Lilly Long Mysteries, Book 3 - Murder Will Speak

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

With a tagline like that, how could you not pick up this mystery? Well, I, for one, picked it up because it is the third book in a series with which I am already in love, and also because it takes two of my favorite pastimes - theater and mysteries - and merges them into a great series of novels! Lilly Long is a former actress who, out of necessity, has become a detective with the Pinkerton Agency in the late 1800s. She has been paired with Cade McShane, a somewhat jaded, tough-as-nails detective who has slowly, over the past two books, been warming to his partner's unique perspective on things. They have solved a couple of difficult cases, but now they are facing one that hits way too close to home for both of them.

Author Penny Richards opens up the doors to McShane's past and personal life in Murder Will Speak, and readers also learn more about Lilly's friend, Nora Nash, who ran off to become a mail-order bride and begin a new life out west. As is the case in most murder mystery books, nothing is ever quite what it seems. When Lilly and McShane are called into the Pinkerton offices, they expect to be given their next case - instead, Lilly is handed a letter from her old friend and is aghast at what she reads. Nora's dreams of a husband and new life are gone, and in their place is a nightmare world of "soiled doves" and tortured children.  (And in case you're wondering, a "soiled dove" is a polite way of saying "prostitute"!) It seems Nora was tricked into going out west, where she was immediate sold to a house of ill repute and has been forced into a life of selling her body for the profit of her madam. To make matters worse, she has discovered that the same people who are forcing her into this life are also doing the same for children!

Lilly must go and help her friend, but the Pinkerton Agency cannot provide services for free. Lilly is determined to go on her own, unpaid, but Mr. Pinkerton has other plans. Nora sent a small sum of money, which could be used for a short time to fund the trip - if McShane will go with her. And, of course, they will need a cover story to get into Hell's Half Acre, which means utilizing the services of McShane's younger sister - who happens to know all about prostitution!

Long-buried secrets, not only about McShane's family, but also about his relationship with his sister, what happened to his wife all those years ago, and the part his sister played in that death all come to light. Lilly's own faith and resolve are put to the test when they reach Hell's Half Acre, where she discovers that men are not the only ones willing to use women for their own profit.  One woman has already been found murdered, and Lilly and McShane discover another has been killed.  Someone is desperate to keep "business" as usual in Hell's Half Acre, and they don't take too kindly to strangers sticking their nose where it doesn't belong.

Richards' previous two books were fantastic, perfectly paced, with satisfying conclusions.  The story and characterization in this one were definitely on par - up until the conclusion, that is. The resolution to the story and the revelation as to the killer and the mastermind behind the murders was somewhat anticlimactic, with no real discovery, but rather a dramatic capture of a henchman who simply reveals who the killer is. No big revelations, no big stand-off, no big last-minute save. Richards' writing and storytelling was so engaging up to that point, I'm surprise she concluded the story this way.

No word on Amazon or other sites about a next book (which I hope there will be!); however, the author's bio in the back of the book states that she lives in Arizona "where she is hard at work on the next Lilly Long mystery."  So, there is hope!

RATING:  7 slices of buttered bread wrapped around peaches out of 10 for writing a murder mystery about prostitutes and child slavery, yet keeping it clean and enjoyable.

Lilly Long Mysteries, Book 2 - Though This be Madness

That persistent red-headed actress is back in her second mystery, as author Penny Richards provides another captivating adventure of actress-turned-detective, Lilly Long.

Though This be Madness, taken from a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet, gives readers the perfect mystery, filled with murder, greed, lies, secrets, and even a little voodoo thrown in for good measure.  Oh, and let's not forget some of that romantic tension that we saw between Lilly and McShane in the last book - it definitely intensifies in this book, particularly since they are sent on an assignment together, posing as husband and wife!

The mystery comes to the Pinkerton Agency in the form of a letter from a wealthy widow in New Orleans - her grandson's former widow has been committed to a psychiatric institution for the insance, and the family matriarch believes her new husband had her committed solely for the purpose of gaining control of the family fortune.  To make matters worse, one of the grandson's daughters was brutally murdered shortly after the grandson's former wife gave birth to a stillborn child.  From any outsider's point of view, it would seem only natural the grief was so much, she was overcome and needed psychiatric help.  The matriarch, LaRee Fontenot, does not believe this is the case.  So, it is up to Lilly and McShane to work together, posing as newly hired help on the Fontenot plantation in New Orleans, to uncover the truth, one way or another.

