Not Again Spin Off from The Pinkerton Mysteries
Historical, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Women Sleuths,
Independent
May 27, 2023
Kindle
158
Amazon
Lizzie Ferguson is not a typical 1912 woman.
Owner of the E.M. Ferguson Detective Agency, she prefers to live life outside of society’s norm – both in and out of the bedroom – which leads to complications when she finds herself attracted to her beautiful assistant, Julia Straton, and an arrogant, yet devastatingly handsome journalist named Walton Crew. But who has time for romance when there are murders to solve?
Her newest case is eerily similar to one from the past. Male brothel workers are being butchered, so she calls on old friends and Pinkerton detectives, Michael O’Leary and Stiles Long, to help track down the killer. Working together, the three friends race against the clock to prevent more blood from being shed, but when all is said and done, will the citizens of New York City accept Lizzie for who she is?
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
If you are familiar with the Pinkerton Man series, then you are aware of who Lizzie Ferguson is. Lizzie was once a Pinkerton agent, and her two best friends are Michael O’Leary and Stiles Long the main characters in the Pinkerton Man series. Now at long last Lizzie is starring in her own series and of course Michael and Stiles make an appearance.
Lizzie opened her own detective agency, something quite rare in 1912. If Lizzie wanted to follow the norm like most women of the time she would marry, raise children and take care of the family home, but the last thing she wants is to be tied down to a man since she is unsure of where her desires lay, man or woman.
Most of Lizzie’s cases are ones that no one wants to handle but that changes when Mrs. Strongworth comes asking for her help in locating her missing son. Of course, she came to Lizzie since everyone else turned her down. Finally, a case equal to her talent. Young men are being found dead, strangled and raped all reminiscent of previous cases in St. Louis and New York. She is convinced that these murders are in some way connected to the missing boy and clubs that deal in male prostitution.
Lizzie calls Michael and Stiles for their help and they don’t hesitate to drop everything and come. Walton Crew is the newspaper man writing the stories about the murders and he comes to Lizzie seeking information, information she has no intention of giving him. She doesn’t trust Walton, in fact she doesn’t like him, but he just keeps on showing up. The more Lizzie digs into Adam’s disappearance the more questions come up and few if any answers.
As a last resort Lizzie decides to get a job in the male prostitution club putting her in the line of fire. Michael and Stiles can’t convince her to change her mind and do whatever they can to ensure her safety. More young men are found dead, Adam is still missing and the answers she needs are still a mystery. So many possible suspects and Lizzie must try to eliminate them one at a time to get to the right person, the killer.
1912 a time when being gay was a deeply kept secret and very dangerous which could account for the reason the police don’t seem to be actively pursuing the killer. I was hooked from the first page to the last trying to figure out who the killer is, sometimes I am right but not this time. This was a mystery until the very end. There are more Lizzie Ferguson mysteries coming and I have a pretty good idea who her next client will be.
If you are a fan of the Pinkerton Man series and a fan of mysteries that leave you guessing till the end this is the book for you. Secrets, surprises and amazing characters, can’t wait for more.