The Hickory Stick Bookshop is delighted to welcome author Mary Dixie Carter who will be signing copies of her new book “Marguerite By The Lake” on Saturday, June 28th at 3 pm.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This May, Mary Dixie Carter returns with an atmospheric, tense, upmarket suspense novel. In “Marguerite By The Lake” Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.
When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful – perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is…jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career. But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.
“Marguerite By The Lake” is an addictive, beautifully written story about art, nature, and obsession set among the glamourous backdrop of a perfectly manicured garden and all the secrets that lie beneath.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Dixie Carter is the critically acclaimed author of “The Photographer”. Her writing has appeared in TIME, The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. She worked at The Observer for five years as the publishing director and has worked as a professional actor. Mary Dixie has an honors degree in English Literature from Harvard College and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two young children.
Author photograph – Beowulf Sheehan.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“Shiver-inducing . . . Carter brings readers into Phoenix’s fraying mind, wringing some delightfully gothic fireworks out of her struggle to avoid detection and stake her claim as the new mistress of Rosecliff. The result is a winning homage to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.”– Publishers Weekly
“Dazzling and atmospheric, Marguerite by the Lake is impossible to put down. A modern-day ghost story, with tinges of Gothic horror, it’s as haunting and gorgeous as the painting at its center. I was gripped until the very last page–a final scene I still can’t stop thinking about.”–Jenny Hollander, USA Today bestselling author of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead
“Tense and richly emotional, Marguerite by the Lake is a deep dive into toxic love and the danger of wanting another person’s life. Carter’s prose shines, hypnotic and lyrical as she paints characters and a setting that pop off the page, but it’s the story’s overarching sense of doom that makes it unputdownable. An engrossing read with an ending that lingers.”–Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of The Paris Widow
This event is free and open to the public. If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve signed copies of “Marguerite By The Lake” by calling The Hickory Stick Bookshop at (860) 868 0525, or shop our website 24/7 at www.hickorystickbookshop.com.
The Hickory Stick Bookshop
2 Green Hill Rd
Washington Depot
CT 06794
https://hickorystickbookshop.com/event/2025-06-28/mary-dixie-carter-book-signing
