Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Mystery & Mayhem Awards

Jessica H. Stone – VCAC21 Author and Presenter | VCAC21

Jessica H. Stone is now confirmed for VCAC21!

We are delighted to welcome long time Chanticleerian Jessica H. Stone at #VCAC21

Jessica H. Stone (Jes) is the author of The Last Outrageous Woman, a First Place Winner of the Somerset Women’s Literary Fiction Awards— Chanticleer International Reviews. Her mystery, Blood on a Blue Moon, won first place in Murder and Mayhem—Chanticleer International Reviews and Best Mystery in the Black Magnolia Publishing Awards. She is currently working on a thriller. jessicahstone.com

An avid sailor, Jessica and her Border Collie, Kip McSnip – the Famous Sailing Dog, sailed together for sixteen years. They cruised the Caribbean, navigated Puget Sound traversed Canada’s waters, sailed the Mexican coast, wandered the Sea of Cortez and crossed the Pacific Ocean. Kip celebrated his eighteenth birthday as they crossed the equator for the first time. Their experiences led to the popular book, Doggy on Deck: Life at Sea with a Salty Dog and the long-running syndicated column, Cruising with Critters.

Jessica’s VCAC 21 Session is an interview with J.D. Barker – Writing Craft for Mystery, Suspense, & Thriller Novels – with Jessica Stone

To Register for VCAC 21, please click here.

Check out our review for her book: THE LAST OUTRAGEOUS WOMAN

Life is meant for living –outrageously in Jessica Stone’s latest novel, The Last Outrageous Woman.

Eighty-six-year-old Mattie’s life is dwindling away at Florida’s Restful Palms Retirement facility but she has a plan—an outrageous plan. And it just might work. Taking advantage of a crisis situation, Mattie tricks a staff member into signing a release paper that will be their ticket out.

Each woman has a secret longing to be fulfilled. For Mattie, it’s a sea voyage as described to her by a long-lost lover; food-obsessed Dolores wants to honor her Irish heritage by kissing the Blarney Stone; quiet, easily dominated Edna has a dream of riding a camel—in Egypt; Rose never got to say goodbye, her way, to her deceased brother buried somewhere in Wisconsin; and Helen remembers how her two sons, both killed in military service, loved Australia, leaving her with the desire to go there and pet a kangaroo.

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Click here for more information about the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference and Int’l Book Awards and Ceremony.

April 20, 2021
HAIR BRAINED: The Bad Hair Day Mysteries, Book 14 by Nancy Cohen – Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuths, Women Sleuths

A young infant and a flurry of disturbing information enter Marla’s life in Nancy Cohen’s newest mystery, Hair Brained: The Bad Hair Day Mysteries, Book 14.

Marla Vail’s expectations of bringing in a joyful and prosperous New Year immediately dwindle when she learns that her friends, Tally and Ken Riggs, have gone missing, leaving Luke, their four-month-old son, in the care of the babysitter. Since Marla is listed as guardian of Luke, she and Dalton, her husband, have no choice but to bring Luke to their home. Marla faces the “great unknown” with a ray of hope that she would be hearing from her friends soon. But that never happens.

A trip to the hospital confirms Marla and Dalton’s worst fears. A car accident leaves Ken deceased and Tally in ICU and comatose. Now Marla has to find a way of juggling caring for Luke while running her busy hair salon. Amid the abrupt changes under horrific circumstances, Marla has no idea that there is much more behind the car crash, especially when one of Ken’s colleagues is murdered.

If you haven’t already heard of Nancy Cohen, where have you been? The award-winning mystery author pens unique and fascinating stories about a somewhat underdog mid-thirties hairdresser who has a fetish for detective work. And why not, considering her husband is a police detective? The odd stylist-sleuthing combo makes for fresh and tantalizing reading for a wide-range audience that goes well-beyond mystery aficionados.

