Murder on the Boulevard

by Anne Sloan

Scandal and murder set the stage for this first novel by Houston writer Anne Sloan. Impulsive and headstrong Flora Logan of Houston Heights provides the scandal. It's 1908 and this young, avid student botanist does the unthinkable: she goes alone on a botanical expedition to the Big Thicket. Banished by her family, Flora moves to New York City and becomes quite a Suffragist. Four years later she receives a telegram announcing the mysterious death of her father. Returning to Houston, she is challenged by city builder Jesse H. Jones to fulfill her father's contract to supply marble for the landmark Rice Hotel. In the process, she begins to uncover deadly greed and criminal activities surrounding the construction and a suspicious suicide. Fearlessly, Flora plunges into danger, using her sharp mind and botanical knowledge to trap the murderer.

Anne Sloan's tale captures the flavor and spirit of pre-World War I Houston, its most interesting residents, ad, especially, the streetcar suburb known as Houston Heights.

Genres: Fiction

173 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

Reviews

[R.L.]

This is the first in a series and it was impressive. 1912. The protagonist is a young lady named Flora. She has an overbearing father and a sweet mother who instills in Flora a love of gardening. While banished to her aunt's home in New York City, Flora is demonstrating with the suffragettes when she meets a nice looking young man by accident. She learns of her father's untimely death and recieves a desperate plea for help from her half-brother to come help with the family business in Houston. When she gets there she realizes that the one man she hoped never to see again (the man whose actions led to her banishment) is in charge of her father's business. There are those who suspect that her father did not kill himself but was murdered. Flora investigates and discovers that all is not as it should be. Then another murder occurs and after some hard-headed decisions Flora learns that she can't do everything, and that she needs a bit of help from friends before her father's murderer is brought to justice.

I loved the inclusion of several real historical people mixed among the fictional characters. And the references to the places in Houston that are now experiencing a resurgence of popularity such as the Heights is fantastic. Loved it.

This book was passed around to read for a book club.

[Melanti]

A cozy mystery set in 1908-1912 Houston Heights.

The heroine was a bit too modern in her sensibilities for my tastes. I know that's a common trope in historical fiction, but I'd rather have characters that are either true to the period or those with views just slightly more modern than they would have been. Instead, Sloan fills the book with young suffragettes.

I also hate the silly trope of having the heroine solve the mystery then rush in and confront the criminals alone. And then after she does so, the love interest praises her for being "clever" in solving the mystery. Uh, how about calling her a moron for endangering her own life? That would be a bit more realistic a response... I know confronting the villains alone is a common resolution for cozies, but it's not one I'm fond of.

But I really loved the historic Houston Heights setting, and it went a great way towards making up for the book's flaws.

[Christine Cole]

This book is fairly entertaining. If you are familiar with the Houston Heights it will be enjoyable.

[Kw]

What fun, to read a historical mystery novel set in the Heights! I loved it.