When all the world's a stage, and a murderer waits in the wings... Fleeing her mother's attempt at matchmaking, Pinkerton detective Penelope Hamilton Wynch travels to a Connecticut hotel for a straightforward assignment: escort her sister-in-law Flora to New York, where she is to serve as a witness in a counterfeiting case. But Flora—an understudy player in a production riddled with strange accidents—is poised to assume the lead role and refuses to leave town. Coaxing a reluctant witness is the least of Pen's worries after a knife-wielding intruder breaks into Flora's suite in the dead of night. Pen thwarts the attack—at the cost of her second-best shirtwaist, no less—but the man escapes. Are the counterfeiters trying to silence Flora? The lady in question remains stubbornly uncooperative. With more questions than answers, and the growing suspicion that someone in the hotel—possibly in the...

A stolen blueprint, a dead body, and wedding bells….Change is in the air at Hartford Women's College in the fall of 1898. Renowned inventor Peter Sanbourne—working on Project Blue Arrow for the Navy—heads the school's new engineering program, and literature professor Concordia Wells prepares to leave to marry David Bradley.The new routine soon goes awry when a bludgeoned body—clutching a torn scrap of the only blueprint for Blue Arrow—is discovered on the property Concordia and David were planning to call home.To unravel the mystery that stands between them and their new life together, Concordia must navigate deadly pranks, dark secrets, and long-simmering grudges that threaten to tear apart her beloved school and leave behind an unseemly trail of bodies.

Money, love, and murder in 1880s Newport high society... Pinkerton detective Penelope Hamilton is summoned to fashionable Newport to investigate the two-year-old death of a wealthy matron. Did she fall from the Cliff Walk's Forty Steps in the middle of the night, as was presumed, or was she pushed by her much-younger husband? The case is personal this time, since Pen's client is her own mother—breaking her near-decade of silence—and the man under scrutiny is to marry Pen's cousin in a week's time. The lady detective discreetly enlists the help of a local, but the inquiry quickly unravels when he turns up dead. To make things worse, Pen's identity as a Pinkerton is uncovered by Newport's most prominent summer resident, whose complaint to her boss brings Pen's estranged husband and fellow Pinkerton, Frank Wynch, to Newport. With her cousin's wedding day nearly here and no answers yet, Pen has no...

When a killer crashes the honeymoon, three’s a crowd…It’s the summer of 1899, and Professor Concordia Wells—now Mrs. David Bradley—eagerly anticipates their honeymoon in the Hamptons. She has one errand along the way, to visit a former student seeking advice. About a love interest, no doubt.If only it were that benign. The young lady, now employed as a switchboard operator, inadvertently eavesdropped on a murder plot involving the high finance world of the Stock Exchange Luncheon Club. How to notify the police without losing her position? Before Concordia can think of something, the girl is murdered.Without proof, the police give little credence to second-hand conspiracy tales. David convinces Concordia to leave the matter to the authorities and go on with their honeymoon. Little do they know that trouble will follow them to their peaceful getaway, and entangle them in secrets and long-standing grudges until...

LIBRARY JOURNAL'S AWARD-WINNING SELF-e MYSTERY OF 2015!An unseemly lesson...in murder.The year is 1896, and college professor Concordia Wells has her hands full: teaching classes, acting as live-in chaperone to a cottage of lively female students, and directing the student play, Macbeth.But mystery and murder are not confined to the stage, especially when the death of Concordia's sister, Mary, appears to be foul play. To make matters worse, the women's college is plagued by malicious pranks, arson, money troubles, and the apparent suicide of a college official.With her beloved school facing certain ruin, Concordia knows that she must act. As she struggles to seek justice for her sister and discover who is behind the college incidents, there are some closest to Concordia who do not appreciate the unseemly inquiries and bold actions of the young lady professor. Can she discover who is responsible...before she becomes the next target?"A fun historical...

A murder...a missing boy...a secret society's bold and deadly plot...It is 1898, and Professor Concordia Wells has come to expect the hectic routine of classes, clubs, teas, and the inevitable student pranks at the women's college. If only she could avoid the cantankerous dean, Randolph Maynard, who has learned about her past experiences as a "lady sleuth." To Concordia's dismay, he scrutinizes her every move for evidence of unseemly conduct.The dean will certainly scowl over the lady professor's behavior when a disastrous turn of events affects those she loves. First, a mysterious woman claims that Concordia's young friend, the eleven-year-old Eli, is her long-lost child. Soon after, they find the woman murdered and the boy gone.Lieutenant Capshaw is given the case, only to be abruptly replaced by a junior associate. An innocuous reassignment, or something more?Concordia calls upon a former ally, Penelope Hamilton, for help. As they search for the child and untangle the mystery...