“ Downton Abbey meets Dynasty in this richly imagined, captivating family saga,” said USAToday.com about The Bourbon Kings . Now the series continues, as the Bradford family’s facade of privilege and prosperity is threatened by secrets and indiscretions. . . .   The Bradford family is the crème de la crème of high society in Charlemont, Kentucky—just like their exclusive brand of bourbon. But no one is above suspicion once the apparent suicide of the family patriarch begins to look like murder—especially the eldest Bradford son, Edward. The bad blood between his father and him is known far and wide. As the investigation intensifies, he keeps himself busy at the bottom of a bottle—and with two women who may or may not have his best interests at heart...   Then, on the very brink of the family’s demise, someone thought lost to them forever returns to the fold. Maxwell Bradford has come home. But is he a savior . . . or the worst of all the sinners? Praise for The Angels’ Share   “The lush descriptions make Kentucky and the rarefied bourbon aristocracy spring to life . . . an utterly mesmerizing glimpse at the lifestyles of the flawed rich and the famous.”—Fresh Fiction   “Well-drawn characters, razor-sharp dialogue and truly stunning twists and turns kept me turning pages faster than I really wanted to, wishing to savor every nuance of this engrossing novel.”—The Book Review   “There is a little something for everyone: a glimpse into the lifestyles of the Southern aristocracy, murder, mystery, sex, and intrigue.”—Lit Buzz   Praise for The Bourbon Kings   “Fantastically and compulsively engrossing, as readers will undoubtedly fall through an irresistible rabbit hole that leads to murder, adultery, kidnapping, embezzlement, sins, lies, and love.”—USAToday.com   “A sweeping saga where family roots run deep and passion sizzles hotter than a Kentucky summer.”— New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter   “The drama never stops in this tale of family secrets, lost love found, rivalries, delightfully nasty villains, and deliciously appealing heroes.”— New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs   “Breathless fun!!”— New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner J. R. Ward is the author of more than twenty previous novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling series, the Black Dagger Brotherhood. She is also the author of the Black Dagger Legacy series and The Bourbon Kings . There are more than fifteen million copies of Ward’s novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-six different countries around the world. ONE Big Five Bridge, Charlemont, Kentucky Jonathan Tulane Baldwine leaned out over the rail of the new bridge that connected Charlemont,       Kentucky, with its closest Indiana neighbor, New Jefferson. The Ohio River was fifty feet below, the muddy, swollen waters reflecting the multicolored lights that graced each of the span's five arches. As he rose up onto the tips of his loafers, he felt as though he were falling, but that was merely an illusion. He imagined his father jumping off this very ledge to his death. William Baldwine's body had been found at the base of the Falls of the Ohio two days ago. And for all of the man's accomplishments in life, for all of his lofty pursuits, he had ended his mortal coil tangled and mangled in a boat slip. Next to an old fishing trawler. That had a resale value of two hundred bucks. Three hundred, tops. Oh, the ignominy. What had it been like to fall? There must have been a rushing breeze in the face as William had been fisted by gravity and pulled down to the water. Clothes must have flapped as flags, slapping against body and leg. Eyes must have watered, from gust or perhaps even emotion? No, it would have been the former. The impact had to have hurt. And then what? A shocked inhale that had sucked the river's foul waves in? A choking sense of suffocation? Or did a knockout render him blissfully unaware? Or . . . perhaps it had all ended with a heart attack from the adrenaline overload of the descent, a stinging pain in the center of the chest radiating down the left arm, preventing a lifesaving swim stroke. Had he still been conscious when the coal barge hit him, when that propeller had chewed him up? Certainly, by the time he went over the falls, he was dead. Lane wished he knew for sure that the man had suffered. To know that there had been pain, tremendous, agonizing pain, and also fear, a ringing, overwhelming fear, would have been a powerful relief, a balm to the swill of emotions that his father's watery death caused him to drown in even while he stood on dry land. "Over sixty-eight million dollars you stole," Lane said into the uncaring wind, the disinterested drop, the bored current down below. "And the company's in even more debt. What the hell did you do with it? Where did the money go?" There was no answer coming up at him, of course. And that wo