The Alchemy of Murder
Nellie Bly goes in search of Jack the Ripper in Paris, falls in love with Jules Verne, weasels her way into Louis Pasteur’s lab, and finds a fast friend in Oscar Wilde. The Eiffel Tower is newly erected for the 1889 World’s Fair, which is in full swing, and a maniacal slasher, transplanted from London, has more destruction on his depraved mind than cutting up prostitutes: nothing less than the utter desolation of Paris by plague. Well over the top in believability, often awkwardly phrased (“What did that mad Russian anarchist leader have in mind?”), and often broken up with clumsy authorial interjections of footnotes and historical explanations, McCleary’s debut historical suspense novel still has one big thing going for it: it showcases an appealingly flesh-and-blood Nellie Bly, one of the first women to break into a man’s world as an adventurous and plucky investigative journalist. Fans of Arruda’s Jade Cameron and Bowen’s Mollie Murphy mysteries will enjoy Bly, another unflappable female sleuth. Let’s hope McCleary works out the rough spots by the next episode. --Jen Baker