Still Life With Murder — P.B. Ryan

Boston, 1868: The wealthy are enjoying the height of the Gilded Age, a time of opulence for many -- but not all. Nell Sweeney, a young Irish immigrant, knows what it is to have nothing. But when she earns a coveted position as governess to the wealthy Hewitts, Nell discovers that deadly secrets often lurk beneath society's gilded surface.

The two eldest Hewitt boys were thought to have been killed in the Civil War some three years ago. But one winter's day, the family hears word that their William is, in fact, still alive -- and in jail for having killed a man...

Enraged at his son's deception--and convinced of his guilt--August Hewitt is determined to see William hang and thus forbids his wife from aiding Will in any way. But Viola Hewitt believes her son is innocent and begs Nell to help her exonerate him. With few leads and even less time, Nell must rely on her wits and her knowledge of the city's dark underbelly to uncover the truth--before the hangman's noose tightens around William Hewitt's throat...