The Fourth Wife - by Linda Hamilton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets "Sister Wives" in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a young Mormon woman is haunted by a malevolent presence in the decrepit Salt Lake City mansion she shares with her new husband and his other wives...

Hazel Russon's life in 1882 Utah territory is defined by three things: the Mormon church, polygamy, and the men who control both. She knows she's supposed to suppress her sinful dreams of a monogamous life with her sweetheart, and her desire for the freedom to play her beloved piano. Every Mormon woman's duty is to live obediently and meekly, devoted to her husband and her calling as a sister wife. Her eternal salvation depends upon it.

Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she's never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob's wives and children live in the same house--a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread.

Despite Jacob's tenderness, Hazel senses dark secrets and resentments among her sister wives. She hears strange music, sees blood oozing from the very walls, and glimpses apparitions that grow more terrifying every day. And as her nightmares worsen, Hazel can't be sure if she has more to fear from the living--including her mysterious husband--or from a sinister presence that seems to animate the house itself . . .

Drawing on little-known Mormon folklore and the author's own polygamous ancestors, this fascinating, suspense-filled historical novel debut is by turns darkly romantic, spine-tingling, and wholly unforgettable.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Fourth Wife

"The Fourth Wife has everything you could want in a gothic novel--a delicious sense of burgeoning dread, a crumbling mansion filled with secrets, and a resilient young bride caught in a tangled web of deceit. Hamilton explores the historical truths of plural marriage with a nuanced touch of the supernatural, and writes with the kind of bravery and candor that will firmly establish her as an important new voice in fiction. You won't forget this remarkable debut!" --Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport

"Imagine that Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca had three sister wives--and all four are living in a rundown Salt Lake City mansion with their absolute horror of a husband. That's Linda Hamilton's The Fourth Wife, an unnerving, nightmarish masterclass in dread and female defiance. Absolutely brilliant. I could not look away." --Noelle W. Ihli, bestselling author of None Left to Tell

"A ghostly mystery lies at the heart of this tremendous debut. The Fourth Wife will thrill fans of historical fiction and horror equally with its haunting atmosphere and cast of unforgettable characters. Linda Hamilton is a new author to watch!" --Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of The Fire and the Ore

"The Fourth Wife serves up a new kind of gothic thrill: a tale of plural marriage, brimming with religious manipulation, the deadly secrets a house can hold, and the richly deserved and very bloody consequences from beyond. Linda Hamilton, you had me at 'The Lord needs me to give you a commandment.'" --Emily Carpenter, author of Gothictown

"A chilling reinvention of the gothic tradition--purposeful, poignant, and utterly terrifying. Each page hums with unease, from crumbling corridors to menacing madness. Hamilton conjures a not-so-distant past where grief takes form, memory festers, and horror grows like mold in the dark. This is not the gothic of candlelight and corsets--it's something far stranger, and far more disturbing." --A. Rae Dunlap, USA Today bestselling author of The Resurrectionist

"Some haunts go deeper than ghosts. Vividly written by a historically-trained author, Hamilton offers a multidimensional portrait of polygamy from within the Mormon community while centering the women. Though set in the past, The Fourth Wife holds up a mirror to the present and dares us to look. A thrilling debut." --Rachel Rueckert, author of If the Tide Turns and The Determined

About the Author

Linda Hamilton is an author and historian who is currently completing her Master's in history at Sam Houston State University with thesis on Mormon women in polygamy. The Fourth Wife is rooted in the real lives of women from her own family history and religious heritage. She lives with her family in Southern California and can be found online at Readlindahamilton.com or @lindahamiltonwriter on social media.