The Carnation Murder — Tam May

Can a forward-thinking woman help the police solve a murder in a backward-thinking town?Smart inquisitive, and a firm believer in the new progressive reforms, Adele Gossling seeks a new life after the devastating death of her father. So she flees the big city of San Francisco for the small town of Arrojo. She plans a life of peace and small pleasures running her own stationery shop and living in her own house.But peace is exactly what she doesn't get when she discovers her neighbor dead 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 suspect the young man is innocent. In spite of the raised eyebrows from Arrojo's Victorian-minded citizens, she and Nin set out to prove Richard Tanning 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? Or will Richard hang for a crime he didn't commit and the real killer go free?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 early reviewers are saying:Really well paced and researched appropriately for the era.The story comes alive.~~~Don't forget to check out the other books in the Adele Gossling Mysteries!