Beacon Street Mourning: A Fremont Jones Mystery
Fremont Jones, still mending from her last adventure (Death Train to Boston) is called back from San Francisco to Boston because of her father's illness. When Fremont arrives to find him hovering near death, her dislike of her stepmother, Augusta, soon blooms into suspicion about  Augusta's role in Leonard's mysterious "wasting" disease. Their strained relationship becomes even more difficult when Fremont insists that Leonard be moved immediately to a hospital. Fremont is so encouraged by her father's progress and so willing to make him happy that, despite her feminist principles, she acquiesces to his wish that she marry her lover Michael, the intriguing Russian émigré who is also her partner in  a California detective agency. But then Leonard dies, supposedly of a heart attack. Fremont is certain he's been poisoned, but when Augusta too dies--shot to death--it becomes clear there is more than one adversary for the plucky  young woman to contend with, and she sets out to solve the mystery.Fremont Jones is an intriguing character, a Boston Brahmin and bluestocking whose New England roots are strong and deep and whose independence and autonomy are often in conflict with her love for Michael as well as with the  cultural mores and values of her time and place. Author Dianne Day gets the  period details down perfectly and adds to the picture of Fremont Jones that has  emerged from her previous books featuring this strong-willed, sexy, and  consistently interesting heroine. The pace is slow, but both the development of  character and the atmosphere Day creates make that a plus rather than a minus.--Jane Adams--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.