The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy

 

First Line: One night in September 2018, I dreamed that I was standing in a courtroom, blinking in the bright lights, with microphones poking up all around me.

In 1972, Martha "Marty" Goddard volunteered at a crisis hotline in Chicago, counseling girls who had been molested by their fathers, their teachers, their uncles. It didn't take long for Marty to want an answer to a very important question: Why were so many sexual predators getting away with these crimes? By the end of the decade, she had launched a campaign pushing hospitals and police departments to collect evidence of sexual assault and to treat survivors with dignity. She designed a new kind of forensics tool-- the rape kit-- and once adopted by the Chicago Police Department, the use of this tool soon spread to New York City and beyond.

But even as Marty fought for women's rights, she allowed a man to take credit for her work, and when journalist Pagan Kennedy went looking for this pioneer, she discovered that even Marty's closest friends had lost track of her. While following clues to find out what happened to Marty, Kennedy also learned more about the problematic history of American forensics.

~

When I read the synopsis of The Secret History of the Rape Kit, I knew I had to read it. Call me more than a little disgruntled when I learn of all the work done by women that men have stolen the credit for.

Martha "Marty" Goddard's work is outstanding because she pushed it through the most corrupt police department in America at the time: the Chicago Police Department. This woman did not like public speaking and often found someone else to do it for her, but when she had to, she would. That is how dedicated she was to her project. It's hard for me to believe that Goddard sank almost without a trace. How can someone do something so important and then disappear? I congratulate Kennedy for bringing Goddard back into the spotlight where she belongs.

The history the author provides is fascinating. I'll share a couple of examples. Would it surprise you to learn that Hugh Hefner and Playboy played a very important part in getting Goddard's rape kits accepted? They did. Would it also surprise you to learn that the infrastructure we use every day is constantly feeding us messages about who is important and who is not? It does. The designer of the bridges and underpasses leading into Long Island purposely had them built with low clearances so buses couldn't get through. You see, he didn't want poor people to have easy access to the area.

Kennedy shows us how the rape kits and forensics have changed over time and shares her own experience of sexual assault. While I didn't really find the author's personal experience all that necessary to the book as a whole, it does shed light on a survivor's thoughts and feelings.

The Secret History of the Rape Kit is a valuable addition to not only the history of forensics but women's history as well.

The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy

eISBN: 9780593314722

Vintage Books © 2025

eBook, 320 pages

Non-Fiction

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Dead Years by Jeffrey B. Burton

 

First Line: It was the same dream.

 

After their parents' deaths in a tragic accident years ago, siblings Cory and Crystal Pratt live in the family home, and their working lives sometimes intertwine. Crystal is a detective in the Chicago Police Department, and Cory has two human remains detection dogs as well as a dog training academy.

 

Both are called in when a string of recent murders seems to be connected to a Netflix documentary, but when the pair begin investigating, the killer focuses on stopping them.  

~

I have enjoyed previous books by Jeffrey B. Burton. He has a knack for creating irreverent, sympathetic characters and pairing them with working dogs-- always a potent combination in my book. Although the same framework is present here, I found The Dead Years to be less satisfying.

The story is told from Cory Pratt's perspective, and I liked this twentysomething's voice. However, I found his angst over the deaths of his parents a bit of a yawn. (Why do so many characters in mysteries have parents who died tragically?) His canine partners, Alice the bloodhound and Rex the springer spaniel, did their jobs well, and Cory's sister, Crystal, is the more logical, grounded one of the pair. 

The serial killer in The Dead Years is a bit different, resurrecting his reign of terror after becoming incensed over his portrayal in a Netflix documentary, and he also plays a role in Cory's dreams. Readers learn the killer's identity before Cory and Crystal do, but once they do know, it's a race to the finish.

 

I did enjoy this book. It's all there: fast pace, engaging story, sympathetic characters, but I have to admit that it felt as if I'd read it all before. Even a winning formula can become tired.

The Dead Years by Jeffrey B. Burton

eISBN: 9781448312405

Severn House © 2024

eBook, 224 pages

 

Thriller, #1 Chicago K-9

Rating: C+

Source: Net Galley

The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton

 

First Line: The guest stirred the stew of fish, crab, salted pork, okra, and herbs with a silver spoon, pushing the polenta off to the side, saving it for last.

