#historicalmystery – Page 3 – Avonna Loves Genres

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Twisted Road by A.B. Michaels

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE TWISTED ROAD (Barrister Perris Mysteries Book #1) by A.B. Michaels on this Black Coffee Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Jonathan Perris Can’t Save His Clients
…Until He Saves Himself

1907

Rising from the devastation of a massive earthquake and fire, San Francisco is once again on the move. But a strike by streetcar drivers threatens to halt the Golden City in its tracks. Protests turn to violence and violence leads to death. Soon a young guard is convicted of willfully killing a protester and the public is out for blood.

Jonathan Perris, an immigrant attorney from England, has opened a law firm with an eye toward righting wrongs, and the guard’s conviction may fall into that category. But the talented barrister soon finds his newfound career shaken by a tragic event: the gruesome murder of the beautiful and mysterious Lena Mendelssohn—a woman he’s been squiring around town. It’s difficult to run a law firm when you’ve been arrested for murder.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209238607-the-twisted-road?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=aLGoCRv4bF&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE TWISTED ROAD (Barrister Perris Mysteries Book #1) by A.G. Michaels is a new intricately plotted historical mystery set in a devastated and rebuilding 1906 San Francisco, California and featuring a compelling cadre of main characters that immediately pulled me into the story.

Jonathan Perris was a talented barrister who has immigrated from England and set up his fledgling law firm in San Francisco. He has a strong sense of justice for all, but a mysterious past that even his associates know nothing about. Jonathan learns that the paramour he has been squiring around town is not who he believes her to be, and he ends their affair. She is found murdered in a brothel the very next day and Jonathan is arrested.

With the help of his assistant attorneys, Cordelia and Oliver, his private investigator, Dove, and the office manager and mother hen, Althea, Jonathan is determined to discover the real killer when his associates prove his alibi and get him out of jail. As Jonathan and Dove investigate the murder, Cordelia is working another case of a security guard who convicted of killing a worker on strike in the cable car strike. They soon discover both cases may be tied together and while they follow not only the clues, but the dead bodies, members of their own team may be next.

This is an engaging story that I am very excited about being a series. The characters are all fully drawn and believable to the period. Jonathan has so many past secrets we are left wondering about and his love-hate relationship with his inheritance of the “cadou” or knowing from his mysteriously missing mother has so many possibilities. He has a strong moral core and yet the snippets from his past lead you to believe he also has done things that may not be considered legal. This is also a great character juxtaposition to his associate, Cordelia who is very idealistic and inquisitive. She is determined to discover his true self.

The Twisted Road is an apt title for this historical mystery and an apt description of the plot. There are many twists and surprise connections that left me guessing all the way to the end. Ms. Michaels has used the history of 1906 San Francisco; capitalism vs. socialism, the unions vs. corporations, the opulence of the rich vs. the financial instability of the average person, and the lack of housing due to the earthquake to enrich this fascinating story. I have read other titles by this author and really enjoyed them, but this one has memorable characters that have me eagerly waiting for the next in the series to see what they do next.

I highly recommend this extraordinary historical mystery!

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About the Author

A native of California, A.B. Michaels holds masters’ degrees in history (UCLA) and broadcasting (San Francisco State University). After working for many years as a promotional writer and editor, she turned to writing the kind of page-turning fiction she loves to read. She writes historical fiction (“The Golden City” series) as well as contemporary romantic suspense (“Sinner’s Grove Suspense.”). “Barrister Perris Mysteries” is her latest endeavor, based on characters introduced in “The Golden City.” All of her books are stand-alone reads.

Michaels currently lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and two elderly, four-legged “sons” (16 and 17!) who don’t seem to know they’re just dogs. She is an avid reader, traveler, quilter and bocce player, as well as a mediocre but enthusiastic golfer.

Social Media Links

https://abmichaels.com/
https://abmichaels.com/the-curious-peach-blog-2/
https://www.facebook.com/abmichaelsauthor
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8189786.A_B_Michaels
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/a-b-michaels

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Under the Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg

Book Description

It’s 1942, and as far as her father knows, Evelyn Bishop, heiress to an aeronautics fortune, is working as a translator in London. In truth, Evelyn—daring, beautiful, and as adept with a rifle as she is in five languages—has joined the Office of Strategic Services as a spy. Her goal is personal: to find her brother, who is being held as a POW in a Nazi labor camp. Through one high-risk mission after another she is paired with the reckless and rebellious Nick Gallagher, growing ever close to him until the war’s end brings with it an act of deep betrayal.

