The Hidden Connection: A Novel

The piece was special. I had walked by this little junk shop many times, hardly ever going in. Today I decided to take another look; what a surprise to find a real antique in the store!

An ordinary woman finds herself in the midst of an international chase in Ellen Berenson’s riveting debut, The Hidden Connection.

Joan lives a quiet life as a travel agent—who hasn’t actually traveled many places. But an impulse buy of an antique vase, as well as a chance encounter with a mysterious man at her workplace, sets her path in a whole new direction.

On a whim, Joan purchases a ticket to Turkey after selling one to a man by the name of Anthony Malfeaso. After coincidentally running into him again at a museum in Instanbul, they strike up a friendship that quickly turns romantic.

But as their affair takes them around the globe, Joan begins to suspect that something is not quite right. Her fears are confirmed when she discovers the “soap” boxes Anthony imports are actually filled with rare diamonds.

Who is Anthony really? And how does Joan’s vase fit into all of it?

Ellen Berenson works as an antique dealer and owned her own shop for many years.

Berenson currently lives with her husband in New York City. They have two adult sons.