Of all the folks in the mountain shacks, the Casteels are the lowest - the scum of the hills. Heaven Leigh Casteel is the prettiest, smartest girl in the backwoods, despite her ragged clothes and dirty face ... despite a father meaner than ten vipers ... despite her weary stepmother, who works her like a mule. For her brother Tom and the little ones, Heaven clings to her pride and her hopes. Someday they'll get away and show the world that they are...

In the sequel to Secrets in the Attic , Alice, whose mother is a murderer confined to a mental institution, is sent to live with her aunt Zipporah following a tragic accident on prom night, but when she visits the asylum where her mother lives, her own mysterious past begins to unfold in terrifying detail

Two generations before Corrine Foxworth locked her children in an attic, her grandmother, Corrine Dixon, is swept away by the charms of rich, sophisticated, and handsome Garland Foxworth. After discovering Corrine is pregnant, Garland marries her and both families agree to overlooks the pregnancy. Now the mistress of a labyrinthine estate, Corrine discovers that nothing is what it seems. She is increasingly troubled by Garland's infatuation with memories...

"Ever since Fern could remember, she and her mother have lived as servants in Wyndemere House, the old gothic mansion of the Davenport family. She may have been a servant, but Fern developed a sweet friendship with Dr. Davenport's son, Ryder, and she was even allowed free range of the estate. But Dr. Davenport has remarried and his new wife has very different ideas about a servant's place. Now Fern and her mother are subject to cruel punishments,...

After Christie Longchamp's parents die in a fire, she and her brother go to live with her uncle where more trouble begins.

"Fern and her mother have lived as servants in Wyndemere House, the old gothic mansion of the Davenport family, for as long as she can remember, and her friendship with Dr. Davenport's son Ryder was never a problem . . . until they came of age. An intimate encounter following a high school prom brings the pair near-tragic consequences, and the forces of fate, arrogance, and class prejudice gather to crush their warm relationship. Still, the real threat...