 

When billionaire Kenneth Druckman is assaulted and his wife and daughter kidnapped, Mace Reid and his dogs are called in by the FBI. Reid calls his dogs The Finders. They are HRD (Human Remains Detection)-- cadaver-- dogs, and when one of Reid's dogs finds the body of Druckman's wife, the search for Druckman's little girl intensifies.

 

But... the trail Reid's dog, Vira, found leads straight back to Druckman himself. With the help of Chicago Police Detective Kippy Gimm, Reid and his Finders not only need to locate a little five-year-old girl but to get to the bottom of the entire mystery. 

 

Just what in the world is Druckman up to?

 

~

 

Jeffrey B. Burton's series featuring the irreverent Mace Reid and his fabulous pack of dogs keeps getting better, and I enjoyed every single page of his latest, The Lost.  The fast pace, the twists and turns of the plot, and the wit and humor all combine with the human and canine personalities for an exciting, fun ride.

Dog lovers should really get a kick out of The Lost, as each dog has a distinctive personality and knows exactly how to work Mace. I love how Reid chooses his dogs' names from song titles, too-- for example, Maggie (May), (A Boy Named) Sue, (El)Vira. Yes, Reid's star dog's name is pronounced Vira as in virus, not Vira as in veering off course. I'm vintage enough to know all the songs, so the dogs' names have a tendency to create their own playlist in my head.

There are some interesting bad guys to keep an eye on as well. The super-rich (and super creepy) Audrick Verlinden. He's one of these people who is convinced he's above the law, but I do have to admit that I wouldn't mind eating a meal in that dining room of his. Russian mobster Armen Kuznetsov isn't your typical brutish muscle, it's his companion that you need to keep your eye on. And the more you learn about billionaire Kenneth Druckman, the more you want to take a bath. 

As good as the bad guys are, the folks wearing white hats shine even more brightly. I love Mace and his dogs, but the kidnapped five-year-old Eleanor Scarf Druckman stole my heart. What a star! 

Some readers may scoff at how Burton has a tendency to have Mace pull rabbits out of his hat to get out of tight spots, but what saves these situations for me is two-fold. One, the solution doesn't just appear out of thin air; the author actually plants the seeds much earlier in the book and it's up to the reader to see those seeds for what they are and contemplate how they're going to be useful later on. Two, I love how Mace Reid himself describes these moments: Cheeta riding in on a herd of elephants to save the day. Having watched more than one Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie in my youth, this paints such a vivid picture in my mind that I have to smile.

If you're in the mood for a fast-paced thriller that's a ton of fun to read, by all means, get your hands on a copy of The Lost. There's enough backstory to prevent reader confusion, but don't be surprised if you find yourself looking for the previous books in the series. 

The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton

eISBN: 9781250808639

Minotaur Books © 2022

eBook, 288 pages

 

Police Procedural, #3 Mace Reid K-9 mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

 

First Line from Prologue: The scientist had forgotten all about the radium.

 

During the years of World War I, one element was the Be All and End All of modern life: radium. From body lotion to tonic water, it was the fresh face of beauty and the wonder drug of the age. In addition, the huge demand for illuminated faces on watches and instruments made dial-painting the best-paid job for young women, and they lined up by the hundreds to work at the radium-dial factories, some of them as young as fourteen and fifteen. 

The women were quickly taught that the best way to paint the dials was to lip point the brushes that had been dipped in the radium mixture. Radium dust floated freely in the factories, and the girls loved how they glowed like fireflies at night. Life was a lark... until they began to fall mysteriously ill.

When the women began to step forward and speak out about what was happening to them, they found themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals in early twentieth-century America-- and in a ground-breaking battle for workers' rights.

~

After reading Moore's The Woman They Could Not Silence and having it be one of my Best Reads of the Year, I remembered that I had a copy of Radium Girls, so I had to read it, too. Guess what? Radium Girls is also one of my Best Reads of the Year, which means that whenever Kate Moore has a new book published, I'm buying it.

Moore's writing style brings all the people involved, all the facts, to life. Reading from today's more enlightened perspective, what people were doing with radium in the early twentieth century was not only nauseating but horrifying. (For example, the radium waste from the dial-painting factories looked like sand, so it was offloaded to schools for their playground sandboxes.) But, you have to cut them some slack. These people didn't realize the time bomb they were treating so cavalierly. That all changed once it became known how deadly radium is.

