The Swindler's Daughter ~ Review

The Swindler's Daughter

By Stephenia H. McGee

All her life Lillian Doyle thought her father was dead, that is until she was informed by a lawyer that her father had just recently passed away. Worse, her mother may have exaggerated the marital ties between them. Soon Lillian finds herself on her own for the first time in her life to settle her father's estate before returning to Atlanta.

But nothing is ever easy, and the house that her father left to her has been claimed by another. A widowed mother tells Lillian that the property was promised to her son. What's a young lady to do but stay in the middle of nowhere and try to unravel the mess that her life has now become. 

As Lillian works through everything, she is pleased to discover she has family and that she and her mother are no longer alone in the world. But as everything unfolds, Lillian has to wonder whether the family she just discovered is as genuine as they seem or if they are like the society women she's known her whole life, manipulated and back-stabbing. Only time will tell.

Working to discover who her father was, Lillian makes a friend in Jonah, the young man to whom her father's home had been promised. But secrets threaten not only her understanding of her father but all she is hoping to achieve in this new life that is hers for the taking if only she is willing to step into the unknown and the freedom, the friendships, and the love it offers.

The Swindler's Daughter is a lovely book with several interesting threads running throughout it. This is as much Lillian's story as it is Jonah's. Both are seeking a new beginning, a chance at something more. It is a story of courage and determination. Embracing the unknown is always frightening, but it is often the only way to become our true selves, and this is their chance!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

A surprise inheritance. 

A cache of family secrets. 

A choice that will change her life forever.

Lillian Doyle has lived her entire high-society life with her widowed mother, believing her father died long ago. But when news arrives that her estranged father only recently passed away--in jail--Lillian is startled to find that the man has left a business and all of his possessions to her, making her a rather unusual heiress.

When she goes to take possession of her father's house in a backwoods Georgia town, the dilapidated structure is already occupied by another woman who claims it was promised to her son, Jonah. In her attempts to untangle the mess, Lillian will discover not only a family she never knew she had but a family business that is more than meets the eye--and has put a target on her back.

To discover the truth and take hold of the independence she's always dreamed of, she'll have to make friends with adversaries and strangers--especially Jonah, the dusty and unrefined cowboy who has secret aspirations of his own.