No Mortal Reason: A Diana Spaulding Mystery

Kathy Lynn Emerson's thirty-third Diana Spaulding novel is written with an eye towards Emerson's own roots. Ms. Emerson writes in several different genres, including romance, mystery, and children's books. She has also written historical mysteries. When Diana Spaulding and her fiancé, Dr. Ben Northcote decide to make their way back to Maine for their upcoming wedding, Diana wants to stop in Sullivan County, New York, to look up relatives she has never known. Her mother, Elmira Grant Torrence, had been disowned by her family after running off with Diana's now deceased father. They look up the Grants in Lenape Springs, only to find that the hotel Diana's family owns has been the victim of speculation; arson; and murder. Diana and Ben are caught up in what happened to the victim, whose ten year old skeleton is found under the hotel. Diana's boss, Horatio Foxe, wants her to write copy about the murder for his paper. However, Ben just wants Diana to marry him: "Ben sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and let his hands dangle loosely between them. The telegram, now sadly crumpled, fell to the carpet. For a time, he stared, unseeing, at the pattern of roses on the rug, wondering if Diana would ever be free of her sense of obligation to Horatio Foxe. In a marriage, the wife was supposed to obey her husband in all things. It was right there in the wedding vows. What a pity he could not simply forbid her all further contact with her editor." Diana Spaulding is an independent woman who has been burned by one marriage and is determined not to repeat the mistake. Ben Northcote is a well-meaning doctor who wants nothing more than to settle down with his wife. This sets up the perfect conflict which, adding in a strange family background and murder, makes for an excellent plot and fun reading. Ms. Emerson used real life historical figures to spice up the tale, as well as considerable research into the area in 1888. She also relied on her grandfather's memoirs to fire her imagination. NO MORTAL REASON is a clearly written historical thriller that informs and entertains the reader. Diana Spaulding is a formidable heroine, with a stubborn streak that adds spice to this page turner. An excellent addition to Ms. Emerson's considerable catalog of books! Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer

In 1888, there are many newspapers competing for the large New York City market, but few "girl" reporters work as journalists. Widow Diane Spaulding is one of the few as she has worked for the Independent Intelligence newspaper. She and her fiancé Dr. Ben Northcote take the train to rural Liberty, New York before finishing her journey in even more rustic Lenape Falls where they will stay for a few days before continuing to his family in Maine to marry. In Sullivan County, New York, Diana meets relatives that she never knew existed until recently when her cold Denver based mother for the firs time mentioned aunts and uncles. However, as she becomes involved in the lives of the Grants and Torrances, she worries that a con artist is setting up her relatives in a scam to make their family owned hotel into a Saratoga Springs-like resort. That pales as Diane uses her snooping skills to prove her Uncle Howd the artist is not a killer but the sheriff thinks he murdered the victim, whose bones were just found ten years after the homicide occurred. The terrific look at Upstate New York in the late nineteenth century makes NO MORTAL REASON feel more like a historical novel especially through much of the first part of the novel; the whodunit subplot enhancing the period piece. The cast is as strong as Diana's relatives, other townsfolk, a seemingly shyster hotelier, a nasty goat and the corpse make for quite a family reunion for the heroine and her beau. Once Diana begins the investigation, the story line switches gear from a historical family drama into a cold case murder mystery. Fans will have NO MORTAL REASON not to enjoy this Kathy Lynn Emerson's fine tale of a woman who holds her face up with pride. Harriet Klausner