Six years later, Evelyn is back home in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator. The war was supposed to change everything, yet Evelyn, contemplating marriage to her childhood sweetheart, feels stifled by convention. Then the suspected cheating husband she’s tailing is murdered, and suddenly Evelyn is back in Nick’s orbit again.

Teaming up for a final mission, Evelyn and Nick begin to uncover the true nature of her case— and realize that the war has followed them home. For beyond the public horrors waged by nations there are countless secret, desperate acts that still reverberate on both continents, and threaten everything Evelyn holds dear…

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Elise’s Thoughts

Under The Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg is a fun read. Between the scenes of WWII and the murder of someone in 1948 this blends a mystery and thriller. There is love, duty, loyalty, and forgiveness.

The heroine, Evelyn Bishop, has joined the OSS as a spy. Besides wanting to help the allies she is trying to rescue her brother, held in a German POW camp. Her supervisor is Nick Gallagher. They become intimate and grow close during the war until he betrays her.

Six years later, Evelyn is working as a private investigator. After trailing a suspected cheating husband, the suspect is murdered. Evelyn finds out that Nick is also a PI, who was working with the murdered victim. Teaming up for a final mission, Evelyn and Nick begin to uncover the true nature of her case, realizing that the war has followed them home.

The banter in the story adds humor to the story. There is a lot of action with some romance that includes a love triangle.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?

Shaina Steinberg: This is the first in a three-book deal, but I am hoping that I can continue writing more in the series. I love old movies and I started to watch movies from the 1940s. These had strong women like Katherine Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman. This is partly why I set it during this period. Plus, there is a correlation with my grandmother who was a strong and vibrant woman. She got married and did everything society expected of her. She had regrets because she really wanted to be a doctor or a nurse. She did not have many options in her life. My heroine, Evelyn, explores what my grandmother could have been.

EC: How did you get the idea for this story?

SS: I have been fascinated by WWII and my father read bedtime stories written by Elie Wiesel. He always said, ‘it can happen here so we must be vigilant.’ I see this is as a story that delved into the war, but not just that aspect. It shows what war can do to someone and the sacrifices made, especially what a parent would do to keep their child safe.

EC: Do you think there is a corollary between being a spy and a private investigator?

SS: Absolutely. Evelyn as a spy was extremely competent. She was taught to be undetected and how to notice small clues that might lead to something bigger.

EC: How would you describe Evelyn?

SS: She is very talented, good with a gun and able to speak five languages. She is a feminist and loves the adrenaline rush. She could be selfish, petty, sarcastic, stubborn but is also loyal, fearless, funny, and brave. She is from a privileged background. But after the war, her eyes are open, which gives her empathy.

EC: As with many of those in the military who have retired, they miss it. Please explain how you explored this in the story with Evelyn.

SS: There were two quotes in the book that refer to this. The first, “There is no place for me. Not here. Not there. Not anywhere.” The second, “Those first week’s home Evelyn felt as if she was under water. Sometimes it felt like sitting on the ocean floor with the weight of the water pressing down on her.” The second quote is like someone grieving and that grief encompasses everything in someone’s life. While later, after the grief is not so fresh, the person can be functional. The weight of the ocean water is the numbness. The first quote refers to how after the war she feels useless. Evelyn does not want to be a stay-at-home wife because she actively saved lives during the war and had a sense of purpose.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Nick?

SS: He was Evelyn’s commander during the war. During the war he felt fulfillment, a sense of purpose, confident, fearless, and self-assured. Now, after the war he feels hopeless with a sense of failure. He feels rage and anger. The anger is an undercurrent as to when he was abandoned by his family when he was so young, feeling his life was unjust and unfair. He uses that anger to motivate him.

EC: What about the relationship between Evelyn and Nick?

