The Ludlow Ladies' Society

Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of The Ballroom Café and The Judge's Wife comes a new story of friendship, resilience and compassion, and how women support each other through the most difficult times. Connie Carter has lost everyone and everything dear to her. Leaving her home in New York, she moves to a run-down Irish mansion, hoping to heal her shattered heart and in search of answers: how could her husband do the terrible things he did? And why did he plough all their money into the dilapidated Ludlow Hall before he died, without ever telling her? At first Connie tries to avoid the villagers, until she meets local women Eve and Hetty who introduce her to the Ludlow Ladies' Society, a crafts group in need of a permanent home. Connie soon discovers Eve is also struggling with pain and the loss of having her beloved Ludlow Hall repossessed by the bank and sold off. Now, seeing the American Connie living there, the hurt of losing everything is renewed. Can these women ever be friends? Can they ever understand or forgive? As the Ludlow Ladies create memory quilts to remember those they have loved and lost, the secrets of the past finally begin to surface. But can Connie, Eve and Hetty stitch their lives back together? Praise for Ann O'Loughlin: "The Ludlow Ladies' Society brought me to a beautiful place and into a circle of friends that I didn't want to leave. Unputdownable." KATE KERRIGAN "It's a heart-warming story ... but also an addictive page-turner with plenty of unexpected twists and reveals in store." READER'S DIGEST "A moving tale of loss, love and redemption" BELLA MAGAZINE on The Ballroom Café "A richly woven tale of passion, conspiracy, hypocrisy and a chilling secret." SUNDAY INDEPENDENT on The Judge's Wife "An uplifting read, the kind of book you want to gobble up in one sitting." THE SUNDAY TIMES on The Judge's Wife