The Tea Rose Paperback - 2007

First line

The scent of Indian tea leaves-back, crisp, and malty-was intoxicating.

From the rear cover

Following in the footsteps of such beloved epics as "A Woman of Substance," "The Thornbirds," and "The Shell Seekers" comes this towering story of murder and revenge, of love lost and won again, and of one determined woman's quest to survive and triumph...
The Tea Rose
East London, 1888-a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.
But Fiona's life is shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man take from her nearly everything-and everyone-she holds dear. Fearing her own death, she is forced to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit propels her rise from a modest West Side shop-front to the top of Manhattan's tea trade. But Fiona's old ghosts do not rest quietly, and to silence them, she must venture back to the London of her childhood, where a deadly confrontation with her past becomes the key to her future.
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"Full of warmth and rich period detail, "The Tea Rose" begs for a comfy, overstuffed chair and plenty of time to keep turning those pages." "-Dallas Morning News"
"Steeped in melodrama, revenge, and a maddeningly star-crossed romance...a fine yarn." -"People"