The second in The
Chronicles of Touperdu historical fantasy series finds the Roselyns and Dudays
settled in their new home but still challenged by the island itself
The Isle of Touperdu is a
wonderful place, bursting with natural beauty, resources, and legend.
Immigrating there gave New Orleans chef Amadeo Roselyn the opportunity to open
his own restaurant, The Rose, now considered a crown jewel of the Island's newfound
gentility. True, shortly after arrival he had to stand between the little Duday
girl and the mayoress' brutal henchmen, but that was five years ago, Amadeo is
now a respected and wealthy islander who surely has nothing to fear from Madame
Reckoner's thugs. And though it means concealing the true extent of their
supernatural "talent," the raffish Dudays have also done well for
themselves through fortunetelling, elixirs, necromancy, gambling, and
black-market sales of the liquor "vinjoie."
But what the island has
given, the island can take away. Has Touperdu truly left its piratical past
behind? Does being an islander mean denying the evidence of your own senses?
In The Islanders, both the Roselyns and the Dudays must confront
the limits of conscience, loyalty, and magic, on an island where a murdered
family cat, a boy's dropped marble, a little girl's necklace, even a hastily
scribbled recipe, can cause fate to pivot and lives to change.