The Black Brides ~ Paperback ~ Maggie Petru

When Johanna Muer begs to go to Fergus as an exchange student in 1961, her mother, Munich surgeon Elsa Muer, braces for trouble. Fergus was her home town. Her father, who disowned Elsa for marrying a German doctor, has a bad heart and a hair-trigger temper. Her ex-fiance, a man who nurses grudges, is married to Elsa's younger sister. Either of them may recognize Elsa's daughter. Other townsfolk too, may spot Johanna's resemblance to their old classmate. The problem Elsa doesn't expect comes from Johanna's friendship with her high school principal, Stefan von Rudiger. While Elsa understands Stefan's interest in her daughter, his fiancee takes great exception to his interest in "the little tart." Then a Fergus businessman is murdered and Johanna disappears. Elsa must come to Stefan's aid whether he wants her or not"Author BiographyMaggie Petrushevsky The love of language started Maggie Petru on a lengthy career as an award-winning reporter/photographer for assorted daily and weekly newspapers in the Toronto area. Years in a one-person bureau saw her covering everything from municipal council meetings, to court cases, school activities, murder investigations, fires, car accidents, natural disasters, visiting prime ministers and all manner of human interest events in two counties. Now retired, Maggie shares her Burlington, Ontario home with an aviation junkie and two cats who patrol the neighborhood and manage their masters. The Black Brides is her second novel.