Cohen’s writing style is surefooted, and her characters are vibrant and varied (multicultural, racially mixed), as in Hair Brained, the fourteenth installment of her Bad Hair Day Mysteries series. Marla, Cohen’s featured character, may have had her past set of traumatic situations, but that doesn’t seem to stop her when she senses something awry. A feisty woman-of-action, Marla faces fear trembling but determined to win over dark and seemingly unconquerable conditions even with an infant in her arms.

One would think that characters would be commonplace in laid-back Florida, but that’s far from the truth. From warm and caring family members and well-meaning people scarcely eking out a living to an imaginative mix of surly folk, Cohen’s cozy represents folks from various backgrounds befitting amalgamated Floridians. The action builds with a slew of twists, turns, and near nail-biting climactic tension.

The hair-raising, fast and delightful cozy mystery, Hair Brained: The Bad Hair Day Mysteries, Book 14 won First Place in the CIBAs 2018 M&M Awards for Cozy Mystery Novels.

June 25, 2020
DHARMA, A REKHA RAO MYSTERY by Vee Kumari – Cozy Mystery, Female Sleuth, Multi-Cultural Mystery

A complex murder mystery always requires a little spice. In Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery, that extra seasoning is provided by the casting of an Indian American woman as the amateur sleuth, despite her realistic fears for her personal safety.

Professor Rekha Rao is no Bollywood Mighty Girl. She’s a whip-smart American-born 32-year-old college instructor who must deal with her own PTSD after the murder of her father and her unstoppable passion for releasing the man wrongly convicted of her father’s slaying. That obsession is the reason Rekha was dismissed from her old teaching position. The scene is set for deep, personal involvement in the murder of a colleague, a fellow professor who is killed. And a rare, centuries-old statue excavated from an archeological dig in India is the murder weapon.

When Rekha, an expert in the art of ancient India, is asked by the Pasadena police for some background on the statue of Durga, a well-known goddess in India’s rich religious tapestry, she’s not content to limit her investigation to the narrow role assigned to her. Despite the handsome police detective’s warning to not continue the investigation, she turns over every rock to look for answers. She soon uncovers a galaxy of possible suspects: friends, colleagues, and students – many of whom may have motives to see harm done to the seemingly beloved professor. Art theft, a closeted gay man, a hidden affair, and even a little cross-dressing make their way into the mountain of evidence as Rekha works through territory that the police have not yet uncovered.

Rekha Rao is a well-drawn character with many facets to her personality. Her Indian heritage is evident in her food tastes, decorations, and family values. Still, she is clearly a modern American woman making her way in a very different culture. Rekha sets out to solve the mystery despite the fear that someone is stalking her – even as she stalks them.

Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery will also provide readers with a glimpse into the religious history of India’s gods and rich mythology. This is one of the hidden treats that makes the novel an enjoyable read for mystery lovers everywhere.

Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery won the Grand Prize for Mystery & Mayhem in the 2019 CIBAs!

April 17, 2020
CAMPARI CRIMSON: Franki Amato Mysteries, Book 4 by Traci Andrighetti – Private Investigator Mysteries, Vampire Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries

Texas transplant Franki Amato has only lived in New Orleans for only a year and a half, but she has already seen some pretty strange things. As a private investigator for Private Chicks, she has had her share of oddball cases and clients, but this one is blood-curdling – a vampire serial killer is stalking The Big Easy. With Halloween only days away, the initial robberies of local blood banks by a caped figure seem more prank-like than serious until a fraternity member of Delta Upsilon Delta is found drained of blood in one of the city’s above-ground crypts with the message “Campari Crimson” scrawled on the wall in his own blood. Franki wants nothing to do with the cryptic case, but when a psychic gives Franki a chilling impromptu reading from a restless spirit who claims someone drained and drank his blood and then warns her the same thing is going to happen to her brother Anthony, Franki fears she will be drawn in anyway. Her fears are confirmed when Josh Santo, a multi-millionaire millennial, hires Franki to find the real culprit after he is accused of the thefts. Josh’s bizarre behavior of dressing up as infamous self-proclaimed NOLA vamp Compte Jacques de Saint Germain – all while living in the house belonging to the bloodsucker – attracts the attention of Detective Wesley Sullivan and Franki thinks Josh may be more guilty than innocent. As the case escalates with yet another killing, Franki faces danger at every turn and finding the killer becomes entirely too personal. The Crescent City on the eve of a blood moon Halloween, what could possibly go wrong?

