Emperor Norton's Ghost: A Fremont Jones Mystery

This is another marvelous entry in the Fremont Jones series. Once again the author creates a full sense of place, and her main characters continue to develop into even more interesting people. This time the story is about psychic phenomena and the people who pursue the paranormal. It's nice that the author does NOT make fun of either the people or the pursuit! A tension-filled and interesting twist on murder and familial abuse.

Ms. Day does it again! I just love this series. I want to thank the author, Dianne Day for all the entertainment and pleasure she has given me. Ms. Day works hard to bring us a very accurate history in her settings. In this one, she has brought a little known period of America's history to the front, and done an excellent job with it. She also tackels a most modern issue in this one, with the problems of the times this book is set in. I'm so glad that Fremont and Michael are so progressive thinking. If they weren't I would have hated them and this book. But I loved the book. I hope you read it and enjoy it as much as I did.

I enjoy reading books in a series about mysteries, particularly if the protagonist is a character that appeals to me. So it is with Fremont Jones, the intrepid heroine from San Francisco in the time of the Great Quake. The stories are light and breezy, with enough mystery in them to hold my interest from beginning to end. They're fun to read, and don't involve a lot of effort. Good books to relax the mind with in between ones of more weight and importance.

Thououghly delightful;the best yet in a series which keeps getting better and better. As a native San Franciscan whose grandmother lived through the 1907 earthquake, the descriptions in the book ring true. The heroine, investigator, Fremont Jones is refreshingly original. The plot is fast moving and the story peopled with memorable secondary characters. I look forward to more from the talented Ms.Day and the delightful Ms.Jones and company.

Three years have passed since the 1906 earthquake and its aftermath nearly destroyed San Francisco. However, the city has made a remarkable recovery in its efforts to be rebuilt. Private investigators Freemont Jones and her lover Michael Archer return to their adopted home to live and work together. Freemont is an odd woman. Rarely does one see such an independent female willing to ignore society by not marrying the man she lives with and who prefers working in a dangerous occupation. Freemont accompanies her only female friend, Frances McFadden, wife of a wealthy but abusive businessman, to a seance. When the medium invites Frances to a private session, Freemont also comes. However, when they arrive at the medium's home, they find the woman dead. Freemont starts an investigation that leads her into an ethereal world of charlatans, con artists, and one killer whose target is the city by the bay's most renowned clairvoyants. This fourth entry in the Freemont Jones historical mysteries is the best novel in a series that already boasts three superb tales, including a Macavityy Award winner. Dianne Day brilliantly fleshes out her characters so that the audience can feel for them while understanding their motivations. The cadence and vocabulary of the dialog matches the vernacular of the era while the resiliency of the San Francisco residents adds much depth to the novel. The who-done-it is complex and will also sustain reader interest. EMPEROR NORTON'S GHOST contains enough elements from different genres to appeal to a wide range of readers, including those who love mystery, historical, and mainstream novels.Harriet Klausner