“…an intriguing combination of genres—true crime, women’s fiction, and the paranormal—all woven into a compelling historical novel. Highly recommended.” —Historical Novel Society

The Lovely Bones meets the Wild, Wild West in this haunting tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption inspired by the true story of a much-sought-after nineteenth-century prostitute who longs to return to respectable society-but instead endures the ultimate betrayal.

Diamonds aren’t always a girl’s best friend.

Pregnant out of wedlock, sixteen-year-old Annie Moore is sent to live at a convent for fallen women. When the nuns take her baby, Annie escapes, determined to find a way to be reunited with her daughter. But few rights or opportunities are available to a woman in the 1860s, and after failing to find a respectable job, Annie resorts to prostitution in order to survive.

As a highly sought-after demi-mondaine, Annie—now Bessie—garners many expensive gifts from her admirers, and eventually meets and marries the son of a wealthy jeweler. With her marriage, she believes her dream of returning to proper society has finally come true. She’s proven wrong when she suffers the ultimate betrayal at the hands of the man she thought would be her salvation. But Bessie doesn’t let her story end there.

Inspired by a true story and set amid the burgeoning women’s rights movement, The Lives of Diamond Bessie is a haunting tale of betrayal and redemption that explores whether seeking revenge is worth the price you might pay.

Awards:

2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold Medal Winner - General Fiction
2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award Winner - Commercial Fiction
2022 CIBA Goethe Book Awards Winner
2022 Global Book Awards Gold Medal - Women’s Fiction
2022 PenCraft Book Awards First Place Winner - Supernatural Fiction
2022 American Fiction Awards Winner - Cross Genre Fiction
2022 Firebird Book Awards First Place Winner - Crime Fiction
2022 Global Book Awards Silver Medal - Mystery, Historical Fiction
2022 NYC Big Book Awards Distinguished Favorite - Paranormal Mystery/Thriller
2022 Firebird Book Awards Second Place Winner - Cross Genre Fiction
2022 IPPY Awards Bronze Medal Winner - Historical Fiction
2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist - Adult Fiction, Mystery
2022 Sarton Awards Finalist - Historical Fiction
2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist - Paranormal and Suspense
2022 American Fiction Awards Finalist - Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery/Suspense, and Women’s Fiction

More Reviews:

“Drawing on a true story, Hadlock uses authentic period detail and well-drawn characters to pull readers into Annie/Bessie’s precarious journey toward redemption, which comes to an unexpected ending. This affecting tale of a 19th-century American woman struggling to prove her worth other than as a marriage prospect leaves a lasting impression.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] genre-bending debut novel….There’s an impressive deliberateness in the way that Hadlock present her themes…. The novel also skillfully uses foreshadowing to create a suspenseful atmosphere without giving the game away…. An often engaging and inventive character study.” —Kirkus

“Hadlock’s unvarnished, sympathetic portrayal makes Bessie’s hardscrabble existence all the more heart-wrenching and transforms Bessie into a feminist heroine. The Lives of Diamond Bessie is a picaresque, a courtroom drama, and a ghost story rolled into one, celebrating the heart and soul of a woman done wrong.” —Mark Beauregard, author of The Whale

“Fast-paced, richly observed, and populated with vibrant characters, The Lives of Diamond Bessie is unputdownable.” —Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Wild Game

“As fascinating as it is riveting as it is original, The Lives of Diamond Bessie is a compelling novel of historical suspense with a paranormal twist that will have you shivering. Bessie… is a character who will haunt you for all the right reasons—for her determination, her heart, and her soul. I was enthralled.” —M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Tiara

Author Bio:

Jody Hadlock’s love of history goes all the way back to junior high, when she was a member of the Junior Historians of Texas—so it’s no surprise her first novel is historical. She studied journalism at Texas A&M University and worked as a broadcast journalist and then in nonprofit public relations before turning her focus to fiction. She also writes screenplays and won the 2020 Dallas International Film Festival’s screenplay contest. She lives in Colleyville, TX.

Independently published with SparkPress