Candlelit Smoke and Mirrors

Candlestick Historical Mysteries cozy gilded age Book 2

May 1893. The residents of the Case mansion continue to pool their knowledge and strengths to endure through difficult times. Of course, their concerns about the comfort and safety of others in the city of Candlestick go beyond that of their own. Even in their current reduced circumstances, they wish to offer whatever help they may. To that end, Mrs. Mattie Case hones her amateur sleuthing skills when the new police chief rebuffs her insights into mysterious disappearances.

Chief of police Garth Hawke embarks on an investigation into the disinterest of his police department. Compelled to prove the Case widow wrong about her suppositions, he is drawn into a magic act involving smoke and mirrors that places his own future in peril. Unable to rely on the men who work for him, he must turn elsewhere for assistance. It doesn’t escape him that the person most intent on giving aid has a mysterious past of her own. One that proves even more sensational than any he had imagined.

Series Summary: Mrs. Henry Case finds her amateur sleuthing skills are tested while searching for clues to mysteries both past and present. Unwilling to take everything she hears at face value, Mattie determinedly works to uncover the truth. Faced with several hurdles along the way, she discovers that it will require all of her intelligence to find the answers she needs. Chief of police Garth Hawke wonders if he can trust anyone around him. One thing is obvious. No one in the city of Candlestick appears to trust him. He hopes that will change over time. His plan to win them over is simple. He just needs to do a better job than his predecessor. Given the sensational circumstances under which Henry Case lost his life, it shouldn’t be that difficult.