Every great story begins with an extraordinary woman. Loosely based on the mythology of the star constellation known as the Pleiades (‘The Seven Sisters’), Riley’s bestselling books bring the sisters into the modern world. When the sisters’ adoptive father - the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt - dies, they are each given a tantalizing clue as to their past. Each book follows one of the sisters as they trace their origins all over the world in spellbinding tales of love and loss. The series begins with The Seven Sisters and continues in The Storm Sister, which has been nominated for the prestigious Premio Bancarella literary prize in Italy, followed by The Shadow Sister. Lucinda Riley is the top ten Sunday Times bestselling author of The Angel Tree, The Italian Girl and Hothouse Flower (also called The Orchid House).
The Seven Sisters
Maia - The First Sister: ’I knew that my ‘gift’ of beauty had helped to bring about the most painful moment of my life, simply because I was too naive at the time to understand the power it wielded. So now, I hid it away, which meant hiding myself.’ The eldest of the adoptive sisters, Maia, with her shiny, brown hair, perfect skin and huge expressive eyes, known as the beauty of the family. Deeply affected by events in her early adulthood, she has withdrawn from the world to protect her damaged heart. But, with her extraordinary grasp of languages, Maia’s attachment to home hinders her potential, until she discovers the clue left to her by the sisters’ late adoptive father, Pa Salt.
Maia’s defences must come down if she is to discover her connection to Brazilian beauty Izabela Bonifacio and finds love in the passionate city of Rio de Janeiro.
The Storm Sister
Ally - The Storm Sister: ‘I’m very practical by nature, and I suppose that’s partly why my sisters have always looked to me as the “leader” of our little band. But that doesn’t mean to say I don’t have respect for what I don’t know or understand.’ Ally inherited her love of sailing from Pa Salt and possesses all the presence of mind and fearlessness required for rough seas. However, when Ally suffers the greatest loss of her life, she must summon every ounce of strength to carry on with her life.
Equipped with her clues of a small model frog and a set of coordinates, Ally heads to Norway to discover what ties her to an unknown singer from the past, called Anna Landvic.
The Shadow Sister
Following on from the bestselling The Seven Sisters and The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister is the third book in Lucinda Riley's spellbinding series, loosely based on the mythology of the Seven Sisters star cluster.
Star - The Shadow Sister: ‘Apparently, I was the peacemaker. Well, if staying silent meant peace reigned, then maybe that was me.’ Always overshadowed by her outspoken sister CeCe, Star’s outwardly timid nature belies inner courage. Behind the silence, she hides a passion for books, cooking and gardening, the last of which was a hobby she shared with Pa Salt. It is his parting letter that sends Star to an antiquarian bookshop, which leads her to uncover the diaries of Flora MacNichol, friend and neighbour to Beatrix Potter. But Star can only discover her connection to these women if she is willing to strike out on her own.