Real terror meets comedy that forces the reader to hang on with both hands in this fast-paced romp through one of America’s most enigmatic cities. From the sixty-something ex-stripper and nudist Glenda to Pam the hippie with her sweater-wearing Dachshund, this novel is one fun ride. Around every corner, it is sure to surprise like a Gothic cabaret funhouse. The vividly drawn characters are a genuine joy, and the city is celebrated in fine fashion. Anyone who has ever visited and loved this famously irreverent place will appreciate how NOLA becomes a living, breathing entity. Set against the backdrop of voodoo, cities of the dead, and history ripe with vampire lore, New Orleans is intricately woven into every aspect of the plot. One aspect of the city that comes through loud and clear is the idea of “live and let live.” First appearing on a necklace worn by one of the characters, this theme extends throughout the plot from a priest’s “judge not” advice to Raven the vampire’s philosophy of only feeding on willing donors. A feeling of acceptance for all permeates the atmosphere of N’Awlins and thus the novel. “Let the good times roll” is more than a motto; it’s a way of life for the New Orleanians.

What do you get when you cross a meddling nonna with a slacker brother? For Franki, you get family. When Franki is bulldozed by her mother into taking in her grandmother and brother (despite the fact that she has only a one-bedroom apartment), she doesn’t send the two packing back to Texas. Although an unwilling participant in this new “get Anthony a life” scheme, Franki still agrees to take them and even gives up her bed for her nonna, a force of nature in black weighing in at less than a hundred pounds. Nonna’s constant meddling in Franki’s love life, or lack thereof, and her case are both an annoyance and a sweet reminder of an Italian grandmother’s love. Regardless of the problems they cause, both Nonna and Anthony are family, “[a]nd among Italian-Americans, family [is] everything.” It’s an endearing part of the story that will make the reader love Franki Amato even more.

Campari Crimson: Franki Amato Mysteries, Book 4 by Traci Andrighetti won First Place in the CIBA 2018 M&M Awards for Mystery and Mayhem novels.

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March 27, 2020
A PROMISE GIVEN (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series Book 3) by Michelle Cox – Historical Mystery, Romantic Mystery, Mystery Suspense

With a much-anticipated wedding is in the works, but family complications and entanglements threaten the celebration, when is love A Promise Given, and when is it a compromise taken?

Amidst tribulations of friends and family, the smart and beautiful Henrietta, and the intense Inspector Clive Howard say, “I do.” Now the loving couple will learn how to be Mr. and Mrs. Howard on their honeymoon in England with his relatives at Castle Linley, where intrigue and mystery await their arrival.

This third book in the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series celebrates the happy couple’s lavish wedding day on October 19, 1935. All is not calm or peaceful, however. The big day finds Henrietta’s mother and younger siblings uneasily settled in a new house in Palmer Square. Wedding jitters are magnified as the lovely bride-to-be uncovers concerning stories and disconcerting marriage advice from friends and relatives. There is a question whether Henrietta’s Ma will even attend the ceremony, and what will be the outcome as Stan shifts his unrequited feelings for Henrietta to her sister Elsie?

The newlyweds attempt to leave troubles miles behind when they set sail for a honeymoon in the rolling green hillsides of England at Castle Linley. They’re hosted by the Inspector’s relatives who welcome Clive and Henrietta with open arms. As she gets to know his English family, Henrietta ponders the long journey she’s taken since she first met the Inspector. In the meantime, Clive views some alarming changes to the castle, to the family, and even to the staff. Just as the news spreads through the town that a man has been murdered, Clive becomes aware of mysterious comings and goings of his cousin Wallace. Will the newlyweds investigate together? What secrets are waiting to be uncovered – and how will the family react?