 

The corporate greed shown boggled the mind as well as the legal wranglings to avoid having their profits cut into. The unbridled greed wasn't surprising, and neither was the difference in the companies' reactions to what was done when it was discovered male lab workers were becoming ill versus what was done when the female dial painters became ill. 

 

Moore outlines just what these young women had to endure, both physically and mentally, as they fought for justice. And what a group of women! Knowing it was already too late for them, they continued to fight their legal battles for those who would follow after them. What makes this piece of history even more poignant is how Moore brings each woman to life. These women weren't just court cases with gruesome physical wounds; Moore reminds readers how pretty they were. How they liked to spend those high wages they were making. The clothes and hats they liked to wear. How they loved parties and planned for their weddings and dreamed of the children they would have. How they laughed and loved and found strength they didn't even know they had. In showing how they lived, not just how they died, Moore puts the heart and soul into this chapter of history-- and makes it a chapter we should all know and remember.

 

Kate Moore, thank you for bringing Catherine Wolfe Donohue, Katherine Schaub, Grace Fryer, Margaret Looney, Pearl Payne, and the other Radium Girls back into the spotlight. Their stories should never be forgotten.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

eISBN: 9781492649366

Sourcebooks © 2017

eBook, 404 pages

 

Non-Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

 

First Line: If she screamed, she sealed her fate.

 

1860. Manteno, Illinois. The more Theophilus Packard's wife's religious views diverged from his own, the more inconvenient she became to this small-town pastor. Finally, he put his plan in action and enlisted the aid of strong men who bundled her into a wagon headed for the train station. Once aboard the train, Elizabeth Packard found herself headed for Jacksonville, the home of the Illinois State Hospital. Once inside the stately building, Elizabeth's husband had her committed and put into the care of Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man highly regarded for his knowledge and treatment of the insane.

Once out of the public areas and into a ward with the other patients, Elizabeth found herself in "a storage unit for unsatisfactory wives." Many of the other patients were women just as sane as she who had also been put there by their husbands, and they found themselves with no rights and no way of ever getting out.

But Theophilus Packard and Dr. Andrew McFarland soon learned that they had grossly underestimated this tiny woman. Once she realized that she had truly lost everything, she knew that she had nothing to lose, and she began to fight. And fight. And fight. For her freedom and that of the other sane women unjustly imprisoned in asylums everywhere.

~

When I read this emotionally charged book and learned that at the time of the Civil War Jacksonville, Illinois had been known as "the Athens of the West," I almost choked. I grew up not far from Jacksonville, and I knew it as the home of "the state nuthouse." But that's just geography. When I learned of this book, I knew that it would resonate with me and not just because I'm a woman and well aware of how my gender has been treated by the opposite sex. My mother had what was then termed a nervous breakdown when I was an infant, and she underwent electroshock therapy to snap her out of it. Living with Mom made me very aware of the stigma that is applied to anyone with the slightest hint of mental illness about them. As a teenager, I did volunteer work at a mental health center that had a program bringing patients from the hospital in Jacksonville to the center to be rehabilitated. 

So... I'm familiar with the area, and I'm a woman with more than a passing acquaintance with mental illness. I'm also a reader aware of the abominable way mentally ill people have been treated down through the centuries. No wonder I expected to be horrified and angered by reading The Woman They Could Not Silence. Was I? You bet! 

 

But much more than that, I was uplifted by Elizabeth Packard. What a marvelous human being! It was an emotional experience to watch this woman's character be forged through her time in the mental hospital. At first, she was a woman of her time. Her husband had falsely accused and forsaken her, so she looked to another man to rescue her. The man she turned to was Dr. Andrew McFarland. However, her thinking was flawed. McFarland was even more dangerous than her husband. Time after time, I found Elizabeth's naïveté heartbreaking, but once she realized that she could count on no one but herself to obtain her freedom, there was no stopping her. Wow! 

Elizabeth Packard almost single-handedly changed the laws in many states pertaining to married women's rights to their own wages and property as well as to the commitment and treatment of the mentally ill. Think crowdfunding is a 21st-century resource? Think again. Elizabeth Packard was an expert practitioner. This woman had flaws, but she also had so much empathy, compassion, intelligence, determination... She should have been a shining example to us all for over one hundred fifty years, but instead, she was consigned to obscurity, a centenary in the Jacksonville papers labeling her "a minor league nut" who "couldn't keep her mouth shut." 

