Download or read book The Combat Zone written by Jan Brogan and published by UMass + ORM. This book was released on 2021-09-24 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of a Harvard student’s murder in 1970s Boston amid racial strife and rampant corruption, told with “careful reporting and historical context” (Providence Journal). Shortlisted for the 2021 Agatha Award for Best Non-Fiction and the 2022 Anthony Award for Best Critical or Nonfiction Work At the end of the 1976 football season, more than forty Harvard athletes went to Boston’s Combat Zone to celebrate. In the city’s adult entertainment district, drugs and prostitution ran rampant, violent crime was commonplace, and corrupt police turned the other way. At the end of the night, Italian American star athlete Andy Puopolo, raised in the city’s North End, was murdered in a stabbing. Three African American men were accused of the crime. The murder made national news, and led to the eventual demise of the city’s red-light district. Starting with this brutal murder, The Combat Zone tells the story of the Puopolo family’s struggle with both a devastating loss and a criminal justice system that produced two trials with opposing verdicts, all within the context of a racially divided Boston. Brogan traces the contentious relationship between Boston’s segregated neighborhoods during the busing crisis; shines a light on a court system that allowed lawyers to strike potential jurors based purely on their racial or ethnic identity; and lays bare the deep-seated corruption within the police department and throughout the Combat Zone. What emerges is a fascinating snapshot of the city at a transitional moment in its recent past. “The grim history of racism in Boston, the crime and corruption of the Combat Zone, and the legal permutations of the case take up the bulk of the book. But its heart lies in a character who wasn’t even in the Combat Zone that fateful night—the victim’s brother, Danny Puopolo.” —Providence Journal Includes photographs

Download or read book Murder in the North End written by P B Ryan and published by . This book was released on 2014-06-28 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It's always a good day when a new Nell Sweeney book arrives." -CA Reviews July 1870: Nell Sweeney's position as governess for the venerable Hewitts of Boston affords her a unique perspective in an era of sharp class distinctions. Neither servant nor gentlewoman, she can fit in among the denizens of a waterfront tenement or the bluebloods of Colonnade Row. But there are many of the latter who regard her as just another good-for-nothing Irisher. Nell is shocked to learn that her friend Detective Colin Cook is a fugitive from justice, having reputedly killed a petty criminal in a North End concert saloon called Nabby's Inferno, after which he fled the scene of the crime. Cook's nemesis on the force, the loathsome Constable Skinner, thinks Nell knows where the Irish detective is hiding. She doesn't, nor does she believe that Cook is capable of murder. To gather evidence in Cook's favor, Nell must venture into the most depraved and crime-ridden neighborhood in the North End. William Hewitt, back home from his sojourn in Shanghai, isn't about to let her undertake such a dangerous investigation on her own. Posing as husband and wife, they infiltrate the so-called "Murder District," but the more they find out, the more hopeless it looks for Cook. Originally published by Berkley Prime Crime. 60K words. "This is the latest in a unique and enjoyable series. The necessary background is easily dispensed with, making it easy for newcomer and longtime reader alike. The author uses the historical period to great advantage, depicting the class separations and prejudices that existed at the time without romanticizing them. Nell and Will are both fascinating characters. From wholly disparate backgrounds, they should have no common ground. But they each have past pains and secrets that allow them to understand each other. They make a great sleuthing team, as well. It's always a good day when a new Nell Sweeney book arrives." -CA Reviews "Plucky Nell and her helpmate Will are well developed characters who are likeable and smart. The cast of supporting characters in this book is colorful and well drawn, making the book an easy read. All of the books in this series are enjoyable; Murder in the North End is no exception.... I eagerly await the next Gilded Age mystery." -Cozy Library "Murder in the North End is a light read that you can cozy up to on a cold winter night in your easy chair by the fire..." -MyShelf.com

