June 20, 2016
Herriman’s sequel to 2015’s No Comfort for the Lost brings 1867 San Francisco to vivid life. When Owen Cassidy, a 14-year-old orphan, unearths a body while digging one night for hidden gold in the basement of the building owned by his employer, Martin and Company, he decides to go tell his benefactor, nurse Celia Davies. After accompanying Owen to the cellar, Celia advises Owen to report his grisly discovery to police detective Nick Greaves. Nick would like nothing more than to pin the murder on a former friend of his, Frank Hutchinson, who’s one of the three partners in Martin and Company. The dead man, identified as Virgil Nash, turns out to have lots of enemies, including Hutchinson. Anxious to provide Nick with alternative suspects, Celia does her own sleuthing, which Nick reluctantly comes to accept. Inevitably, Celia courts danger, while Nick courts Celia. Plucky Celia’s rebellion against the gender restrictions of her day makes up in part for a routine mystery. Agent: Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary Agency.