Murder Will Speak — Penny Richards

In 1880s Chicago, Shakespearean actress turned Pinkerton detective Lilly Long must play the part of a soiled dove to find a missing friend...

As one of a handful of female operatives employed by legendary crime fighter Allan Pinkerton, Lilly draws on her theatrical training to go undercover in situations inaccessible to male detectives -- much to the discomfort of her partner, Cade McShane. Their latest case takes them to the rough and rowdy bordellos that line Hell's Half Acre in Fort Worth, Texas -- truly the Wild West.

This time the case is deeply personal. Lilly's friend, Nora Nash, who traveled to Fort Worth as a
mail-order bride, has instead been forced into prostitution. After a desperate call for help, Nora has gone missing. To find her, Lilly must revamp herself as a vamp and expose a seamy underworld of unspeakable secrets where anything goes. But she and Cade soon discover firsthand that lives are cheap in Hell's Half Acre -- including their own...