This romantic novel evokes a sensual aura that embraces and warms the reader. The setting is authentically historic. The story gives a new slant to the timeless question of whether the beauty of true love indeed conquers all. It explores what happens to those who don’t find love, and to those who compromise. Beyond the happily ever after wedding, A Promise Given follows two individuals into the challenges of starting a life together, while delving into a murder mystery that threatens to undermine their own family.

A Promise Given by Michelle Cox won the CIBA 2018 Grand Prize in the Mystery & Mayhem Awards.

December 20, 2019
UNSIGHTLY BULGES (A Trailer Park Princess Cozy Mystery, Book 2) by Kim Hunt Harris – Cozy Mystery, Animal Cozy, Female Sleuth

Salem Grimes has a lot of goals – lose more weight than her friend Trisha, find a dress for the upcoming date she doesn’t really want to go on, and keep her dog, Stump, from throwing up on the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, solving a murder (again) isn’t on her to-do list, but Salem is thrown into another mystery completely against her will when she sees a body in a Sonic dumpster.

When her BFF Viv, an 80-ish firecracker of a woman with a penchant for expensive shoes, hears about it, she can’t wait to get started cracking the case. After all, she and Viv have already solved one mystery, and Viv is convinced their unofficial PI firm, Discreet Investigations, can find the murderer. But the ladies quickly realize they have their work cut out for them when the victim is identified as CJ Hardin, golden boy physician and local Hope for Homes organizer who recently “came out” in a very public way and stirred up a huge controversy in Lubbock, Texas.

Controversy and theories swirl since CJ was thought to have run off days earlier with the $200K in funds from a recent Hope for Homes fundraising effort. When the murder is labeled a hate crime, Salem, Viv, and their newest partner Dale find themselves in some scary situations, including an altercation with Rambo the fighting rooster. Between being laughed at by one hot police detective she’s had crushed on since fourth grade, fighting her urge to drink herself “cool” in order to keep from throat-punching Dale, Salem has to find a killer before the community implodes.

The struggles of the LGBTQ community are front and center in this novel. CJ, the murdered man, is a victim before he is the victim. CJ has spent his life as so many LGBTQ people have, playing a role, pretending to be something he is not in order to fit the required societal mold. The son of a prominent family, a prestigious doctor in his own right, and the perfect fiancé to a woman he has always been expected to marry, CJ never truly got to live his life in his own way. Not long after being caught in a passionate embrace with a man, CJ is more or less forced to come out in a very public way and then he is murdered, labeled another casualty of hate, and though his murder doesn’t quite turn out so cut and dry, his story is nonetheless tragic.

A Christian novel highlighting the struggles in the LGBTQ community is an anomaly, and Kim Hunt Harris expertly handles the issues smartly by placing them front and center in her lead character’s lap. Salem feels a strong connection with the LGBTQ message boards she studies after being swept up in CJ’s death. She understands the dark loneliness of never fitting in, of being a victim of abuse, and of hiding what she truly is, burying her true self.

Damaged by a selfish, abusive mother, Salem is determined not to let that define her anymore. After ten years of drowning her feelings in booze, she has found her footing in Christianity, but she is confused about her feelings, uncertain how to reconcile her blossoming faith with the reality around her – what she thinks and feels about the LGBT community around her.

Salem’s story is one of redemption – hers and everyone else’s. She wants to be a person who can look herself in the eye, and she fights daily to become that very person.

Through common sense, humor, and her daily prayers in her self-made devotional room (aka the guest bedroom in her trailer at Trailertopia), Salem navigates the world in a “human” way. She struggles to justify God’s love with the church’s condemnation against homosexuality. She struggles against her complete dislike of Dale with the Biblical edicts of patience and kindness. She struggles with wanting to feel God’s presence in her life versus her all too real feelings of pettiness and anger.