SS: Evelyn gave him stability, hope, and happiness. During the war they were bonded by danger. They are in love even though he betrayed her. From Evelyn he saw that she is kind, good, and has a belief in the goodness in people. Nick sees the world from her point of view, through her eyes. Nick gets a sense of purpose from Evelyn. I think she helps him channel all his anger into ways he can help others. After the war when he loses her, he loses his sense of purpose. I also think the war gave her a sense of purpose. She felt like she was doing something important that could save lives. I think a big part of Nick’s appeal is that he was her partner in that purpose, and he never thought of her as anything less than strong and capable.

EC: Is there a love triangle between Evelyn, Nick, and her current fiancé?

SS: Yes. There is a scene in the book where Evelyn describes James, her current fiancé,as “romantic, sweet, kind, and chivalrous.” Nick sees James as “desperate, needy, and old-fashioned.” If there was never WWII, she probably would have married James when she was twenty-two. Before she went to war that would have been enough because she did not know anything different. To her James is safe and represents her being home and her innocence as well as her living breathing connection to her brother. But what he represents is not enough for her anymore. Evelyn does not see a compability between her world before the war and one after the war. Her appeal for Nick is beyond more than their chemistry, but he was also there when she grew into the person she is now. But because of his betrayal she questions everything she saw and knew about him as well as how she sees herself.

EC: What is the relevance of the song, “Paper Moon?”

SS: Everything she felt about Nick was turned around once she thought he betrayed her. The song represents the way Evelyn sees their love. She thought their love was real and after he betrayed her, she now feels it was hollow. On a personal level it was one of my grandmother’s favorite songs, so it reminds me of her.

EC: Next book?

SS: It will be published in May of next year, with a working title An Unquiet Peace. One of my regrets was that I did not explore Evelyn’s female friendships in this book, but it is part of the second book. There are still conflicts between Nick and Evelyn. It will take place in October 1948 around the Berlin Airlift. Nick also has a case of a woman who wants to leave her marriage.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Feature Post and Book Review: Murder by Lamplight by Patrice McDonough

Book Description

November 1866: The grisly murder site in London’s East End is thronged with onlookers. None of them expect the calmly efficient young woman among them to be a medical doctor, arrived to examine the corpse. Inspector Richard Tennant, overseeing the investigation, at first makes no effort to disguise his skepticism. But Dr. Julia Lewis is accustomed to such condescension . . .

To study medicine, Julia had to leave Britain, where universities still bar their doors to women, and travel to America. She returned home to work in her grandfather’s practice—and to find London in the grip of a devastating cholera epidemic. In four years, however, she has seen nothing quite like this—a local clergyman’s body sexually mutilated and displayed in a manner that she—and Tennant—both suspect is personal.

Days later, another body is found with links to the first, and Tennant calls in Dr. Lewis again. The murderer begins sending the police taunting letters and tantalizing clues—though the trail leads in multiple directions, from London’s music halls to its grim workhouses and dank sewers. Lewis and Tennant struggle to understand the killer’s dark obsessions and motivations. But there is new urgency, for the doctor’s role appears to have shifted from expert to target. And this killer is no impulsive monster, but a fiendishly calculating opponent, determined to see his plan through to its terrifying conclusion . . .

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157995356-murder-by-lamplight?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=K3stzdcSXC&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

MURDER BY LAMPLIGHT (A Dr. Lewis Mystery Book #!) by Patrice McDonough is an intriguing historical crime mystery that pulls you into a world of poverty and depravity in Victorian London. One of England’s first female physicians and a taciturn Detective Inspector find themselves working together to solve a series of heinous murders. This is the first book in the series and a realistic look at society in 1866.

Dr. Julia Lewis has always wanted to study medicine and become a physician like her father and grandfather, but to achieve that goal she had to travel to relatives in the United States to attend medical college. She returns to live with and practice with her grandfather in Victorian London.

While her grandfather is on another call, Julia responds to the request of the police to study a corpse at a murder scene. Detective Inspector Richard Tennant of Scotland Yard is shocked when a female doctor arrives, but Julia is used to the skepticism and goes on to prove her professionalism with the lurid scene. When another body is found with similar clues, Tennant reaches out to Julia to inspect the body once again. The killer is having a laugh at Tennant and the authorities with written clues and misdirection but when Julia is targeted, there is a new urgency to find this killer.