As Kate Moore says in her Author's Note: "So in the end, this a book about power. Who wields it. Who owns it. And the methods they use. And above all, it's about fighting back." I, for one, am grateful that Moore brought Elizabeth Packard back into the light. More than ever, this world needs to follow the examples set by such beacons of humanity.

The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear 

by Kate Moore

eISBN: 9781492696735

Sourcebooks © 2021

eBook, 589 pages

 

Non-Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

At First Light by Barbara Nickless

 

First Line: Every murderer creates his own story.

 

The banks of the Calumet River yield a grisly find: the body of a man posed next to a series of mysterious glyphs and bearing wounds from a ritualistic slaying. Detective in charge of the case, Addie Bisset, knows there is one man who can properly interpret the scene: brilliant forensic semiotician Dr. Evan Wilding, her close friend.

 

Wilding quickly sees that the glyphs are Viking runes which suggest either a human sacrifice or a righteous punishment. But which is it? And why? The only thing that's clear is that there are more deaths to come.

 

As Wilding races to find the identity of the media-named Viking Poet, he and Addie uncover the killer's motive. Time is definitely of the essence now because Dr. Evan Wilding is right in the killer's crosshairs.

 

~

 

Since I am a fan of Barbara Nickless' series featuring railroad detective Sydney Rose Parnell (the first two books in that series, Blood on the Tracks and Dead Stop, both made my Best Reads lists the year I read them), I wasn't about to pass up a chance to read the first in her new Dr. Evan Wilding series. At First Light is a very promising beginning, and I look forward to future books.

 

The strongest part of the book is the two main characters. Both are flawed, both are extremely intelligent, and I felt so at home with them, I would invite them here to the house. Addie Bisset is the more expected character: unhappy childhood, serial monogamist, and dealing with misogyny in the Chicago Police Department. At least her partner, Patrick, not only celebrates his Irish heritage, he's a good foil to Addie and has her back.

 

The character that really steps up to the plate is Dr. Evan Wilding, who not only has a brilliant mind perfectly suited to interpreting signs and symbols and their usage, he has dwarfism. This hero may have a bullet-proof mind, but he isn't exactly ten feet tall. Wilding has a perfect assistant whom I'm looking forward to seeing more of in future books, and I enjoyed learning more about him as his personal and professional lives unfolded. Evan and Addie are perfect for each other, but they're scared to death to show their true feelings. Why risk romance when they could lose this wonderful friendship if something goes wrong?

 

The mystery is a good one and kept me guessing. I wasn't fooled by some of the misdirection but I didn't have the killer's identity deduced before its reveal. That's always a plus. In fact, there's only one thing that dulled my enjoyment of At First Light: there's too much Viking lore! Don't get me wrong, I find Viking culture fascinating, but there was just too much of it, and the weight of all that research dragged the book down. I'm hoping that Nickless won't fall in love with her research again in the second book because-- with the characters of Addie and Evan, the author's talent in crafting strong mysteries, and the setting of Chicago-- I'm definitely going to read it.

At First Light by Barbara Nickless

eISBN: 9781542026413

Thomas & Mercer © 2021

eBook, 395 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Dr. Evan Wilding mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

First Line: Rose was always there, even while I was being born.

 

For twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her family, the happy, prosperous world they knew in Los Angeles is gone forever. Imprisoned in Manzanar since Pearl Harbor, Aki and her parents have finally been released, but they're being moved further east to Chicago to rejoin Aki's older sister, Rose. 

When they arrive, it's to the news that Rose committed suicide by jumping in front of a train at Chicago's Clark and Division station. Aki is convinced that her beloved sister did not commit suicide. The police can't be bothered to look into Rose's death any further, so Aki knows that finding the truth is up to her. What she doesn't realize is just how many secrets she will be uncovering to discover what really happened.

~

If you've never read about the lives of Japanese Americans during World War II, you should read Naomi Hirahara's Clark and Division. Readers follow twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her family from their happy pre-Pearl Harbor lives in Los Angeles to their imprisonment in Manzanar in California's Owens Valley to their resettlement in the Japanese American neighborhood of Clark and Division in Chicago.

