Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Olive Bright, Pigeoneer and A Valiant Deceit by Stephanie Graves

Elise’s Thoughts

Olive Bright Pigeoneer and A Valiant Deceit by Stephanie Graves are the latest books in her new historical mystery series. It features Olive Bright, a spirited young pigeon fancier who finds herself working for a secret British intelligence agency, while in her spare time solving mysteries. These books are set in England during World War II where the reader gets a close look at life in a small English town.

The first book has twenty-two-year-old Olive Bright helping at her father’s veterinary practice and tending to her beloved racing pigeons. Desperate to do her bit, Olive hopes that the National Pigeon Service will enlist Bright Lofts’ expertise, and use their highly trained birds to deliver critical, coded messages for His Majesty’s Forces. But it was not the National Pigeon Service that recruits her but a secret intelligence organization, Baker Street. Captain Jameson Aldridge and his associate are tied to this covert British intelligence organization. If Olive wants her pigeons to help the war effort, she must do so in complete secrecy, which includes using the cover story of a fake romance with the captain as she prepares her birds to help with covert operations.

To protect the secrecy of their work Olive and Aldridge continue their ruse of being romantically involved, a task made difficult when both realize they have feelings for the other.  Neither will admit their desires. Olive is intelligent, spunky, brave, at times reckless, and energetic. Aldridge is gruff, enigmatic, at times condescending, prickly, and brash.

The second book has Olive continuing her adventures in helping the war effort and solving mysteries.  She is a FANY, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, hoping she can step up her involvement in the war effort.  Her pigeons are being conscripted to aid the Belgian resistance, and it’s up to Olive to choose the best birds for the mission, even looking for some in her dovecote that have Belgian heritage.

The first book is more of mystery where Olive must solve the killing of a community busybody Miss Husselbee in the small town of Pipley in Hertfordshire Bustles. She resolves to use the skills she’s learned from reading Agatha Christie novels to solve the crime.

The second book is more of a thriller after Lt. Jeremy Beckett, an instructor at Station XVII, the top-secret training school, housed at Brickendonbury Manor, is found dead. Even though the police determine his death to be an accident, Olive feels there are suspicious circumstances considering Beckett was carrying a coded message in his pocket and a map of Germany clutched in one hand. In both books she stops at nothing to find the truth, including risking her own life.  Olive is becoming a very good investigator as she uses the tools of Hercule Poirot, her literary hero.

These books are great reads with the witty dialogue, responses, one-liners, and banter between the two characters. The mystery storyline had plenty of suspects, suspicious behavior, clues, and red herrings. A bonus were the fascinating tidbits about the role of the pigeons during World War II as part of the British spy operations.  These books show why Graves did not have a sophomore jinx.

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Elise’s Author Interview

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

Stephanie Graves:  A long time ago, when my kids were little, I took them to see “Valiant,” The Disney movie, loosely based on the contributions of pigeons during WWII.  The blurb at the end of the movie captivated me.  After writing romance novels, I decided to try writing historical fiction set in WWII.  It was waiting in the wings at the back of my brain and took off from there.  My research was very interesting and helped me develop the story.

EC:  How would you describe Olive?

SG:  A tomboy, optimistic, determined, impulsive, and helpful.  She wants to do her bit for the war effort.  She always wants to see justice done.  She has a fighting spirit, resourceful, intuitive, at times argumentative.

EC:  The role of the pigeons?

SG:  I hope readers get a glimpse through the facts provided. Olive did name the pigeons after children’s literature characters, including Mary Poppins. They have a significant role in the book considering they are the reason Olive gets involved with the British intelligence organization.  From her perspective the birds are doing the work while she selects them, trains them, and feeds them. The birds are the ones taking all the risks:  getting killed by snipers or eaten by other animals.  In book one it was a letdown for her.  In book two it is a way to do more for the war effort to be in the thick of it all.

EC:  How would you describe Captain Jamie Aldridge?

