Concealed in Ash

by Gwen Mayo

Former Pinkerton Agent Nessa Donnelly has nearly forgotten life before trading in her skirts for her brother's suit. She's left her impoverished past behind to become Kentucky's most prominent detective. Now a charred body discovered in the ashes of the Phoenix Hotel, and its connection to the schoolmarm who has charmed both her and Doc Haydon, threatens her house of lies.

254 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2015

About the author

Gwen Mayo is passionate about blending the colorful history of her native Kentucky with her love for mystery fiction. A graduate in political science from the University of Kentucky, Gwen currently lives and writes in Lexington, but grew up in a large Irish family in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Historical Fiction Society, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Her stories have appeared in anthologies, on online short fiction sites, and in micro-fiction collections. Circle of Dishonor, her first novel, is set during the turbulent political upheaval of post Civil War Kentucky at a time when murder was more common in Kentucky than it was anywhere else in the United States.

Reviews

[Tomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish…the main character started sounding gay and I don’t choose to read that type of book. I had noted several historical anachronisms as well.

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical mystery is a page turner that brings 1800s USA to life with an unforgettable main character and a multitude of twists and turns! (Full disclosure: This book has the same publisher as my recent work, but the publisher did not ask me for this review. I've reviewed it independently.)