Mist of Midnight: A Novel (The Daughters of Hampshire) by Sandra Byrd

Book Description:
In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.

Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her...and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca's name, but her home and incomes. 

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father's investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”? 

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Mist of Midnight, drew me in from the very beginning. Byrd has masterfully written a very intriguing and compelling Gothic Romance novel. The characters come to life right off the page and keep you on your toes, guessing as to who you can and cannot trust. Hope battles doubts, and the story comes to ahead wonderfully at the end. A very satisfying read and conclusion! I look forward to Byrd's next novel Bride of a Distant Isle.