SG:  A sort of by the book person.  He is a bit resentful because of his injury and must be at a desk job.  He is serious, cautious, at times disagreeable, condescending, and sarcastic. He is uncomfortable around cats.

EC:  How about the relationship?

SG:  At first Aldridge is resentful of Olive and does not appreciate her being so argumentative. He tries to reign her impulsiveness in because he is worried about her safety. They know how to push each other’s buttons. In book one it was very prickly where she did not like him at all, felt he had no need to interact with her, and was very irritated with her.  He was grumpy and she was exasperated with him.  At the end of book two they are coming to understand and respect each other with a connection. There is a subtle affection. He has a soft spot for her but does not want to acknowledge it, while she is frustrated.

EC:  What about the role of WWII and the mystery?

SG:  In the first book the mystery aspect is detached from what is going on in the war. It is more about the killing of a villager. In the second book, that murder is on the war side. I also explain in the second book how the Germans confiscated and killed pigeons, which played a role in the mystery. They were aware of how the Allies used pigeons. They trained Falcons to intercept as the pigeons were flying home across the channel.

EC:  Please explain a FANY?

SG:  FANY stands for First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.  It started before the First World War.  Originally, they were like combat medics working between the field hospitals and the front line. Into WWII they expanded a lot including mechanics, driving ambulances, and nursing.  They really did everything.  Some of them became actual secret agents themselves.  Whatever was necessary the FANY would do it.

EC:  In the first book Olive was acting like Miss Marple but in the second book acted like Poirot?

SG:  Poirot was a character of Christie. Most of her books are Miss Marple or Poirot, Olive’s favorite.  Poirot likes to make lists, asks questions, and feels the murderer must be found at all costs. She wanted to take a page from him.

EC:  Next book?

SG:  The working title is A Courage Undimmed and will be out in a year.  It is another Olive book, still working as a FANY and unofficially training to be an agent. There is also a village mystery with a visit from the actual Ian Fleming.

THANK YOU!!

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.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Man With the Golden Mind by Tom Vater

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Blackthorn Book Tour for THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN MIND (Detective Maier Mystery Book #2) by Tom Vater.

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

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About the Book

Detective Maier has a new case. This time it is a cold case: investigating the death of Julia Rendel’s father, an East German culture attaché who was killed near a fabled CIA airbase in central Laos in 1976.

But before the detective can set off, his client is kidnapped right out of his arms. Maier follows Julia’s trail to the Laotian capital Vientiane, where he learns different parties, including his missing client, are searching for a legendary CIA file crammed with Cold War secrets.

The real prize, however, is the file’s author: someone codenamed Weltmeister, a former US and Vietnamese spy and assassin no one has seen for a quarter century. Racing against time, Maier needs to dig deep into the past – including his own – in order to make sense of the present.

The second book in Tom Vater’s Detective Maier Mysteries series, The Man With The Golden Mind is an action-packed thriller with plenty of sex, drugs, assassinations and double-crosses.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490900-the-man-with-the-golden-mind?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=inYT8WylWK&rank=1

The Man With the Golden Mind

Detective Maier Mystery Book #2

  • Genre: Crime
  • Print length: 239
  • Suitable for young adults? No
  • Trigger warnings: graphic violence
  • Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN MIND (Detective Maier Mystery Book #2) by Tom Vater is the second noir crime fiction/spy thriller which takes the reader on an intriguing, atmospheric and thrilling trip into Asia with German war correspondent turned private investigator Maier. While his last adventure took him back to Cambodia, this time he is sent to investigate a twenty-five-year-old case in Laos.

Julia Rendel hires Maier to investigate what happened to her East German cultural attaché father who was murdered twenty-five-years-ago in Long Cheng, a CIA run airbase in Laos during the Vietnamese war. Before the two can even begin their journey to Laos, Julia is kidnapped right from under Maier in their hotel room.