Readers see everything through Aki's eyes. She worships her older sister, Rose, who is beautiful, intelligent, and accomplished-- everything that Aki wishes she was. In comparison, Aki feels like a slow, unattractive lump, and it's not until the Itos have been in Chicago for a while that it becomes clear that Aki has been selling herself short for most of her life.

Life in Chicago isn't easy. Even giving Rose a proper burial is difficult since cemeteries are not accepting Japanese interments, and Aki cannot believe how everyone seems comfortable with the verdict of suicide on Rose's death. As she juggles her job at the Newberry Library with dealing with her parents, she still finds time to search for answers because she thinks nothing of fighting for her sister even though she won't fight for herself. 

Hirahara does an excellent job of weaving a real feeling of menace into the story, and the mystery is a satisfying one to try to solve. But more than a mystery, it's the story of the Japanese American experience during World War II that's the star of Clark and Division. Watching Aki navigate her way through governmental roadblocks, prejudice, lies, and fear to finally begin to get a real sense of herself and what she's capable of is the best part of this book, and the author's list of suggested reading at the end is invaluable.

Mystery, character study, history... Clark and Division is a story that you won't want to put down until you've read the very last page.

 

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

eISBN: 9781641292504

Soho Press © 2021

eBook, 312 pages

 

Historical Mystery, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton

 

First Line: I spent the bulk of the call with my eyes shut, thinking I was still asleep and in some kind of lucid dream.

 

"The Finders" is Mason "Mace" Reid's pack of dogs trained to find dead bodies. The star of the pack is Vira (short for Elvira), a golden retriever. Called out from his home on the outskirts of Chicago, what Mace and Vira find in Washington Park at 3 in the morning starts a chain of events that soon has them running for their lives.

 

Mace and Chicago PD officer Kippy Gimm find themselves in a nightmare of treachery and corruption, not knowing whom they can trust on their quest for justice. 

~

Jeffrey Burton's second Mace Reid K-9 mystery is fast-paced and filled with tension and suspense as readers try to outguess Mace and Kippy. Are they asking for help from the right people, or are they walking right into a trap? This aspect of The Keepers certainly kept me turning the pages even though I usually knew when they were headed right for that trap. 

Of course, the biggest draw to this book and series for me is the canine one. The fact that Mace names his dogs after songs is endearing. His dogs are Elvira, Delta Dawn, the rambunctious puppy Billie Joe, Maggie May, and the alpha male named Sue. (Johnny Cash, anyone?) Probably the thing I love most about Mace's relationship with his dogs is that he listens to them. There's another series set in Los Angeles that I'm tiring of even though the stories are really good. Why am I tiring of them? Because every time the man's dog alerts him to danger, the man ignores him (and usually gets beaten up). Idiot! There's none of that stupidity here.

If you're in the mood for engaging, fast-paced stories filled with talented working dogs and the human who trains and works with them, find yourself the two books in this series, The Finders and The Keepers. I'm looking forward to Mace and Vira's next assignment.

 

The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton

eISBN: 9781250795861

Minotaur Books © 2021

eBook, 288 pages

 

Police Procedural, #2 Mace Reid K-9 mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

First Line: Christine Dack was hung over.

Mason "Mace" Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and trains dogs in human remains detection. It's been a rough year for him. Not only has his marriage fallen apart, but he's also mourning the death of a beloved dog. Mace adopts a golden retriever puppy he names Elvira, and when Elvira's training as a cadaver dog begins, Mace begins learning just how special the dog is.

With zero warning, Mace and "Vira" find themselves in the middle of a murder case and working with a Chicago police officer named Kippy Gimm. It's up to the three of them to stop a serial killer who now has Mace himself in his sights.

Jeffrey Burton has created a main character with a wonderful voice. Mace Reid had me in the palm of his hand throughout the book, whether he was explaining why his marriage ended in divorce (there's a huge gap between his wife "liking" dogs and Mace's "loving" dogs) or when he was describing a waste-of-space employee named Tommy B.

