Necessary Sins by Elizabeth Bell
In 19th-century Charleston, a Catholic priest grapples with his secret African ancestry and his love for a slaveholder’s wife.
Joseph Lazare grows up believing his black hair and olive skin come from a Spanish grandmother, and he’s shocked to learn she was an enslaved African. At thirteen, Joseph allows racial prejudice to limit his future and chooses the seminary. At twenty-three, he is ordained “a priest forever.”
But when he meets Tessa Conley, a devout Irish immigrant who shares his passions for music and botany, Joseph’s ordered world cracks at its foundation. He must conceal his true feelings as Tessa marries another man—a plantation owner who treats her like property.
Acting on their love could ruin Joseph and Tessa in this world and damn them in the next. Can two wounded people heal each other and find Heaven on Earth—or will there be Hell to pay?
Necessary Sins is the first book in the epic Lazare Family Saga quartet. If you like character-rich dramas, vivid period detail, and heart-wrenching choices, then you’ll be swept away by this page-turning series, perfect for fans of The Thorn Birds and Outlander.
Table of Contents
Praise for Necessary Sins
Full Page Image
Dedication
Contents
Prologue
I. Abattoir
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
II. A Pure Boy, Faithfully Presented
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
III. The Man that Was a Thing
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
IV. A Priest Forever
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
V. In Limbo
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
VI. Lamentations
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
VII. Consummation
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
What’s Next
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Also by Elizabeth Bell
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