Maier arrives in Laos and is immediately dragged along by circumstances rather than following a step-by-step investigation. Maier learns his information is far from complete and he ends up searching not only for his missing client and answers from the past, but also a cache of gold, a legendary CIA file and a spy who does not wish to come in from the cold.

I found the intriguing and unique characters, the vividly drawn atmosphere and locations and the surprising twists and action kept me turning the pages. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but eventually they sort themselves out and the plot moves along at a fast pace. I was surprised by the return of a character from the first book and with his return comes a very unexpected plot twist. The author steeped me in the atmosphere and culture of Laos, past and present which made it a unique read. While this is not an easy book to read, the characters, location and plot all come together to make it a very special noir crime fiction/spy thriller book to read.

***

About the Author

Tom Vater is an Asia-based writer.

He has published some 20 books – four novels, nonfiction, illustrated books and guidebooks, all on Asian subjects.

Tom has written four crime fiction novels. The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu – the third English language edition out with Next Chapter out now – is a travel thriller set on the 70s hippie trail between London and Kathmandu. A Spanish translation is out with ExploraEditorial.

The Detective Maier trilogy – The Cambodian Book of the Dead, The Man with the Golden Mind and the The Monsoon Ghost Image, a Southeast Asia series of novels follows the exploits of a former conflict journalist turned private eye.

Tom has written for The Guardian, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, the Nikkei Asian Review and many other publications. He co-authored Sacred Skin – Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos (2011), a notable bestseller. He is also co-author of several documentary screenplays, including The Most Secret Place on Earth (2008), a feature on the CIA’s covert war in Laos in the 60s and 70s.

Social Media Links

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The List by Michael Leese

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Books ‘n’ All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE LIST (Martha Munro Crime Mystery Book #1) by Michael Leese.

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

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Book Blurb

It was just an ordinary Wednesday lunchtime when Detective Martha Munro’s life changed forever.

Her sergeant is speaking, but she barely hears what he’s telling her.

Your mother has been shot dead. Your four-year-old daughter has been taken.

There are no leads. Who would want to hurt her family?

Martha realizes it’s time to ask herself some hard questions about her late father.

He led the anti-corruption squad at Scotland Yard. It’s rumoured he kept a list of everyone who worked for him, from coppers to criminals. And just being on that list was a sure-fire way to lower your life expectancy.

Her mother was killed by someone trying to get their hands on that list. Now time is running out for Martha to get her daughter back alive.

Martha is the kind of cop who always goes by the book. But family is EVERYTHING. And she will do ANYTHING to keep them safe. 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59920624-the-list?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=dFG7fb31ts&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE LIST (Martha Munroe Crime Mystery Book #1) by Michael Leese is the first book in a new British crime mystery series and it is constructed like no other I have read before. I was immediately intrigued and could not put it down.

Detective Martha Munroe is informed by her sergeant that her mother has been shot dead and her four-year-old daughter kidnapped.

With the help of longtime friend of the family, Harry the Hat, Martha begins to learn more about her late father who led the anti-corruption unit at The Met and is somehow tied to the forces working to destroy her. A powerful enemy believes Martha has the list belonging to her father that names all the criminals who were working as snitches for him and all the corrupt police on the force and he is willing to do anything to get it for himself.

When Martha and Harry find the list, they must work to decode it to find out who Martha can really trust and who is trying to make sure she ends up dead.

I enjoyed the unique way this story unfolded. Who would put their detective protagonist in such a position in the first book of a series? Well, Mr. Leese did, and I found it kept me turning the pages. Martha and Harry are wonderful characters that are very likeable and fully fleshed. The other characters always had me guessing whether they were good, bad, or varying shades of gray. The plot is full of twists and surprises with an ending that leaves the door open for more. I am looking forward to following Martha in future books in this series.

I recommend this start to a new British crime mystery series!

***

About the Author

Before taking up writing, Michael Leese was a national newspaper journalist for over 25 years, with the last part of his career working for the London Evening Standard. The most memorable stories he covered ranged from Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the death of Princess Diana, the 9/11 attacks and the two Gulf wars.

