Women of the dunes

"From the author of the acclaimed novels The House Between Tides and Beyond the Wild River, a rich, atmospheric tale set on the sea-lashed coast of west Scotland, in which the lives of a ninth-century Norsewoman, a nineteenth-century woman, and a twenty-first-century archaeologist weave together after a body is discovered in the dunes. Libby Snow has always felt the pull of Ullanessm a lush Scottish island enshrouded in myth and deeply important to her family. Her great-great-grandmother Ellen was obsessed with the strange legend of Ulla, a Viking maiden who washed up on shore with the nearly lifeless body of her husband--and who inspired countless epic poems and the island's name. Central to the mystery is an ornate chalice and Libby, an archaeologist, finally has permission to excavate the site where Ulla is believed to have lived. But what Libby finds in the ancient dunes is a body from the Victorian era, clearly murdered.

"Libby Snow has always felt the pull of Ullaness, a spur of land on the sea-lashed coast of Western Scotland. Enshrouded in myths and legends, Ullaness was named for Ulla, a Viking maiden whose star-crossed romances and uncertain fate captured the imaginations of locals for generations, including Libby's great-great grandmother, Ellen. A maid growing up in the home of the Sturrocks, the baronetcy that now owns the fabled lands, Ellen became obsessed with the legendary Norsewoman--and even believed that she was Ulla. Now Libby, an archaeologist, has a chance to excavate the Sturrock lands for physical artifacts that will fill in the gaps of oral tradition. It's a career-making opportunity for the young academic, and a chance to separate fact from fiction in Ellen's stories. Yet, before the dig can even begin, a different kind of artifact is unearthed: the bones of a man, murdered over a hundred years ago, wearing the twin of a golden cross that Ellen passed on to Libby--important relics that might've belonged to Ulla herself. As public and private myths unfurl across centuries, a pattern of romance, violence, and tragedy emerges, revealing the invisible threads that tie Libby, Ellen, and Ulla together--and rewriting the history of Ullaness itself"--