Murder on Black Friday

Ryan's thorough research of the time period shines through. Her attention to detail provides the reader with an intimate understanding of the time period's social norms which plays squarely into the mystery at hand. The relationship between Will & Nell is a wonderful treat which will keep readers coming back for more.

Murder on Black Friday by P.B. Ryan is the 4th book in the Gilded Age series starring Boston governess Nell Sweeney and her beau Dr. Will Hewitt. In this book, two acquaintances of the Hewitt family appear to take their own lives after suffering huge losses in the gold crash of 1869, but Will has some questions about their deaths, and he asks Nell to help him investigate the mysterious deaths. As always Ryan weaves the chemistry between Nell and Will throughout the tale, deepening their relationship while the mystery deepens. Of course, Will has to strike his brother Harry at least once, which seems to have become one of the trademarks of the series. Ryan keeps her books short, for which I am normally grateful, but in this case, she could have added a little more, just a few more clues and scenes with the ultimate culprits of the crime. Ryan's post-antebellum Boston is a fascinating place, and I look forward to visiting it again soon.

I could focus on plot particulars, but I'll leave that to others, I'd rather tell you what keeps me coming back to this series, what keeps me on the alert for each new installment, it is quite simply the gifted and extraordinary writing of P.B. Ryan. She owns her characters and the details of 19th Boston, I feel immersed and surrounded by sights and smells I could not possibly know. I'm left wanting more and I feel ill equipped for the wait, I should scold myself for devouring each book in the series knowing there is not another new installment yet available. Ryan's writing jumps off the page and merges with my consciousness. This time the final scene left me flushed and with a pounding heart, for that alone the book would have been worth the read. The excellent storytelling and vivid imagery are all the other reasons to throw yourself into this wonderful series. Though I witness Nell and Will's world without the confines of rigid propriety or the shackles of self-reproach, sometimes I apply my modern ideals and frustration rears its ugly head. Then my head clears and I realize they are well taken care of, in the hands of a more than capable writer, who is true to her craft, and letting the story unfold as it should. The reader also gets to meet interesting, layered, and believable characters along the way, they are utterly human, and a higher compliment I could not imagine for what in the hands of a lesser talent could have been mere words on a page. The characters feel imbued with spirit and life; there is a definite 3-dimensional feel to them. Each novel gives us a glimpse into the best and basest of humanity, without a candy coating, without ever breaking away from societal particulars of late 19th century Boston. Nell and Will are people I would love to know and I love visiting their world, seeing the possibility of what could be and feeling torn for all the reasons they believe it never can, but I am not worried I am prepared for the journey, and I get fantastic mysteries along the way, what could be better.

In this latest Nell Sweeney installment, P. B. Ryan uses the gold market crash of 1869 to fashion another skillfully straight forward yet wholly intriguing murder-mystery -- one that results in yet another utterly absorbing and compelling read. The gold market crash on September 24th 1869 wiped out many fortune; so that not too many people are too surprised when they learn that Noah Basett (an impoverished Boston Brahmin) and Philip Munro (a brash, self made speculator and nouveau riche) are found dead that same day. Everyone assumes that both men committed suicide because of their losses. But Dr. William Hewitt, suspects otherwise -- especially in the case of Philip Munro. Currently teaching medical jurisprudence (forensic studies) at Harvard, William Hewitt performed the autopsies on both men. And his examinations have led him to believe that Philip Munro's death may actually be murder. Being a bit of a newcomer to Boston, William needs someone to help him gain easy entrance to the Brahmin Boston drawing rooms. Fortunately for him he knows he can count on the intelligent and intuitive Nell Sweeney to help him pave the way as well as get to the truth of what links Noah Basett's death to that of Philip Munro's, and to discover why Philip Munro was murdered and by whom... So far, I've found every installment in the Nell Sweeney mystery series (set in Boston soon after the American Civil War) to be clever, well written and full of wonderful period detail and ambaince. P. B. Ryan is an excellent storyteller, and really knoew how to keep this reader's interest hooked. So that, while "Murder on a black Friday" had a rather uncomplicated storyline (unlike previous installments), the manner in which the author allowed for the plot to unfold really kept me glued to the pages -- I finished the book in one afternoon! Vivid and completely absorbing, "Murder on a black Friday" was a superb read and should not be missed, esp if you enjoy historical mysteries set in America during the Victorian period.