Download or read book Murder by the Book written by Frances Lockridge and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While vacationing in Florida, Mr. and Mrs. North investigate a doctor’s murder It’s morning in Key West, and Pamela North has gone fishing for pelicans. Her husband, Jerry, insists it’s impossible to go fishing for birds, but when he finds her later on, she’s surrounded by pelicans on all sides. He shouldn’t be surprised; Pamela has made a career out of doing the impossible—and she’s not finished yet. A blizzard is battering New York City, but the Norths have come south for sun and sand and a spot of tennis in old Key West. Murder wasn’t on their agenda, but Pamela has a way of finding it wherever she goes. She’s just gone out for another morning of luring pelicans when she finds a local physician at the end of the pier, a bullet in his chest and his blood all over the dock. The birds will have to wait; the Norths are about to go fishing for a killer. Murder by the Book is the 26th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Download or read book Murder in a Mill Town written by P B Ryan and published by Hawkley Books. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Nell is one of the strongest, most honorable, and dearest heroines to grace the pages of an amateur sleuth novel.... P.B. Ryan knows how to write a tale that will grip and keep readers' interest throughout the novel." -Midwest Book Reviews Nell Sweeney, a young Irish-born governess in post-Civil War Boston, may not have much, but she does possess both a keen mind and a brave heart. As governess to the wealthy Hewitt family, she finds plenty of opportunities to use both-especially when the seamy side of society shows itself... The lowborn Fallons come to Viola Hewitt with a desperate plea for help. Their wayward daughter, Bridget, a pretty young employee of Hewitt Mills and Dye Works, hasn't been seen for days. Mrs. Fallon, unwilling to believe that Bridget would just run off without a word, fears that she's come to a bad end-possibly at the hands of her ex-con lover. Viola, confined to a wheelchair, enlists Nell to locate the missing mill girl. Working with Viola's black sheep son, Will, Nell uncovers a web of schemes and greed and dark obsession... and what she knows may just be the death of her. Originally published by Berkley Prime Crime, Murder in a Mill Town was nominated for the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award. 68K words. "Ryan creates characters you care about and a plot that holds your interest as you try to unmask the killer. Lively and intriguing, this is a fast-paced, wonderful read. -RT BookReviews "I love this series. After finishing the book, I had to go back and re-read scenes and I even pulled out the first book to re-read much of Nell and Will's many conversations again." -Babbling Book Reviews "The saga style of Catherine Cookson meets the 'Victorian vices' world of Anne Perry in this popular whodunit. Much thought and research has gone into making the two faces of mid-19th century Boston come to life, whether the gilded world of the Hewitts or the grubby back streets of the underworld." -MyShelf.com "Ms. Ryan excels in her ability to show her characters' complexities. Most are neither good nor bad, but living lives enmeshed with many shades of gray. Add the rich historical detail and readers have an excellent historical mystery with an intriguing heroine." -The Best Reviews "Nell is an interesting and unique character....The mystery itself is done quite well, with clues pointing to various suspects, and an unexpected resolution....I hope to see much more of Nell in future books." -The Romance Reader's Connection "1868 Boston is well portrayed in this series...an enjoyable story...There is no trace of Colonnade Row in what is now Boston's downtown shopping area, and Charlestown is but a shell of the prosperous city that existed there in the nineteenth century, but this book brings them back into existence. -Reviewing the Evidence

Download or read book Say Nothing written by Patrick Radden Keefe and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SOON TO BE AN FX LIMITED SERIES STREAMING ON HULU • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. One of The New York Times’s 20 Best Books of the 21st Century "Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." —New York Times Book Review "Reads like a novel ... Keefe is ... a master of narrative nonfiction. . .An incredible story."—Rolling Stone A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, and more! Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes. Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders. From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past--Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.

Download or read book Darker than Night written by Tom Henderson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-10-03 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A chilling account of the murders of two hunters in rural Michigan—a mystery that haunted a community and baffled the police for two decades. In the bitter cold of 1985, two buddies from Detroit embark on a hunting trip to the Michigan wilderness, unaware they will soon become the hunted. The eerie silence surrounding their sudden disappearance is broken after nearly two decades when a relentless investigator inspires a terrified witness to break her silence. The witness narrates a haunting scene that had unfolded years back, pointing fingers at the prime suspects—the Duvall brothers. With no bodies unearthed, the justice system is riveted by the startling revelations during an electrifying trial in 2003. The brothers, Raymond and Donald Duvall, had bragged about the murders, evocatively explaining how they dismembered their victims and fed them to pigs. Despite the shocking confession, the case holds its ground purely on a single witness’s account, taking the courtroom through a labyrinth of dark secrets and sinister acts. This gripping thriller presents a vivid tale of crime that reveals the devastating power of evil.