I loved this introduction to these new well-developed main characters and am very happy this will be a series. Julia is a strong, independent female lead who lives outside the norms of the society of her times and I always enjoy reading about and following these types of characters. Richard is her perfect foil. He seems to be a man of his times, but he has demons from his past and yet he finds something about this female doctor not only aggravating, but intriguing. I am looking forward to reading about how the author moves this hint of a relationship forward in future books.

I found the research into this period in London very thorough and it brought me right into the dark, gritty slums of Whitechapel and the debates about the cholera outbreaks. The murder mystery plot is full of twists and suspects, and I was shocked with the discovery at the climax. This book is graphic with descriptions of the violence done to the murder victims, sexual assault, male rape, prostitution, and homosexuality. The descriptions of living in the slums of London are also written with the truth of the times and not watered down.

I recommend this historically realistic first crime mystery in the Dr. Lewis Mystery series and I am looking forward to many more.

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About the Author

Patrice McDonough, a native of the Garden State, has a master’s degree in history from Rutgers University/NJIT. She teaches history and serves as Department Chair at a college preparatory high school for girls, was named an Outstanding Educator by the Archdiocese of Newark in 1995, and is a member of the Historical Writers of America. She spends her leisure time begging her golf ball to land on the fairway or reading the histories, mysteries, and historical novels piled high on her night table. While thinking about her World History and Western Civilization students and sitting in front of a 1789 map of Paris, she wrote Clock Master’s Daughter: A Novel of the French Revolution.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.patricemcdonough1789.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553881089597

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricemcdonoughauthor/

Book Review: A Rogue’s Company by Allison Montclair

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A ROGUE’S COMPANY (A Sparks and Bainbridge Mystery Book #3) by Allison Montclair is another first-rate addition to this historical mystery series set in 1946 London and featuring the daring duo of ladies of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. While this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, but there are character plotlines that continue to progress in each book. I have read the series in order and have loved every book.

Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge are doing well enough to expand their matchmaking business. As their business grows, so does their friendship. With the return of Gwen’s father-in-law from Africa, she is determined to state her case and have his guardianship removed from her son, but what she doesn’t know is he has other reasons to keep the guardianship intact.

When a new client shows up at The Right Sort, Gwen does not believe he is there for a match. When he continues to appear around the Bainbridge home, she becomes alarmed. When Gwen and his lordship are kidnapped, Sparks seeks help from underworld acquaintances, but will it be in time to save Gwen’s life?

This addition to the series had me turning the pages from beginning to end. The information on the British in Africa at this time was not only interesting, but well integrated into the story without slowing the pace. The mystery plotline is full of twists and red herrings that I was not able to unravel before the conclusion but were tied together with believable resolutions by the author. I love every one of the main characters in this series and find them to be well developed and quite realistic to the period. It came as a surprise to learn that Allison Montclair is a pseudonym, but it does not matter to me because a great story is a great story. I always look forward to visiting with these protagonists again with each book and following them on their next adventure.

I highly recommend this historical cozy mystery series!

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About the Author

ALLISON MONTCLAIR grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bond movies. As a result of this deplorable upbringing, Montclair became addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. She now spends her spare time poking through the corners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of her own. The Right Sort of Man is her debut novel.

Allison Montclair is a pseudonym of Alan Gordon.

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower

Book Description

December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…

Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Orville decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.

As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/181037562-to-slip-the-bonds-of-earth?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=mIsgS8Umhv&rank=1

Expected Publication: March 26, 2024

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

TO SLIP THE BONDS OF EARTH (Katharine Wright Mystery Series Book #1) by Amanda Flower is the perfect mash-up of biographical fiction and cozy mystery featuring an overshadowed and forgotten sister finally being recognized for her strengths and accomplishments and weaving into the facts of her life a smartly plotted cozy murder mystery. This is the first book in the series, and I am thoroughly hooked.

Katharine Wright is a brilliant scholar, teacher, and suffragette who also runs the family household of her reverend father since the death of her mother at the age of fifteen. Besides all these personal accomplishments, she also assists her brothers, Wilbur and Orville, with their books in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. While disappointed when she is passed over for a head teaching promotion, she is very excited by a telegram received from her brothers in North Carolina stating that they have flown their motorized flying machine.