Salem’s battles aren’t black or white, right or wrong. She’s human and that’s why we like her so much. She understands that “contempt and disrespect for another person’s most precious beliefs” don’t make the world a better place.

Unsightly Bulges (A Trailer Park Princess Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Kim Hunt Harris took home 1^st Place in the 2017 CIBA M&M Awards for Mayhem and Mystery.

July 22, 2019
A RING of TRUTH: Henrietta and Inspector Howard, Book 2 by Michelle Cox – Mystery, Romance, Historical Romance

Once that glass slipper fits, how hard is it for Cinderella to adapt to life as the princess after so long as the scullery maid? And how many people are just itching for her to fail?

In the first book in the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, A Girl Like You, barmaid and “taxi dancer” Henrietta Von Harmon met Detective Clive Howard in the midst of a dangerous case. Detective Howard was poking into the organized crime that had sprouted in the wake of Al Capone’s imprisonment, and Henrietta volunteered to help.

In the process of solving the case and nailing the villains, the police detective and the young working-class girl fell in love. Their engagement should have been the beginning of their happy ever after, but there is plenty standing in their way.

There are more than enough secrets in Henrietta’s background, but as this story begins, those revelations are still in the future. Howard, however, has kept a very big secret from his new fiancé. She fell in love with a hard-working detective, but Clive Howard is also the heir to one of the extremely wealthy families that reside in the fashionable little enclaves on the Chicago’s North Shore.

His parents, particularly his mother, are less than thrilled that he has brought home a future wife who is so far “beneath” their “class.” Henrietta is lost amid the trappings of wealth and privilege, as well as uncertain of her ability to adapt. That Clive is forced to leave her to the tender mercies of his mother and her social set while he goes back to Chicago to continue working on the case that brought them together does not initially bode well for their future happiness – or if they have any future at all.

Alone and out of her element, Henrietta makes “inappropriate” friends with the servants who are her social equals, while worrying about her family left behind in the poorer streets of the city. She finds herself fielding complaints from her mother in Chicago as well as “lessons” from her would-be mother-in-law in the suburbs.

And then there is a distinct possibility that the case she left behind in the city has stretched its ugly hands out to the North Shore to snatch her back into its clutches.

A Ring of Truth is a direct consequence of the events in the first book in the series, and readers of the first book will find more to enjoy with this second. Henrietta is a sympathetic and intelligent character. Her dilemma, how to adapt to a world in which she is unfamiliar, one that makes her uncomfortable, is easy to empathize with. And through her unfamiliarity, readers are able to learn about her strange new circumstances.

Where the first story divided its focus more equally between the investigation and Henrietta’s relationships and circumstances, in this book the focus is much more on those relationships, her attempts to forge new friendships, her struggles to take care of the family she is leaving behind, and her difficulties with her future mother-in-law.

The mysteries of the case take somewhat of a backseat to the relationships, and one of those mysteries is itself tied up with her family, and the secret of her own background. A secret that is not revealed to her until well into the story.

The case she helped Howard in Chicago casts a looming, suspenseful shadow over the entire story, causing shivers up the spine of both the characters and the reader.

While the plot of A Ring of Truth has a much different feel from that of A Girl Like You, it still features the same well-developed characters, adding depth and complexity to the story, while also giving readers that same “you are there” feeling of a walk back in time.

That the mystery moves to an even more dangerous phase as their wedding plans continue should be good news for fans of both historical mysteries and romance, as well as those looking for a peek at one of the great American cities during one of its more storied periods.

Even better news for fans, this series continues with two more books, the already available A Promise Given and the soon-to-be-released A Veil Removed.

