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Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful New Historical Series!
Review: I am a great fan of Anne Perry so imagine my delight when I found this author and this book. The era is the same as Ms. Perry, but the setting is in Boston, not England. Ms. Peale delineates Victorian Boston very well, and her characterizations are quite good. The proprieties and social consciousness are the same as Ms. Perry, and the evils are just as vivid. This book deals with the death of Colonel Mann who we never meet in the story, but we certainly hear enough about him. He wrote scandal sheets and used information that he gleaned from his many informants to blackmail various people in society. The kind of character that has many people who are happy at his death, but the murder needs to be solved anyway because Addington's nearest and dearest were affected by everything and in danger. I look forward to more Beacon Hill mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging plot, rich characterizations, atmospheric...
Review: I really felt I was in Beacon Hill at the turn of the century, and I enjoyed the book tremendously. Very good mystery - reminds me a little of Detective Pitt & his wife Charlotte of the Anne Perry novels, only set in Boston USA! I look forward to reading the rest in the series. It kept my interest throughout the evenings of an exciting vacation. I very much enjoyed the details about the characters involved in the story. So much so that I could read a mystery set in Dr. Mckenzie's background in the military right now!
Rating: 
Summary: An engaging and enjoyable mystery set in 1891 Boston.
Review: Imagine a world where even the slightest hint of scandal can ruin a woman's chance for marriage, where having one's name in the newspaper is tantamount to social ruin, and where one is considered a "spinster" by the age of 35.Enter the world of the Boston Brahmin, the gentry that comprise Boston's high society, the "old money" whose connections and ancestry define their social status. Addington and Caroline Ames, brother and sister, are members of this class and subject to its rules and dictates. When their young cousin, Valentine Thorne, is threatened with blackmail by the unscrupulous Colonel Mann (a publisher whose gossip sheet reveals the secrets of those who refuse to meet his blackmail demands), Addington goes to confront the Colonel, only to find him dead. Unfortunately, the packet of letters that were used to blackmail Valentine are also missing, so Addington and Caroline set out to find the letters and perhaps, along the way, a killer. This is a wonderful mystery, rich in detail and atmosphere. The book is subtitled, "A Beacon Hill Mystery" (as opposed to, for example, "An Addington Ames Mystery"). This is no accident, for the story is told from varying viewpoints, allowing the reader to experience the full range of Boston society. Addington and Caroline, both members of the upper class, nevertheless are consigned to strict gender roles and societal expectations. Their boarder, Dr. MacKenzie, is a stranger to Boston's rigid caste system-through him we experience Boston as a newcomer. Valentine, much younger than her Ames cousins, is of a marriable age and more susceptible to the threat of scandal. Each of these characters is fully developed, with their own separate concerns, motives, and relationships between and amongst each other. The mystery plot is complex and executed well (although it does seem that everyone in Boston has a scandal to hide). There are many characters to track, but the author does a good job of reminding the reader who everybody is and how they fit in with one another. The next in this series is "Murder at Bertram's Bower."
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