The Bohemian Murders: A Fremont Jones Mystery

As soon as her affairs were in order after the Great Earthquake, Fremont travels to Carmel to her friend Michael Archer and the cottage he rented for her in the bohemian artist colony. She arrives to find not Michael, but Misha Kosskoff, apparently his real name, and his lifestyle is as different as that name. She moves her business to a nearby community and takes temporary charge of the local lighthouse while the keeper is away. While on watch she sees the body of a woman wash up on the rocks of the light and sounds the alarm. The woman wears expensive and elaborate clothing, not the clothes of a transient, yet noone claims the body. Does she have any connection to Misha's new friends?This is an intereting look into the bohemian lifestyle of the early 1900's. The writers and artists that flocked to Carmel were a colorful bunch as evidenced here. Michael becomes even more mysterious if that is possible and the murder is very difficult to solve. Great read!

This is the third in the series that began with "The Strange Files of Fremont Jones." And it's amazing! It does everything you want a mystery to do. It's even better than the first two of the series, which I would have thought were impossible to top. This hard-to-put-down book is a superb read. Fremont's and Michael's characters continue to evolve, as does their relationship. And the ancillary characters are so much fun! Dianne Day absolutely sets up a world of time and place and mood and drops us in it. This has instantly become one of my all-time favorite reads -- mystery or otherwise. I'm not kidding! More! More!

Bohemian Murders offers the best of Fremont Jones. The setting is beautiful - the dramatic coast of Carmel, Pacific Grove. I love the author's detail about what the area looked like at the turn of the century. How long it took to get from Pacific Grove to Carmel in a buggy going up the big hill is a reminder about technological changes - today you can get between the two towns in about 10 minutes! Fremont is making her way doing two jobs - lighthouse keeper and typist. Her daily exploits and the mystery that evolves are believable. I enjoyed her "companion's" bohemian phase and the friends he brought into the story. Her persistence in uncovering the mystery made sense and the facts were uncovered appropriately. The combination of the mystery and the atmosphere of Carmel and Pacific Grove at the time are blended masterfully.

Dianne Day's literary concerns are about the nature of cultural change in the U.S. just after the turn of the century. The time of the sertting is significant -- the horse & buggy are about to give 'way to the motor car. Mirroring that is her protagonist, Fremont Jones', natural feminist sensibility --and way ahead of her time. Day is an entertaining writer, yes, but she uses the mystery genre to examine serious, major themes. She is among the very best contemporary novelists and deserves a wide audience.

In the winter of 1907, Fremont Jones, like thousands of other survivors, is still feeling the aftershock of last year's devastating San Francisco earthquake. She makes up her mind to follow Michael Archer, a man she is attracted to, who has left the city for Carmel. When she reaches Michael's new abode, she finds her former Bay Area neighbor's personality has radically changed into that of a bohemian. With no ties left in San Francisco, Fremont decides to hang around Carmel for a while to try to understand Michael better. She accepts a job as a temporary lighthouse keeper and part time typist. While on duty, she notices a body wash ashore. No one can identify the deceased, who was wearing a beautiful red dress. Fremont takes the death very personally and becomes determined to learn the dead person's name and insure that she receives a proper burial. She begins to question the nearby citizens in order to identify the victim. As she gets closer to learning the answer, Fremont has placed her own life in jeopardy from someone who wants more than a dead person buried, they desire the entire investigation to be interred with the victim. The third appearance of Fremont Jones, like the previous two, is a great historical who-done-it that should thrill fans of the mystery genre. THE BOHEMIAN MURDERS is an interesting murder mystery because of the authentic feel of the period and the early twentieth century's most liberated lady, Ms. Jones. Readers who enjoy an entertaining novel set in a bygone era need to read all three Dianne Day's books which are great, great, and great.