When the brothers return for the Christmas holidays, Katharine talks Orville into attending a Christmas party given by the head of the PTA. Orville’s coat goes missing and when the siblings find it, it is in the billiards room with a dead man stabbed with a screwdriver. One of Katharine’s students is in the room with blood all over his shirt and the design papers for their flying machine Orville had in his coat pocket are missing. Katharine’s student is arrested, but Katharine is not satisfied with the detective’s conclusions.

Katharine begins asking questions that lead to the prominent men of Dayton having secrets that are worthy of blackmail, but do they lead to murder? And the flying machine design papers are still missing, could they be worth killing over?

I loved this story for so many different reasons. I knew nothing about Katharine and was happy to be introduced to a strong, independent, educated woman who was so accomplished in a time when it was not common. She lends herself to being a perfect protagonist in a mystery plot with her curiosity and tenacity. The depth of research into Katharine’s life, the Wright family, and all the history of the period is evident and intertwined seamlessly throughout the book. The cozy mystery plot has all the red herrings and twists that keep the reader guessing, and it gives believable resolutions to all questions by the end.

I highly recommend this engaging historical cozy mystery and I cannot wait for more mysteries to follow in this series.

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About the Author

Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. Her novels have received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Romantic Times, and she had been featured in USA Today, First for Women, and Woman’s World. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, Hallmark Publishing, Crooked Lane Books, and Sourcebooks. In addition to being a writer, she was a librarian for fifteen years. Today, Flower and her husband own a farm and recording studio, and they live in Northeast Ohio with their two adorable cats.

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.amandaflower.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramandaflower/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aflowerwriter

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amanda-flower

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: In Sunshine or in Shadow by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles

Book Description

New York, 1908: The days are getting longer—and warmer—in Manhattan. Molly Murphy Sullivan doesn’t want to leave her home in the city, but typhoid is back, and she’s expecting. So she heads north with the children to summer with her mother-in-law in Westchester County. Molly tells herself it won’t be so bad, after all the countryside is pretty, and she’s determined to make the best of it. Even if she’s leaving her husband, Daniel, behind. And at least she’s not the only one heading north. Her great friends, Sid and Gus, are headed to the Catskills to visit Sid’s family.

Though her mother-in-law is a surprisingly excellent host, Molly quickly grows bored. And when Sid and Gus invite her to visit, Molly jumps at the chance to stay with them at an artist’s community. What a pleasant time they’ll have, so far from the city, although Sid isn’t so enthusiastic about having to visit her family in the nearby Jewish bungalow community. But deep in the Catskills, tensions are running high, and it’s not long before a body delays Molly’s return to Westchester.

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Elise’s Thoughts

In Sunshine or In Shadow by Rhys Bowen and Clare Bowles the focus is on the good friend of Molly Murphy, Sid. As with all these books readers get a glimpse of what is happening in the time period that is weaved throughout the story. This book is very relevant because it delves into the Catskills before it became a resort and how antisemitism flourished, just as today.

Because of the typhoid epidemic in the city, Molly and her children decide to stay with her mother-in-law in Westchester. Molly, who’s bored, visits her friends, who are staying at an artists’ retreat near Sid’s relatives. Sid’s grandfather’s alleged ill health was just an excuse to get her to the Catskill farm, where a matchmaker has brought possible mates for both Sid and her cousin Mira.

Mira’s match, Mr. Simon Levin, has made many enemies. Sid’s match is a college professor she finds interesting but has no intention of marrying. While out walking in the woods, Levin is shot with his own rifle, and the local police immediately focus on Mira, as a suspect. After her friends beg Molly to help Mira, she unearths other motives for his murder.

The reader is kept guessing as to who the murderer was almost to the very end, with clues strewn throughout. Where it really shines is in the descriptions of life during that time period, 1908, and all the historical information on the early Catskill resorts. A riveting murder, fun characters, interlaced with tidbits of historical information make this story a great read.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How much are you involved in writing this story?

Rhys Bowen: Very involved. We talk through the story idea. Then Clare does some research, and we see what we want to incorporate. In the first couple of books, we wrote alternating chapters. Now Clare is writing more, but I am still going in and giving my suggestions. I am still very hands on. Working with someone else is a gift because they have enthusiasm and new ideas.

