The Lightning Tree

In a previous novel by this author, A Surprising Legacy, the principal characters in this story, Amos and Sarah Carlisle, settle to a quiet country life after their nomadic existence in a gipsy caravan. Good fortune befell them when Sarah, and daughter Ruth, inherited the estate of her childhood sweetheart (Ruth's father) when he was killed in action whilst serving in King George's army in the colonies of the New World. Suddenly their tranquil life, even their marriage, is threatened by the appearance of a character claiming to be Sarah's childhood sweetheart, Joseph Craven who was believed dead. However, his facial disfigurement is so severe that recognition is impossible. His memory is supposedly affected by the injuries he has suffered, but his story to explain the confusion about his 'death' is supported by a man of some apparent substance, who claims that he served alongside Joseph as an officer in that army. The family are torn apart in considering whether the inheritance...