March 24, 2019
CUT: A Medical Murder Mystery by Amy S. Peele – Medical Mystery, Thriller, Cozy

With heart, compassion, and a dash of comic relief, Amy Peele’s engaging murder mystery takes us into the precarious realm of human organ transplantation. Here, as life-saving procedures become marred by money, social status, and criminal intent, a moral compass spins out of control, revealing just how far some will go to reach the top of the donor procurement platform.

Sarah Golden is a dedicated and well-respected traveling organ transplantation nurse who loves her job. She’s on the final leg of a four-month contract in Miami and plans to spend her bonus check on a wild trip to Cuba with her best friend from nursing school, Jackie Larsen. Jackie’s now a stay at home mom to son Wyatt, and married to Laura Calleghan, an Assistant Medical Examiner in San Francisco. When Sarah happens to overhear a conversation involving patient Amanda Stein, an obnoxious, over-indulged woman who oozes entitlement, it leads Sarah to believe this San Francisco executive didn’t receive her liver transplant through the proper channels. As Sarah decides to pursue her suspicions, she also learns that wealthy Amanda is best friends with the wife of Dr. Harris Bower, the renowned head of San Francisco’s Transplant Dept. who recently offered Sarah a senior position back in California.

From the back streets of Miami to the hub-bub of Chicago and the West Coast, this well-paced story plays out amidst raucous escapades of inquiry as Sarah enlists the help of her fun-loving cohort Jackie to trace the path of Amanda’s donor organ. Suddenly they’re attending high society charity events, performing Cuban gang bar surveillance, riding off with “Biker Bob” to a private speakeasy boasting 300 kinds of rum, and flirting with the local “Officer Handsome” to gain some lawful and necessary assistance. As Amanda’s nefarious Latin boy toy gets wise to the probing, the womanizing lothario is determined to stop them. Before long, this Cagney and Lacey-esque duo are entangled in an investigation as both hunters and prey.

In a well-balanced contrast to the typically dark and somber tones of a mystery, particularly one focused on such a serious topic, Peele lightens the hard edge through the wit and humor brought by the central characters. These savvy, wise-cracking women like to imbibe and enjoy throwing out a few f-bombs to relieve stress, but have a no-nonsense attitude about their jobs, and always maintain a genuine concern for friendship and family.

With a passion for organ donation, and 35 years in the field to ultimately retire from one of the most successful transplant programs in the country, Peele is able to draw from a deep well of knowledge and experience that translates seamlessly to the storyline. From enlightenment about how recipients get their organs, and distinctions between donor types, to the backlash of gaming (i.e. moving someone up on a list) that can shut down a program, these layers of detailed information woven throughout the story bring an added richness to the texture of this well-organized narrative.

Peele also brings emotional depth to this work, not only from her own nursing background but through the feisty personalities of the sleuthing duo. They are determined to find justice and hold accountable those attempting to undermine the transplant system. From sobering board room revelations about individuals denied organs due to immigration or economic status, to the heart-wrenching toll of losing young pediatric patients, the subject matter is presented as an important, timely, and volatile issue.

Cut: A Medical Murder Mystery won First Place in the 2017 CIBAs for the M&M Awards.

February 27, 2019
CORONADO’S TRAIL by Carl and Jane Bock – Mystery, Thriller/Suspense, Literary

An ill-fated Spanish expedition in 1541 plays into present-day concerns about preserving Santa Cruz County’s (Arizona) heritage and environment. Along with an engaging yarn, Jane and Carl Bock offer the reader food for thought by presenting a microcosmic picture of the mindless destruction of time-honored customs, traditions, and mores in the pursuit of money and power.

When deputy sheriff Calvin Creede of the Sonoita substation in Santa Cruz County receives a call from Maria Obregon, the widow of Calvin’s best friend, neither suspect where the call will lead.

Maria has discovered the partially exposed remains of an old pickup in the San Carlos Wash, an arroyo near her goat farm on the 40,000 acres, Rocking M cattle ranch. The vehicle had not been visible before. Nothing new there, as frequent flooding reveals items previously buried in the sand. But this seems different because Maria’s dog, Boomer, is behaving as if there’s something still hidden inside the cab.