In the latter part of his career, Mike was a news editor. In this role he gained insights into many specialties from crime and court reporting, to political and science news and the behind the scenes working of government, the City and other institutions. Mike’s passion for news and current affairs remains very strong and influences the writing of his books.

Social Media Links

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
GOODREADS

BOOKS BY MICHAEL LEESE

DETECTIVES ROPER AND HOOLEY MYSTERIES:

  • THE CASE OF THE HEADLESS BILLIONAIRE
  • THE CASE OF THE MISSING FACES
  • THE CASE OF THE DIRTY BOMB
  • THE CASE OF THE EXPLODING SHOP
  • THE CASE OF THE KILLER GAMESHOW

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: A Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney

Book Description

In Chapter and Curse, Molly Kimball is used to cracking open books . . .but when a poetry reading ends in murder, she must use her skills to crack the case.

Librarian Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina, need a change. So when a letter arrives from Nina’s Aunt Violet in Cambridge, England requesting their help running the family bookshop, they jump at the chance.

Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios, is one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, and—unfortunately—customers can tell. When Molly and Nina arrive, spring has come to Cambridge and the famed Cambridge Literary Festival is underway. Determined to bring much-needed revenue to the bookstore, Molly invites Aunt Violet’s college classmate and famed poet Persephone Brightwell to hold a poetry reading in the shop. But the event ends in disaster when a guest is found dead—with Molly’s great-aunt’s knitting needle used as the murder weapon. While trying to clear Violet and keep the struggling shop afloat, Molly sifts through secrets past and present, untangling a web of blackmail, deceit, and murder.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney brings to life a fabulous cozy mystery. This first of the series has a community readers will care about, detailed descriptions of the town, and an engaging mystery with blackmail, deceit, and murder.  Beyond that the author chose the historic town of Cambridge England set in a 400-year-old bookshop. 

After the death of her father Molly Kimball realizes her mother Nina needs a change of scenery. When a letter arrives from an aunt who lives in Cambridge requesting their help in running the family bookshop Nina and Molly decide to travel to Britain.  Since Molly is a librarian, she comes up with ideas on how to bring in revenue to the bookstore, “Thomas Marlow-Manuscripts and Folios.” She invites her Aunt Violet’s college classmate, famed poet Persephone Brightwell to hold a reading in the shop.  Unfortunately, at the end of the event another of Violet’s college roommates, Myrtle Marsh, is found dead, killed with her aunt’s knitting needle.

Molly and some new friends try to prove Aunt Violet’s innocence since she is considered a person of interest.  Besides Molly and Nina, there is Sir John, a former lawyer and spy, George, landlord, and handyman, Daisy, a coffeeshop owner, and Kiernan, a bicycle shop owner who Molly begins dating. 

This cozy mystery has a captivating setting, engaging characters, buried secrets, and a suspenseful mystery with many people of interest and twists and turns.

***

Elise’s Author Interview

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

Elizabeth Penney:  My mother is from England and went to nursing school there.  I lived there when I was little. Just like the main character’s mom, my mother married an American and left.  Because I have relatives who live there, I set it in Cambridge England in a bookstore of an old Tudor building of the 1600s.

EC:  Why a bookstore in Cambridge?

EP:  It has several bookstores and is a city that values them.  I made sure to have the store sell antique books because the city has a lot of literary history. In the story I wrote about the “OZ” books.  To be realistic I looked up what a first edition would be worth.

EC:  You added flavor to the story by explaining the “English language.”

EP: Words in England have different meanings than in the US.  Words such as crumpet which we call an English Muffin, fit which we refer to as attractive, skip is not a movement in England but means alley, and their 999 is our 911.  My main character Molly is American, and she comes across some of these terms.  It was how she was introduced to the English culture.

EC:  You also explain the English culture?

EP:  I spoke with online groups who live in England.  This is why I put in the book how the English drink coffee.  A lot of tea shops now sell coffee.