Download or read book Yellow Bird written by Sierra Crane Murdoch and published by Random House. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • The gripping true story of a murder on an Indian reservation, and the unforgettable Arikara woman who becomes obsessed with solving it—an urgent work of literary journalism. “I don’t know a more complicated, original protagonist in literature than Lissa Yellow Bird, or a more dogged reporter in American journalism than Sierra Crane Murdoch.”—William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Barbarian Days In development as a Paramount+ original series WINNER OF THE OREGON BOOK AWARD • NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR® AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Publishers Weekly When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher “KC” Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and few people were actively looking for him. Yellow Bird traces Lissa’s steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke’s disappearance. She navigates two worlds—that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oilmen, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit of Clarke is also a pursuit of redemption, as Lissa atones for her own crimes and reckons with generations of trauma. Yellow Bird is an exquisitely written, masterfully reported story about a search for justice and a remarkable portrait of a complex woman who is smart, funny, eloquent, compassionate, and—when it serves her cause—manipulative. Drawing on eight years of immersive investigation, Sierra Crane Murdoch has produced a profound examination of the legacy of systematic violence inflicted on a tribal nation and a tale of extraordinary healing.

Download or read book All American Murder written by James Patterson and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2018-01-22 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the shocking #1 New York Times bestseller: the true story of a young NFL player's first-degree murder conviction and untimely death -- and his journey from the Patriots to prison. Aaron Hernandez was a college All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. His every move as a tight end with the New England Patriots played out the headlines, yet he led a secret life -- one that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong, so fast? Between the summers of 2012 and 2013, not long after Hernandez made his first Pro Bowl, he was linked to a series of violent incidents culminating in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player who dated the sister of Hernandez's fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins. All-American Murder is the first book to investigate Aaron Hernandez's first-degree murder conviction and the mystery of his own shocking and untimely death.

Download or read book Still Life with Murder written by Patricia Burford Ryan and published by . This book was released on 2014-06-24 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What a thoroughly charming book! A beautiful combination of entertaining characters, minute historical research, and a powerful evocation of time and place." -NYT bestselling author Barbara Hambly Boston, 1868: The dawn of the Gilded Age, an era of burgeoning commerce and invention, of unimaginable new fortunes and lavish excess-for some. Born into poverty, young Nell Sweeney scratches by on her wits and little else until fortune blesses her with a position as nursery governess to the fabulously wealthy Hewitts. But she soon learns that ugly secrets lurk beneath the surface of their gold-plated world. The Hewitts' eldest son, William, a former Union Army battle surgeon and the black sheep of the family, was reported to have died years before in a notorious Confederate prison. But one snowy February afternoon, his parents learn that he is, in fact, still alive-and in jail for having murdered a man while on opium. Infuriated by his son's deception and convinced of his guilt, August Hewitt forbids his wife from coming to Will's aid, so she begs Nell to help exonerate him. Nell finds that she must delve into the kind of dark and treacherous underworld she thought she'd left far behind if she is to unearth the truth before the hangman's noose tightens around William Hewitt's throat. Still Life with Murder is a #1 national bestseller originally published by Berkley Prime Crime. 91K words. "P.B. Ryan makes a stunning debut with Still Life with Murder, bringing Nineteenth Century Boston alive, from its teeming slums to the mansions on Boston Common, and populating it with a vivid and memorable cast of characters... I couldn't put the book down... I can't wait for the next installment." -Bestselling author Victoria Thompson "P.B. Ryan captures an authentic flavor of post-Civil War Boston... The atmosphere is that of The Alienist, but feisty Irish nursemaid Nell Sweeney is a more likable protagonist. I look forward to seeing her in action again." -New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen "Still Life with Murder is a skillfully written story of intrigue and murder set during Boston's famous Gilded Age. Nell Sweeney is a winning heroine gifted with common sense, grit, and an underlying poignancy. With its rich sense of place and time and a crisp, intelligent plot, readers will speed through this tale and be clamoring for more." -Bestselling author Earlene Fowler"Utterly absorbing. Vividly alive characters in a setting so clearly portrayed that one could step right into it. A very clever plot in which each clue is clearly offered and yet the identity of the murderer is a complete surprise." -Bestselling author Roberta Gellis"If you like fast moving, accurately drawn, historical mysteries, you won't go wrong by trying Still Life with Murder." -Reviewing the Evidence"This debut mystery is a winner, with a feisty heroine, a colorful historical backdrop and a strong mystery rife with complexities. An ideal blend of history and mystery." -RT BookReviews"Still Life with Murder is sheer perfection... gripping... powerful... unforgettable... You'll know you've read one hell of a story after you turn the last page!" -Reader to Reader Reviews