As with any good mystery, Richards throws in a few hiccups along the way.  First, there's the distrust between Lilly and McShane, neither of whom wish to be paired with the other for an investigation. Then, there's the matter of young Robert Jenkins, a street urchin and pickpocket who has a past with McShane that neither will reveal, who shows up as Lilly and McShane are traveling to New Orleans and who ends up having to pose as McShane's younger brother to help with the investigation. And we can't forget the vile Henri Ducharme, who is the current husband of Mrs. Fontenot's granddaughter-in-law - a self-absorbed man who believes he runs the house and the family - but who Lilly notices becomes unusually uneasy any time his step-daughter's husband, Preston Easterling.

Lilly's acting skills are put to the test in this mystery - not only is she forced to assume an Irish accent and humble herself as a housekeeper and maid for the Fontenot plantation, but she must also deal with the fact that as "husband and wife," she must share a room with a man she has conflicting feelings about.  On the one hand, he is arrogant and demeaning, and she would much prefer to have been assigned this case on her own; on the other hand, she continues to find herself drawn to him and he is able to teach her things about the field that she still needs to learn.

With this mystery, it's not so much about the whodunnit? part, but more about the "did he do it?" part and "what's really going on at the Fontemont plantation?"  Lilly, McShane, and Jenks (the name by which Robert Jenkins prefers to go by) actually make a great team, and their family dynamic works well in solving the crime(s).  I readily confess, reading 260 pages has never been so easy, when you an author draws you into the tale like Richards does.

RATING:  10 hard boiled eggs dyed red out of 10 for creating an investigative "family" that is engaging and entertaining to read.

Lilly Long Mysteries, Book 1 - An Untimely Frost

I've somewhat fallen behind in my reading due to the rehearsal schedule on the play I am in ("The Murder Room," which opens the first weekend of November) - but that doesn't mean I'm not reading. In fact, I just finished reading the first book in a new series!  A titian-haired young female detective out of the Midwest must find out what happened to a missing preacher and his family, who is accused of stealing funds from the local parishioners. Along the way, she must face men who belittle her ability as a female detective, she faces threats warning her to drop the case or else, she is nearly run down by someone who wants her off the case, she finds a secret room that holds the solution to the mystery, and she ultimately faces off against the most unlikely of culprits in a nice little twist.

A new Nancy Drew series, you ask?

If Nancy Drew were set in the late 1800s, and if she were an actress whose husband took advantage of her, stole her life savings, and left her destitute ... but instead, it's Lilly Long, the creation of author Penny Richards. It's very clear that Richards loved Nancy Drew in some fashion, as this first book so obviously pays homage in so many ways to the pop culture icon.  Only, in this world, Lilly is an accomplished actress (the book titles come from various stage plays) whose marriage turns out to be little more than a con, when she finds her husband threatening her adopted mother. He takes off with Lilly's life savings, setting Lilly on a brand new journey that puts her acting skills to use in a whole new way - as a detective!

While An Untimely Frost is definitely a mystery of a serious nature, Richards is not afraid to throw a bit of humor in here and there, where appropriate.  One of the best scenes in the entire book occurs when Lilly is first trying to gain employment with the Pinkerton detective agency.  Chapters 6 and 7 provide a rather intriguing scenario of interviews - first, Lilly interviews for the position, and while she impresses William Pinkerton and his father, Allan, she is told she is too young for the position.  Over the next several days, the Pinkertons interview several more women for the position, each of whom has peculiarities or eccentricities that keep them from being a good candidate.  One, however, manages to catch the Pinkertons' attention - and when they call her back, she reveals to them that she is actually Lilly - that, in fact, all of the interviewees over the past several days have been Lilly in disguise (remember, she is an actress!).  While Richard Pinkerton is put off, Allan Pinkerton approves and hires her on a trial basis.

Thus begins Lilly's first adventure, tracking down a missing preacher and his family for a client who wishes to buy their homestead that they left behind.  Lilly finds much more than she bargains for, though, from a town who refuses to provide her any information willingly and who are desperate to have her out of town.  A search of the actual property reveals that there is something more sinister afoot, and there are definitely darker secrets being hidden - from the bloody sheets to the unmarked grave in the backyard to the secret room in the attic.  And what of that rather dashing but brash boxer who seems to always popping up everywhere Lilly goes?

And beneath all of this mystery and secrets lies another mystery that will clearly be an ongoing subplot in this series - who killed Lilly's mother?

Richards provides a well-written mystery with some extremely interesting characters that I look forward to getting to know better in future books (the second book, Though This Be Madness, is set to come out next year).  She engages the reader from the get-go, and she definitely keeps your attention from page one to the very end.  Definitely a must read for mystery-lovers and Nancy Drew fans everywhere!

RATING:  10 mail-order brides out of 10 for providing a brand new mystery heroine with all the spunk and determination of Nancy Drew and the rich, vivid writing that brings the characters and story so easily to life!