The mystery in The Finders is a strong one with a fast pace that doesn't let up. CPD officer Kippy Gimm (I hope the next book explains her strange name) insists that Elvira the dog is touched by the supernatural because of something that happened when she was a puppy, but that can be easily overlooked by readers who dislike woo-woo and understand how incredibly tuned to their people dogs can be. One thing is certain, however. Vira isn't your usual dog-in-a-mystery. She does something in the opening chapters that stunned and even made me a bit queasy. (Someone calls her "a tornado that bites".) But that's the only (brief) scene that tender-hearted readers need to worry about.

Burton has created a strong trio in Mace, Vira and Kippy, and I'm certainly looking forward to their next assignment.

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

eISBN: 9781250244543

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 288 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Mace Reid K-9 mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Unmentionables by Laurie Loewenstein

First Line: The breezes of Macomb County usually journeyed from the west, blowing past and moving quickly onward, for the county was just en route, not a final destination.

When Mrs. Marian Elloit Adams swept into the Chautauqua tent in the small town in Illinois on a sweltering August evening in 1917, little did she know that her life was about to change. Yes, her talk about the restrictive nature of women's undergarments scandalized many in the audience, but her mind was already on her next stop on the circuit. Then she fell off the stage and badly sprained her ankle. Like it or not, she was stuck in that backwater town for a week.

During that week, she would meet Jeannette Bellman, a young girl dying of tuberculosis; Deuce Garland, the local newspaperman; his daughter Helen, who's itching to move to Chicago; and Tula, a woman who's been in love with Deuce for years. And thus her life begins to change.

Loewenstein does a marvelous job of drawing readers right into the time period and the setting. It's 1917, America has entered World War I, women are struggling for equal rights, and the small town seems to be the backbone of the country. In Unmentionables, small towns are more like the last bastion of traditions and ideas that need to change: the place of women in the world, war, racism to name a few. What I liked is the fact that these topics were woven seamlessly into the narrative. There wasn't any preaching.

I picked up this book because I'd really enjoyed Loewenstein's Dust Bowl era mystery, Death of a Rainmaker. At the outset, I was lulled into thinking Unmentionables was going to be a light, enjoyable read of little consequence. I was very wrong. Each character has his or her own unmentionable secrets and desires, and each character is allowed to develop more fully than readers initially expect. Loewenstein's descriptive powers are wonderful: for example, I've tucked away the description of Mrs. Sieve to savor over and over again.

If you're in the mood for well-written historical fiction that gives you a vivid setting and characters whose interwoven lives make you think about life and love and hate and all sorts of things, I recommend you find a copy of Laurie Loewenstein's Unmentionables. It's a winner.

Unmentionables by Laurie Loewenstein

eISBN: 9781617751998

Akashic Books © 2013

eBook, 320 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

First Line: Dear Madam, I hope you won't think me forward, but I wanted to write to express my admiration for your book, From an Eagle's Aerie.

In March of 1912, twenty-four-year-old poet Elspeth Dunn receives a fan letter from college student David Graham, a student at the University of Illinois who's a world away from the home Elspeth has never left, Scotland's Isle of Skye. A correspondence is started which gradually moves from friendship to love. Then World War I intervenes, and David volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western Front. All Elspeth can do is wait for him on Skye and hope that he'll survive.

In June of 1940, Elspeth's daughter Margaret has been busy relocating children away from cities like Edinburgh that are being bombed by the Germans. When Elspeth learns Margaret has fallen in love with an RAF pilot, she tries to warn her daughter against wartime romance, but she knows her words have fallen on deaf ears. After a bomb rocks Elspeth's house, she disappears, leaving behind a single letter as a clue to her whereabouts. When Margaret sets out to find her mother, she's also starting out on a journey to uncover what happened to her family in the past.

I've always been a fan of books that have more than one timeline if they're well-written, and Letters from Skye certainly is. These timelines involving the world wars compliment each other perfectly, and Brockmole's research adds period detail that brings the stories to life. The stories unfold in a series of letters. Watching the love between Elspeth and David blossom is a wonderful thing, and what makes this book even stronger is that readers may think they know what's going to happen, but the author doesn't always oblige. Those little surprises woven into the plot make the book even stronger and more involving.

I have to be honest and admit that I have a personal reason for enjoying this book so much. When I was even younger than Elspeth, I began corresponding with a young man in England. We became friends, and that friendship turned to love. I was so in tune with Allen and the mail services that I always sensed when a letter would arrive, and heaven help anyone who got between me and the mailbox on those days. My story didn't have a happy ending, but Letters from Skye brought back the best of my memories and touched my heart profoundly. As Elspeth said to Margaret: I should've "taught you that a letter isn't always just a letter. Words on the page can drench the soul. If only you knew."

