Heiress of Nowhere

An orphan races to uncover a killer—who may have come from the sea—when she and her beloved orcas fall under suspicion in this historical gothic mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl, Stacey Lee. Orcas Island, Washington. Lucy Nowhere has spent her life working on the vast estate of the eccentric shipbuilder who took her in after she washed ashore as a baby in a green canoe. Still, she has long wished for a life off the island, which holds no answers for her. After a series of seal heads begin appearing on beaches, Lucy stumbles upon her employer’s severed head on the shoreline. Rumors swirl that a mischievous spirit has struck again, much like it commanded its minions, the sea wolves, to kill a nameless cannery worker years ago. But the science-minded Lucy believes a murderer, not the sea wolves, is at fault. Then Lucy is named the heiress of the estate, displacing a dashing relation. The inheritance casts Lucy herself under suspicion. And worse, paints a large target on her back. Though her friend, the watchful estate cowboy guard, urges her to leave the island with him, Lucy knows the only way she can discover who she is, and to free the island of its curse, is to find the real killer—before she becomes the next victim.