Clare Broyles: If I do write a scene or a chapter she reads it immediately for feedback, and vice-versa.

EC: How did you get the idea for this story?

RB: We realized we never focused on Sid and her Jewish heritage. We thought it might be interesting to have her family wanting to have her married off. With the typhoid epidemic everyone wanted to get out of the city, but Jewish people were not welcome at the normal resorts. They decided to go up to the Catskills and stay in primitive cabins. We used typhoid to get Molly out of the city. Even some upscale houses became sick. This is why we bought in the cook, “typhoid Mary,” who went from household to household affecting the families.

CB: We wanted to write everything going on at the Catskills. It had its beginning in 1903. Park Rangers were just coming into existence. Their chain of command had them reporting to NYPD, a perfect line to Daniel. They had the mining in trouble. There was also the growing environmental movement that started to clash with the big quarry there. Plus, there was a Bohemian community of professional women. Ontera was its name. We fictionalized it. We wanted to show that it was a place where woman could be free.

EC: Your story is very relevant today considering what happened on October 7^th and the antisemitism going on in the US today. Do you agree?

RB: It is very relevant now. It did not matter how respected someone was or how rich, it was hard for Jewish families to get out of NYC. They were still not welcome. The police detective in this story exhibited the underlying antisemitism that comes out all the time. My health club is in the Jewish Community Center and there must be a guard outside and now there is a sheriff’s car.

CB: There were stories around that time that had to deal with the ‘No Hebrews allowed” signs at the upscale resorts. Unfortunately, this continues to be relevant throughout the years.

EC: There is a portrayal of the different levels of Judaism. Please explain.

CB: Sid’s family was wealthy and less religious versus the religious immigrant strain.

RB: One of my oldest friends in New York picked up some tiny things we did to make it more accurate. She did loads of research for us.

EC: The Catskills?

CB: It was based on fact. Some background, there were some wealthy Jewish philanthropists that wanted to help Jewish immigrants. This was about fifty years before. They bought large tracks of land in the Catskills to give to arriving families who instead of farming made money by renting out cabins.

EC: How would you describe Mira, Sid’s cousin?

RB: She is an interesting character. Not much of a fighter. Not strong-willed or independent. She is hopeful. She is very young who has been a sheltered Jewish girl. Sid and Gus gave her options in life.

EC: You also go into arranged marriages?

RB: Her role in life was to marry whoever her family chose for her and live happily ever after. We put in this quote from Sid, “This is how it is done in the old country. Parents chose a spouse, daughters obey, with a question of dowry and financial advantage. Love did not enter into it.” Gradually we see Mira gaining strength throughout the story. There were very few opportunities for women. Sid and Gus survived because they had money. Maybe this is easier than online dating now.

CB: It is not just the Jewish community that does this. We first considered to set it in Boston with Gus’ family. Women at the time did not have much of a voice. Mira’s family did not force her into marriage but made that option the most attractive. I think Gus’s family in Boston would have done the same thing.

EC: How would you describe the victim, Levin, who was chosen to marry Mira?

RB: He is brash. He is someone who talks about how good they are at their job and how much money he makes. He is annoying and sleezy. He is not trustworthy but is clever enough to convince people he might be a good match.

CB: He talks a good talk.

EC: What about your next books?

RB: The historical novel comes out in August titled The Rose Arbor. It takes place in 1968 with a little girl vanishing. The heroine is a journalist. Her roommate is a police officer. They go down to the South of England. Through their research they find out that three little girls evacuated during WWII also disappeared. This book is a jigsaw puzzle tying all the cases.

CB: The next Molly book has Bridie growing up, a fourteen-year-old. Ryan, a playwright, has written and acted in some motion pictures. Bridie is offered a part. It is titled, Silent as The Grave. It takes place in 1908. The very interesting part of the stories are the situations that lead to a murder. The way the people acted and felt in history.

RB: The special effects were all real. Someone tied to the train tracks was real, taking terrible risks. This all is presented in the book. It comes out the same time next year. All our books are linked to real time. We think about what happened then and how do we tie into it. I like to learn when I read. The sleuth character and how she handles things that stretch her makes the story interesting. When people write me fan mail, they never say that was a clever plot, but say “I love Molly,” which is what matters.

THANK YOU!!

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