I do know, and I loved this story.

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

eISBN: 9780345542618

Random House © 2013

eBook, 306 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Darkness Knows by Cheryl Honigford

First Line: Vivian's scream was a thing of beauty-- startling and pitch-perfect, as usual.

It's October 1938, and radio is king. Vivian Witchell has landed a recurring role on a popular detective serial, The Darkness Knows, and she's determined to do whatever it takes to become a star. But when you're an actor, your career can change direction in a heartbeat. When Vivian walks into the employee lounge and finds the body of the radio station's biggest (and most hated) star, she's horrified to discover that the dead woman is clutching a letter that identifies her as the next victim. Now Viv's got a lot more on her mind than remembering her lines.

Cheryl Honigford's first Viv and Charlie mystery brings to life the days of radio serials. As a child, my mother would sit with my grandmother in the dark listening to their favorite radio programs. My mother's was The Shadow Knows, which reminds me of the title of this book, so I was favorably inclined toward The Darkness Knows from the beginning. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.

As I've already said, Honigford added just the right amount of historical detail to put me right in the middle of the golden days of radio. Radio stars aren't any different from Hollywood stars. Those starting out in their careers are cutthroat when it comes to obtaining the right parts that will get them noticed and lead to fame and larger paychecks. Viv had to deal with this just as much as she had to deal with finding a killer.

This leads me to Viv's character. She's a likable enough person, but she's not the girl next door. She's ambitious. She's self-centered. A lot of the things she does in The Darkness Knows are publicity stunts aimed at furthering her career, and she does them cheerfully. Honigford does an excellent job walking a tightrope with Viv's characterization. Viv is nice... but not "too" nice.  On the other hand, working class Charlie the private detective I thought was completely likable. If there was anything about these two characters that I really didn't care for, it was the amount of romance between them in the story. That's just not my thing, although I know I'm probably in the minority.

Even though I knew the bad guy from the start, I still enjoyed reading this first Viv and Charlie mystery. The period Chicago "radio days" detail drew me right in, and I enjoyed watching how long it took the others to figure out whodunit.  Shame on me! 

The Darkness Knows by Cheryl Honigford

ISBN: 9781492628613

Sourcebooks Landmark © 2016

Paperback, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Viv & Charlie mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

World's Greatest Sleuth! by Steve Hockensmith

First Line: My heart wasn't just pounding in my ears as we ran.

When the Amlingmeyer brothers receive an urgent summons from Otto's ("Big Red") publisher, the next thing they know they're on a train bound east to Chicago and the World's Columbian Exposition. Big Red and "Old Red" (Gustav) are set to compete with some of the most famous detectives in the world in the World's Greatest Sleuth contest which coincides with the last days of the first World's Fair and the publication of a story which will reveal the death of Sherlock Holmes. 

The competition has barely begun when the organizer of the contest is found murdered-- face down in the Mammoth Cheese from Canada. From there on out, it's hard to keep Old Red in the contest when there's real detective work to do.

I've been holding on to the World's Greatest Sleuth like it's gold. This is a volume from one of my "Reliables"-- a mystery series so good that I keep myself from reading through it as fast as I can go. I didn't want to read it and be forced to admit that the series was at an end. But I recently learned from the author that there will be new Holmes on the Range mysteries coming in the future, and this allowed me to enjoy watching the Amlingmeyer brothers in action once more. 

Hockensmith gives us a good look at the World's Columbian Exposition through the eyes of Big Red and his curmudgeon of a brother. Through them, we see the "White City" in all its majesty and absurdity-- and usually at a gallop (or at least a fast run). There are lots of laughs at the Amlingmeyers' expense, but they're used to it, and when readers pause to inhale so they can laugh again, they just might notice that Hockensmith has written a first-rate mystery, too. 

That World's Greatest Sleuth competition is an interesting one with the death of its biggest detractor (a bred-to-the-bone Sherlockian purist) at its heart. Something tells me that the author has probably had more than one encounter with those pesky Sherlockian purists since he began writing this series.

