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New York City in 1888. The editor of the Independent Intelligencer, Horatio Foxe, insists that only scandal sells newspapers but widowed Diana Spaulding is determined to make her way as a real reporter, not a stuntwoman like Nellie Bly. Diana accepts an assignment to interview horror writer 'Damon Bathory', who is giving a reading from his work. Ben Northcote, exhausted after his performance, notes a handsome young woman coming down the aisle toward him. The columnist wants to interview him for her newspaper but he is loathe to reveal personal details. She returns to the newsroom without the interview, but Foxe is one step ahead of her. He has offered a reward to the first newsboy who brings Northcote's location to him. Diana goes to Ben's room at The Palace Hotel where she is again rebuffed but this time, she hires a cab and waits for him to leave the hotel. Then she follows him -- to Bellevue hospital and to an art gallery. The next morning, Foxe comes to Spaulding's boarding house and shows her telegrams. In both Philadelphia and San Francisco a woman had died mysteriously while Bathory was in town. Then Diana is attacked one night in an alley off Union Square. The cat and mouse game goes on for a while until, finally, Northcote takes a train to Maine. Spaulding following. This is Emerson's 29th book, the first in what I hope will be a new series. Emerson gets all the details right, down to the Blizzard of 1888. She doesn't use the hackneyed images of New York City during the storm but rather travellers trapped in a train. For those who like an historical romantic mystery with suitably gothic overtones, this is one to try. The author's meticulous research and ability to create characters blend perfectly to create situations and people that are frighteningly real.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, January 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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