EC:  How would you describe Molly?

EP:  Inquisitive, outgoing, and sociable.  She is also enthusiastic, smart, kind, and a people person who loves cats. Her profession is a librarian, which helps with her sleuth work.  Both use research skills. 

EC: How would you describe Kiernan?

EP:  He will eventually be Molly’s love interest.  He is from nobility but wants to be just a regular guy.  He is very independent, warm, friendly, and supportive. 

EC:  Most of the time victims are sympathetic but not this one?

EP:  She is manipulative, devious, sly, sneaky, and is blackmailing people. 

EC:  What role does the journal play?

EP:  I joined this Cambridge group to get a feel for the culture.  The journal allows me to have a past thread and to give readers a feel of what happened in the past.

EC: Next book?

EP:  It is titled Treacherous Tale and will be out next September.  In it Molly will visit Kiernan’s family in their manor.  Instead of a journal there will be a children’s book called Strawberry Girls, which I made up.  A mother wrote it for her daughters who are now young adults.  It is a fairy tale and gives clues to what happened in the story. The mystery involves a man falling off the roof of their cottage and dies. 

THANK YOU!!

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.

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Christmas on the Island by Stewart Giles

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on this Books ‘n’ All Promotions blog tour. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for CHRISTMAS ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #6) by Stewart Giles.

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

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Book Description

CHRISTMAS:
The silly season.
Or, the suicide season?

A string of suicides on the island arouses Detective Liam O’Reilly’s suspicions. He understands that the suicide rate tends to increase during the festive season, but the ways in which these people have chosen to end their lives doesn’t feel right.

As O’Reilly and his team dig deeper they soon learn there is much more to these apparent suicides than they initially thought and O’Reilly realises there is a seriously damaged mind on the loose.

Dubbed the suicide killer by the press, this madman will stop at nothing to get his depraved message across and O’Reilly is the only one who can put an end to his killing spree.

This festive season is one the Irish detective will never forget.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59522924-christmas-on-the-island?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7VgWMg8cL6&rank=1

BOOKS BY STEWART GILES

DS JASON SMITH SERIES
Book 0.5-Phobia
Book 1-Smith
Book 2-Boomerang
Book 3-Ladybird
Book 4-Occam’s Razor
Book 5-Harlequin
Book 6-Selene
Book 7-Horsemen
Book 8-Unworthy
Book 9 – Venom
Book 10 – Severed
Book 11 – Demons
Book 12 – Deadeye
Book 13 – Motive
Book 14 – Australia
Book 15 – Wishbone

DI O’REILLY MYSTERIES
Book 1 – Blood on the Island
Book 2 – Lies on the Island
Book 3 – Fear on the Island
Book 4 – Malice on the Island
Book 5 – Revenge on the Island
Book 6 – Christmas on the Island

DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
Book 1-The Beekeeper
Book 2-The Perfect Murder
Book 3-The Backpacker
Trotterdown a box set of DC Harriet Taylor books 1-3

DS JASON SMITH &DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
Book 1 – The Enigma
Book 2 – Dropzone
Book 3 – The Raven Girl
Trilogy: The DS Smith & Harriet Taylor box set

THE MIRANDA TRILOGY (psychological thrillers)
Miranda
Mistress
Medusa

STANDALONE HORROR
The Divide

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

CHRISTMAS ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #6) by Stewart Giles is another exciting police procedural/crime mystery featuring the crusty DI Liam O’Reilly on the Channel Island of Guernsey set during the Christmas holiday. The crime mystery in each book is unique, but these books are best read in order due to the ever-evolving main characters.

A string of suicides occur on the island right before Christmas, but when O’Reilly arrives on each scene there is something that just feels off. As O’Reilly and his team investigate, the coroner and Crime scene techs make it clear that they are looking for a killer.

Dubbed the suicide killer by the island press, O’Reilly searches for a connection between the victims which does not appear to exist until a young journalist and his twin sister seem like the perfect suspects. 

