Book Spotlight (and a Giveaway!): Carved in Stone by Elizabeth Camden

“Mr. Gerald ought to lug his own sacks of flour.”

“Don’t be taking that tone,” she said. “Mr. Gerald is a fine man who has always treated me well.”

Maybe, but Birdie was too old for lugging heavy sacks and tending hot ovens before the crack of dawn. No man should have to worry about his mother collapsing under the weight of a thirty-pound sack of flour.

“You can quit, Ma. I’m making decent money these days.”

“Please don’t make me point out that Mr. Gerald always pays in cash.”

Patrick looked away. When they’d first arrived from Ireland, they were so poor that Patrick had to beg on the streets. That sort of shame never fully went away, and depending on his mother for steady income was humiliating. He would start getting tougher with his clients. Some of them could afford to pay in cash, and he needed to start demanding it.

But first he needed to win the Mick Malone case.

“Ma, you’ve got to stop talking about my cases in public,” he said. “Keep quiet about the Mick Malone case. It’s important that his book gets published before the Blackstones find out about it.”

“They’ll get wind of it sooner or later,” she pointed out.

“Let it be later. The book will hit the shelves in September. The closer we get to that date without anyone knowing about it, the better our chances.”

No one in the city wanted to take on the Blackstones, but sometimes a man didn’t have much choice.

Carved in Stone • Elizabeth Camden
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission

Elizabeth Camden (www.elizabethcamden.com) is best known for her historical novels set in Gilded Age America, featuring clever heroines and richly layered storylines. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian at some of the largest and smallest libraries in America, but her favorite is the continually growing library in her own home. Her novels have won the RITA and Christy Award and have appeared on the CBA bestsellers list. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books.

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