If you're not too much of a purist and can accept the presence of an illiterate cowboy as an Old West Sherlock Holmes, you are going to love this book (and the series). Hockensmith has a smooth writing style that knows how to tell a strong tale, make readers laugh, and give them a true feel for the wild, wild West-- all at the same time. I can't wait for the next installment!  

World's Greatest Sleuth! by Steve Hockensmith

ISBN: 9780312379438

Minotaur Books © 2010

Paperback, 336 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Holmes on the Range mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet 


 

Tag, You're Dead by J.C. Lane

First Line: "I can't choose," Brandy Inkrott said. "I want to kill them all."

There's a secret, wildly expensive game of Tag being played on the streets of Chicago. It's "Tag, You're It" with a twist: if you get tagged, you get dead. Three spoiled, entitled "Its" have bought a place in the game, and they've carefully selected their innocent "Runners." 

The lives of their loved ones have been threatened, so the runners are alone with only one desire: to survive. Technical wizardry controls the game. Every thirty minutes the smartphones locked on their wrists transmits their locations to their Its. The game will not end until someone is tagged. It all boils down to this: the runners must choose how to play the game. Accept death? Murder their Its? Or use their strengths to stop the game before anyone dies?

J.C. Lane (AKA Judy Clemens) has written a fast-paced thriller with fascinating technology and appealing characters. It's easy to take sides here. Beautiful girl-next-door Laura, talented athlete Tyrese, and gamer extraordinaire Amanda are being chased by three spoiled brats who don't like being bested by anyone-- especially if they're not a part of the proper social class. 

What really takes center stage in Tag, You're Dead is how Laura, Tyrese, and Amanda can possibly win the game with the deck stacked so high against them. Once they realize what's really happened, once they've calmed down, and once they begin formulating their own strategies, the book really takes off. 

Writing as Judy Clemens, J.C. Lane has written the marvelous Stella Crown mysteries, which I've read and enjoyed. It's good to see her writing something completely different and just as engaging.
    

Tag, You're Dead by J.C. Lane

ISBN: 9781464206313

Poisoned Pen Press © 2016

Hardcover, 334 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley 


 

Reliance, Illinois by Mary Volmer

First Line: I was three months from thirteen when Mama and I stepped off the carriage in the Mississippi River town of Reliance.

Having been born with a livid birthmark covering half her face and body, thirteen-year-old Madelyn Branch has become adept at hiding in the shadows, and she doesn't expect anything to change when she and her mother arrive in the river town of Reliance, Illinois. Her mother Rebecca is answering an ad in a matrimonial  newspaper, and when it comes time for her to meet and marry the man, Maddy poses as Rebecca's sister.

Maddy finds it difficult to live with these deceptions, and she yearns for her life to be different... to be filled with opportunities. When she enters the service of Miss Rose Werner, daughter of the town's founder and an ardent suffragette, Maddy's life begins to open up. However, being seen as a project can be irksome, Maddy finds-- especially when she longs for the love of Civil War veteran William Stark.

Reliance, Illinois is set in 1874, a rather tumultuous time in American history. Thousands of displaced persons wander through a country still reeling from the aftermath of a civil war. Maddy and her mother are two such displaced persons, and Maddy has watched her mother do whatever she can in order for them to survive. At a young age, she's already learned that life can be very ugly, and that if you have nothing you shouldn't expect any more from life than that. 

Everyone has secrets in Reliance, Illinois, and readers can vie with Maddy to see who is better at uncovering them. Political overtones in 1874 are uncannily similar to today's, and it was interesting to watch the two suffragettes, Miss Rose and Mrs. French, fight for their causes there in town. 

Madelyn Branch has a unique voice that quickly captured my attention and carried me through the book, and that voice did much to help me overlook the uneven parts. Perhaps there was just too much going on in one book. Perhaps there were just too many colorful characters. Perhaps the jump from Maddy the child to Maddy the adult in the epilogue left out too much, but this story of a young disadvantaged girl growing into her true self never quite gelled into a story I could wholeheartedly recommend. But the one thing that I will recommend is Madelyn Branch herself. As a character, Maddy may not always be admirable, but she certainly is memorable.
  

Reliance, Illinois by Mary Volmer

eISBN: 9781616956738

Soho Press © 2016

eBook, 368 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: C

Source: Net Galley