Download or read book Cold North Killers written by Lee Mellor and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2012-03-03 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Canada is seen as a peaceful place, but this wake-up call shows us that there have been more than 60 serial killers in our history. Limited time offer. There are more than 60 serial murderers in Canadian history. For too long awareness of serial murder in Canada has been confined toWest Coastbutcher Clifford Olson and the "Schoolgirl Murderers" Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, along with the horrific acts of pig farmer Robert Pickton. Unlike our American neighbours, Canada has been viewed as a nation untouched by the shadow of multiple murder. Then came Colonel Russell Williams and his bizarre homicides and serial home invasions, which were sensational news worldwide on the Internet and television and in scores of newspapers and magazines. The reason for Canada’s serial killer blackout is clear: until now such information has never been compiled and presented in a single concise work. ColdNorth Killers is a wake-up call. This detailed and haunting account of Canada’s worst monsters analyzes their crimes, childhoods, and inevitable downfalls. It is an indispensablecompendium for any true crime lover, criminologist, or law-enforcement officer.

Download or read book The Break written by Katherena Vermette and published by Univ. of Queensland Press. This book was released on 2024-01-30 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International bestseller The Break is the first in Katherena Vermette's heart-rending, utterly immersive Indigenous family saga that includes The Strangers and The Circle. When Stella, a young Mé tis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime. But when they arrive, no one is there; scuff marks in the compacted snow are the only sign anything may have happened. In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Mé tis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg' s North End is exposed.

Download or read book The Forest City Killer written by Vanessa Brown and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2019-10-04 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dig deep into the unsolved murder of Jackie English and join the hunt for a serial killer Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster — or monsters — stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn’t stop searching until his death 40 years later. For decades, detectives, actual and armchair, and the victims’ families and friends continued to ask questions: Who was the Forest City Killer? Was there more than one person, or did a depraved individual commit all of these crimes on his own? Combing through the files Detective Alsop left behind, researcher Vanessa Brown reopens the cases, revealing previously unpublished witness statements, details of evidence, and astonishing revelations. And through her investigation, Vanessa posits the unthinkable: is it possible that the Forest City Killer is still alive and, like the notorious Golden State Killer, a simple DNA test could bring him to justice?

Download or read book The Shadows written by Alex North and published by Celadon Books. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is absorbing, headlong reading, a play on classic horror with an inventiveness of its own... As with all the best illusions, you are left feeling not tricked, but full of wonder." – The New York Times The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat. Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and suffering from dementia, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home. It's not long before things start to go wrong. Paul learns that Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago. It wasn't just the murder. It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...

