The Carnation Murder — Tam May

Can a forward-thinking woman help the police solve a murder in a backward-thinking town?California, 1903: Smart, inquisitive, and a firm believer in the new progressive reforms, Adele Gossling seeks a new life after the devastating death of her father. She flees San Francisco for the small town of Arrojo, planning a life of peace and small pleasures with nothing more exciting than selling fountain pens to the locals in her stationery shop and partaking in the town's favorite pastime: gossip.Peace is exactly what she doesn't get when she discovers her neighbor's dead body in her gazebo. The police think they have a firm suspect: the young man who was secretly engaged to the victim. But Adele and her clairvoyant new friend Nin Branch are sure he's innocent. Despite the raised eyebrows from Arrojo's Victorian-minded citizens, they set out to prove the young man didn't do it. But if he didn't, who did?Can Adele and Nin solve this puzzling case involving a striped carnation, a diamond ring, a note, a muddy pair of boots, and a broken promise?If you love smart, intricate whodunits in the spirit of Agatha Christie, Anna Katharine Green, and Dorothy L. Sayers, you'll love this series featuring a sassy woman sleuthing her way through one of America's most explosive eras.Pick up your copy of The Carnation Murder for a fun, absorbing mystery set in Northern California at the turn of the 20th century.What reviewers are saying:Really well paced and researched appropriately for the era.The story comes alive.Great new series, the time period details are interesting and the mystery intriguing.~~~Don't forget to check out the other books in the Adele Gossling Mysteries!