Will O’Reilly and his team be able to stop the killer or killers before Christmas day?

I love the O’Reilly mysteries series! O’Reilly is a determined DI who will investigate every little piece of evidence until they all click together in his mind to solve the case. Having read all the books in this series, O’Reilly, his team at the police station, his daughter and his girlfriend have all become friends I look forward to revisiting in each book. The crime mystery plots are always intriguing with lots of red herrings and plot twists that always lead me to false conclusions. Mr. Giles is very good at twisting a mystery plot to completely change the outcome while still being believable.

I highly recommend this addition to the series!

***

Author Bio

After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.

In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.

3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.

The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.

I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results.  I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.

After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.

The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.

The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow with book 16 recently published. The first 5 books in the Detective Liam O’Reilly series are now available.

Social Media Links

Website: www.stewartgiles.com

Twitter: @stewartgiles

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stewart.giles.33

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Dead Cry Justice by Rosemary Simpson

Book Description

Heiress-turned-sleuth Prudence MacKenzie and ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter step out of the elite society of Gilded Age New York as they venture into the city’s crime ridden streets and most dangerous neighborhoods to search for two missing children . . .

THE DEAD CRY JUSTICE

May 1890: As NYU Law School finally agrees to admit female law students, Judge MacKenzie’s daughter Prudence weighs her choices carefully. Chief among her concerns is how her decision would affect the Hunter and MacKenzie Investigative Law agency and her professional and personal relationship with the partner who is currently recuperating from a near fatal shooting.

But an even more pressing issue presents itself in the form of a street urchin, whose act of petty theft inadvertently leads Prudence to a badly beaten girl he is protecting. Fearing for the girl’s life, Prudence rushes her to the Friends Refuge for the Sick Poor, run by the compassionate Charity Sloan. When the boy and girl slip out of their care and run away, Prudence suspects they are fleeing a dangerous predator and is desperate to find them.

Aided by the photographer and social reformer Jacob Riis and the famous journalist Nellie Bly, Prudence and Geoffrey scour the tenements and brothels of Five Points. Their only clue is a mysterious doll with an odd resemblance to the missing girl. But as the destitute orphans they encounter whisper the nickname of the killer who stalks them—Il diavolo—Prudence and Geoffrey must race against time to find the missing children before their merciless enemies do.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

The Dead Cry Justice by Rosemary Simpson always involves a mystery, returning characters, and a social issue during the Gilded Age.  This historical novel delves into a very tough and disturbing topic.  But Simpson is such a gifted author and writes in a manner that does not go over the top. She realizes a line should not be crossed, leaving the subject matter up to the reader’s imagination.

The story opens with the main character, Prudence MacKenzie, heiress turned sleuth with her partner, Geoffrey Hunter, contemplating if she should accept the offer to attend NYU’s law school.  It is now 1890 and women are making strides, but she is not sure how she will be accepted among the students and professors.

While weighing her decision a street urchin steals her sandwich.  A chase ensues leading her to a badly beaten girl. The girl’s eyelashes and eyebrows have been replaced with tattoos, her skin is bleached artificially white, and she has been repeatedly raped. A Quaker refuge for the poor agrees to care for the boy and girl, both to traumatized to speak. Somehow, they slip out.  Prudence, with the help of Geoffrey and some other contacts, are determined to find the children.  They visit orphanages, brothels, a photographer, newspaper journalist, and a house of dolls.  Their only clue is a mysterious porcelain doll that oddly resembles the missing girl.  To their shock, they discover other young girls in the same situation. They now have a race against time to find the children and the perpetrators before it is too late.

This is an important issue to bring front and center since sex trafficking is still present today with very little coverage or outcry as it was in the 1890s. Readers will understand how Simpson brings to life the Gilded Age in New York City through detailed descriptions, real-life people such as Jay Gould, Jacob Riis, and Nellie Bly, and a riveting mystery.