Download or read book Murder on Black Friday written by P B Ryan and published by . This book was released on 2014-06-25 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A mesmerizing mystery. Not only does Ryan provide readers with a tightly wound, suspenseful novel peopled with multidimensional characters, she writes about an era whose problems mirror our own. This is a historical period she knows and brings to life so clearly that readers are totally immersed. Nell is an ideal heroine: smart, intrepid and human. Be on the lookout for her return." -RT BookReviews On Sept. 24, 1869, the gold market crumbles, and fortunes are lost in a matter of minutes. When two of Boston's most prominent men are found dead on Wall Street's first "Black Friday," it's widely assumed that they committed suicide over their financial losses. But upon examining the bodies, forensic scientist Dr. William Hewitt concludes that one of the men was most likely murdered. Will wants to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspicious death, but to do so, he needs to navigate the upper echelons of Boston society, which are foreign to him. He enlists the aid of Nell Sweeney, the Irish-born governess employed by his estranged parents. Not only is Nell acquainted with many of the city's most prominent citizens, she understands how their wealth and power can be used to keep dark secrets under wraps. As their investigation progresses, Nell and Will discover that the two dead men were linked by something more valuable-and far more treacherous-than gold. Originally published by Berkley Prime Crime. 57K words. "Nell and Will are a confirmed pair of amateur sleuths in this fourth entry in the popular Gilded Age series, and this makes the setting perhaps slightly cozier, but as usual, P B Ryan is spot on with her period detail. This is the best part about the series for me, as these books really do open a window into how both the high and low society of Boston operated. She thankfully doesn't shrink (Anne Perry style) from showing it, warts and all...probably the best entry yet." -MyShelf.com "As always, Nell and Will's predicament tugs at my heart. Loved it!" -Babbling Book Reviews "The author has an amazing grasp of life during this period of history. Each detail is crafted to let the reader feel immersed in the time; from the major historical events, to the minutiae of everyday life. These facts are effortlessly woven into the overall narrative." -The Romance Reader's Connection

Download or read book The Norths Meet Murder written by Frances Lockridge and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sophisticated 1930s Greenwich Village couple finds an inconvenient body in their upstairs bathtub in the first installment of an “excellent series” (The New Yorker). Jerry and Pamela North’s upstairs apartment has been empty as long as they can remember. It’s an ordinary Greenwich Village abode, and the Norths are ordinary Villagers—which means they can’t bear to go more than a few days between cocktail parties. So when Pamela decides to stage a soiree in the empty apartment, Jerry goes along begrudgingly. But what seems inconvenient becomes felonious the moment they find a dead man in the tub. He has been bludgeoned, stripped naked, and left to rot. The party is most certainly off. Which neighbor was rude enough to leave a body in the upstairs tub? Though they should know better, Mr. and Mrs. North can’t resist getting involved. Before they know it, they’re right in the thick of a manhunt, and Greenwich Village will never be the same. The Norths Meet Murder is the 1st book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Download or read book Death on Beacon Hill written by P B Ryan and published by . This book was released on 2014-06-24 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Death on Beacon Hill continues Ms. Ryan's excellent Nell Sweeney series. The rich characterization and her strong evocation of place, coupled with a well-plotted tale, make for a rich story. Add a clever conclusion and Ms. Ryan delivers a fascinating read." -Fresh Fiction Boston, 1869: As governess to the wealthy Hewitts, Irish immigrant Nell Sweeney belongs to no particular caste-hers is halfway between her brethren and the Brahmin. But now, a double murder involves both maid and mistress-and it will take cooperation by rich and poor alike to solve it. All of Boston is talking about the murder of Virginia Kimball. The famous actress, past her prime but still a renowned beauty, was found shot to death in her Beacon Hill townhouse, along with her young Irish-American maid, Fiona Gannon. Evidence suggests the two women traded shots after Virginia came upon Fiona trying to steal her famous diamond necklaces. Devastated by this news, Fiona's uncle, who serves as driver to the wealthy Hewitts, begs Nell to find out what really happened. The Hewitts' estranged son, Will, accompanies Nell as she investigates Virginia's scandalous romantic liaisons. It turns out there are quite a few people who might have wanted her dead, particularly her rich and powerful lovers, whose amorous exploits she recorded in a red leather-bound journal-a journal that has been missing ever since her death. Now, terrified men all over Boston, once blackmailed by the actress, will do whatever it takes to make sure her infamous "Red Book" never sees the light of day. Originally published by Berkley Prime Crime. 64K words. "I decided to start the year off with my favorite mystery series. The mystery itself-what really happened that afternoon at Mrs. Kimball's and who killed her and her maid-kept me guessing....Highly recommend the series." -Babbling Book Reviews "[Nell is] intelligent and has a strong sense of justice....She only takes action after careful consideration, never rushing to throw herself in harm's way....They mystery consists of several layers, and is constructed quite well....It's clear from the beginning that things are not as they seem; this serves to keep the reader interested in ferreting out the clues alongside Nell. I'm looking forward to another installment." -The Romance Reader's Connection

Download or read book Murder on Birchleaf Drive written by Steven B. Epstein and published by . This book was released on 2019-06 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: