Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
The Pearl of Ruby City
Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Jean Harris
Class/Genre: Mystery Historical Amateur Sleuth
St. Martin's, Oct 1998, $23.95, 368 pp.
In 1893, Pearl Ryan flees her New York past to take up residence in the gritty new mining town of Ruby City, Washington. Pearl earns her keep and hopefully extra cash for medical school by doing laundry and assisting the local doctor. Pearl has an ambition to become a doctor. However, she simply tells everyone in town that she aspires to be a nurse because she knows that most people will scoff at the idea of women becoming a doctor.
However, Pearl's idyll new life is abruptly disturbed when she realizes that Mayor McDonald has been murdered via poisoning. To Pearl even odder is that the doctor's diagnosis is death from typhoid fever. Other strange deaths follow. Fearing an official inquiry could expose her own secrets; Pearl begins to secretly investigate the sudden rash of deaths inflicting the small silver mining community.
THE PEARL OF RUBY CITY is a gem of a historical mystery starring several intriguing secondary characters and a wonderful but enigmatic heroine. The story line is exciting and extremely well written. Fans of historical amateur sleuth tales need to devour Jana Harris' debut novel as the author scribes a novel rarely seen in a first book. Hopefully, more Ryan novels will follow.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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