***

Elise’s Author Interview

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

Rosemary Simpson:  Each one of my Gilded Age Mystery books has a social setting, murder, and the two main characters.  In this book it was the social exploitation of girls and women. It was a topic that needed to be addressed.  The deeper I got into my research I realized there are a lot of parallels of what is happening now.  At the time of my research Jeffrey Epstein was in all the papers.

EC:  What about the abuse?

RS:  It was horrific back then. The girls felt homeless.  It was emotional and physical.  The girls were bleached, tattooed, made to take arsenic and lead, starved, drugged, and beaten. Parts of this are true today. There was a great deal of abuse.  Usually, it was the women themselves who were blamed for the sexual exploitation.  The clients were rarely blamed.  I kept looking and looking for major outcries against this. No one wanted to admit that this horrible issue could exist. I wanted it to be believable and to be realistic in the historical context.

EC:  Lead and arsenic taken?

RS:  Yes.  It was done for hundreds of years to whiten the skin. It was a lead paste.  It also did damage to the brain and other parts of the body.  The arsenic was a very small amount used in cremes.

EC:  Another relevant issue today is your quote about criminals?

RS:  You are referring to this one, “Criminals arrested should be detained, but walked free.” This book takes place before Theodore Roosevelt became the police commissioner.  Before him, the NYC police department was tremendously corrupt.  Until Roosevelt came along there were not many who wanted to clean up the corruptness.  People could pay to walk away after they committed a crime.  What is happening today, with criminals getting out, is a replay of what has already happened, many and many times.

EC:  Some of this story reminded me of the movie, “Oliver?”

RS:  There were a lot of orphanages in NYC.  They meant well and many were reformers. There was something associated with being an orphan as if it were the child’s fault.  In the absence of stern parental control there was organized institutional control.  Children were not assumed to be innocent, but the thought pattern was they tried to get away with everything unless there was a tight hold on them. A lot of the orphanages existed because of the donations.  They were very grim. As soon as the orphans got to be a certain age, they were shown the door.

EC:  Role of the dolls?

RS:  Young women were being traumatized and deprived of their basic humanity. They were turned into objects. The porcelain hand-painted bisque dolls are now antiques and even back then were very valuable. The best ones did come from France. They were so beautiful they were collector’s items and usually were not played with. When I was a child, about five, I got a gorgeous doll from my French aunt.  It was in a huge red and gold box, wrapped in huge red ribbon.  I was afraid to take it out of the box for fear I might drop it. After my aunt left, I took it out of the box.  It was gorgeous.

EC:  Did the All-American Doll Shop influence you?

RS:  I bought some of these dolls.  But the idea was to make the dolls lifelike.  But I was reversing it. I was making the real girls look doll-like.  I only remembered these dolls during the rewrites.  In my story it was a way of depriving the exploited girls to be human. Just as today, with sex trafficking, these girls are treated as objects.

EC:  Were women really admitted to law schools during the 1890s?

RS:  Most of the women were working in a husband’s law firm or writing wills/trusts.  They were not arguing in full court before a jury.  My character Prudence wants to defend someone in a court. Society is beginning to open up to achieve some sort of equality.

EC: How would you describe the young brother Zander who tried to save his sister from exploitation?

RS:  An Oliver Twist kind of character:  Resilient, crafty, quick on his feet, smart, does not give up, and very loveable.  He bonded with his dog Blossom.  An unquestioning love and loyalty.  He is also protective, caring, and kind.  He realizes to save his sister he has to manipulate society.

EC:  Next book?

RS:  It will be out this time next year and is titled, Death at The Falls.  It takes place at Niagara Falls. Prudence has passed the bar, but no one will hire her.  She and her partner Geoffrey go to Niagara Falls to help her aunt’s friend who is accused of murder. The social aspect is the push pull between private exploitation of the Falls and the public effort to preserve the natural beauty of the falls.

THANK YOU!!

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.