Calvin’s investigation of the find, from running its license plate, unearthing it, and solving a 1995 missing person case, to determining that the driver had been murdered, has a domino effect. In winnowing facts from legend and gossip, he also unearths lifelong grudges, rivalries, and broken hearts that continue to impact families in the community.

Concurrent with the murder investigation, Calvin must address the lawless behaviors of radical environmentalists, drug and human traffickers, and unethical antiquities hunters, which all, in varying ways, relate to the decades’ old murder. If this weren’t enough to sift through, he also must deal with his feelings for Maria, to whom he’s pretty sure he’s just become engaged.

Coronado’s Trail contains multiple levels of storytelling and subplots, and in the Bock’s skillfully crafted narrative where everything fits like an intricate puzzle. In addition to a complex and compelling plot, the authors’ use of imagery adds a visceral dimension to the mood and tone that is sure to transport readers to experience the mountains shimmering in the heat, the rumble of thunder in the distance, the cooling monsoon rains… you get the picture. By the time the last page is turned and the novel complete, a kinship to Arizona’s high desert will be in your bones. All this to say, after vicariously traveling Coronado’s Trail, you may wish to walk it for yourselves.

Coronado’s Trail took home the M&M Grand Prize for Mysteries in the 2017 CIBAs.

February 13, 2019
DEADLY PROOF: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery, Book 4 by M. Louisa Locke – Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller/Suspense

Annie Fuller, a part-time clairvoyant/landlady, is determined to improve her life. As the daughter of a financial investor, Annie knows a great deal about bookkeeping and investments. Putting her knowledge to good use with her fledgling accounting business, the pretty widow seems on-track again since moving to San Francisco, opening her home to boarders, and transitioning from her former job as the fortune-telling Madame Sibyl.

Having agreed to marry attorney Nate Dawson, she can almost touch the happiness she deserves after her disastrous first marriage, but when Nate is hired to defend a woman accused of murdering her boss, Annie turns private investigator in an attempt to help her fiancé with his first solo criminal case. At first, Nate’s biggest obstacle is the client herself, Florence Sullivan, who refuses to even speak to him for several days. Soon the issue becomes the sheer number of suspects who wanted Joshua Rashers, the ruthless owner of a printing company, dead. But as Annie and Nate’s sister Laura begin to dig deeper into the lives of Rasher’s family and employees, they will soon face deadly dangers of their own.

Strong personas form the nexus of this series, which features many of the same characters in both novels and novellas. Most of the characters have elaborate backstories that really “flesh out” the novel’s plot, but a familiarity with the previous stories isn’t a necessity for the reader. Readers will fall in love with Annie’s intelligence, Laura’s tenacity, Nate’s devotion, and Florence’s fortitude. Throw in the eclectic boarders and one feisty Boston Terrier, an unforgettable cast emerges that readers will adore.

Though the dynamics between characters is interesting, the real value of the novel lies within its portrayal of the struggle for women in the late nineteenth century. Set in the 1880s, the events of the novel aren’t far removed from the Civil War that ravaged the country, and while that war was fought for the equality of all men, subjugation of women would continue for another fifty years. And though the plot makes use of actual suffragette Emily Pitts Stevens, the novel covers much more than women’s suffrage. It explores all aspects of prejudice against women, including the rights of female workers and business owners as well as a woman’s place in the marriage relationship. From Annie’s financial independence to Laura’s dream to become a lawyer, the women fight for a place in a literal man’s world. Even Annie’s upcoming nuptials bring questions of propriety over personal enjoyment, and every woman in the novel–married or single–feels the bite of mental bondage in some way and none more than Florence who is being tried in the media based in part because of the sensationalism of her gender.

Deadly Proof: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery, Book 4 won First Place in the 2017 M&M Awards.

February 6, 2019