37+ books

Luck Be An Angel by Liza O'Connor

Ethan searches for Facts not Advertising dollars

Ethan is a true newshound. He has no interest in ad revenue. He just wants to discover secrets, crimes, and astounding truths. He will gladly risk his life to discover the truth. He dreams of the day when he finally wins a Pulitzer prize for one of his pieces. Thus, he will NEVER become an editor, because they do have to care about ad revenues. The truth is, Ethan has probably gone as far as he’ll ever go unless he can find a shocking truth about the missing father that will astound everyone.

BLURB

Reporter, Ethan Long, is sent into the backwoods of Arkansas to investigate a woman who claims her sixteen boys were born by Immaculate Conception. Not believing in divine intervention, Ethan plans to uncover the identity of the man who continues to impregnate Sara Smith every year, leaving her to raise her sons on nothing but luck and love. He enters their home as a tutor and eventually discovers the truth, but not before he has fallen in love with Sara and her wonderful boys. Now he must face his own crossroad in life and decide whether to follow his heart or his professional obligations.

EXCERPT

Jacobs glanced down at a sheet of paper in front of him. His face soured as if the paper gave him indigestion. “Here’s the problem. If this story’s done right, it could be Pulitzer prize winning.”

Ethan felt every muscle in his body tense with excitement.

“It could give this paper great publicity which could translate into bigger ad revenues.”

Ethan’s foot thumped with impatience. He had no interest in advertising revenue. He was a newshound, a reporter, a man on the streets, finding the secrets, uncovering the truths, and explaining the complex so all could understand.

His news-sense told him Jacobs had a great lead on his desk. Yet, he could see the lead was not yet his. Something was making Jacobs hesitate, probably his ex-wife’s tantrum.

“I’m your man,” Ethan said with certainty.

Jacobs chewed the inside of his cheeks. “Well, that’s my problem. You’re my best writer, but I’m not sure you can set aside your personal issues to do this story.”

“What personal issues? I’m a hundred percent professional!” Ethan felt his anger rise again. Damn his ex-wife! Jacobs had never in the six years he’d worked for this paper ever suggested he wasn’t professional until now.

“If this was a bank heist, I couldn’t agree more. But this story might have a better chance with Carlson.”

His fingers gripped the plastic arms of the chair. “Carlson! He can’t write himself out of a paper bag.”

Jacobs sighed and nodded in agreement. “Which is why I’m contemplating giving you this story, even though my gut tells me you can’t do it.”

He released the chair’s arms before he snapped them in two. “Well, your gut needs to see a doctor, Jacobs. There isn’t a story in the world I can’t do better than Carlson.”

SALES LINK

For

Luck be an Angel

AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.

OTHER BOOKS BY LIZA

(I've got 38 of them now and more to come!)