A notorious woman is murdered, and reporter Sophie Strong stumbles onto the story. Does she have what it takes to find the killer before it’s too late?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 1912: As the only female reporter at the Milwaukee Herald, twenty-two-year-old Sophie Strong is thrilled when she’s invited to cover the party of the season. Soon she’s swept into the opulent world of the city’s wealthy brewing families. But before she can even get to her typewriter, she discovers a murder victim. The intriguing Detective Jacob Zimmer warns her to leave sleuthing to the police, while Sophie’s editor insists she focus on tea parties and fashion shows. But when her friend and fellow suffragist Clara Elliot comes under suspicion, Sophie is determined to uncover the truth—even if she risks her own life along the way. Check out this historical mystery sure to intrigue fans of Rhys Bowen, Alyssa Maxwell, and Victoria Thompson.
This is the first instalment in the Sophie Strong Mystery series and it’s a great start to the series.
The story takes place in 1912, so in a world that is different from the one I’m used to, the world of the 1920s. Yet some things are already clearly heading that way. This sense of uniqueness, mixed with familiarity, really made me feel at home.
Sophie is a reporter for the Milwaukee Herald, and as a lady reporter, she covers ‘women stuff’. However, she dreams of covering important stories one day. She’s also involved with the suffrage movement, her Aunt Lucy being an important member of the association.
Can’t say I’ve never read such a premise, but I loved how Amy Renshow handles the material. On the one hand, it’s just like you would expect it. But on the other, it surprised me.
Of course, Sophie stumbles upon a murder, of course she wants to investigate, of course she meets a very handsome detective. Yet what I enjoyed about Sophie is her fierce determination. She always acts because she wants to protect the people she loves, but also because she wants to be a great reporter. Honestly, her way of being wild, which at first made me question whether a woman in the 1910s would act like that, in the end, made me think you really needed to be tough and proactive to be a reporter at that time.
To me, the story had very different feelings at the beginning compared to the end.
The beginning took a bit to get going and it felt like it followed a path of the lady reporter in the male world that I had seen before. But then, little by little, the gears shifted. Sophie’s determination started to surface in an ever more personal way, and it built to a conclusion that I loved. Because it’s different, very, very strong, packed with action that, while fast, is also very realistic.
Not an easy fit, especially at the end of a murder mystery.
It was a great read. I think Amy Renshaw found a remarkably personal look at a well-known trope, and a very personal way to tell that kind of story.
Strong Suspicions by Amy Renshow – #HistoricalFiction #CosyMystery set in 1912 with a strong-willed female reporter determined to see her suffragist friend clear of the suspicions of murder #bookreview Share on XStrong Suspicions
Excerpt
Sophie’s eyes returned to the woman’s chest. The torn fabric was smudged with black. It must be a gunshot wound, she reasoned. She fought against the nausea that rose in her throat.
Sophie reached above Hilda’s head to the doorknob and pulled herself to her feet, careful not to disturb the body. She forced herself to take a deep breath and stand perfectly still. It wasn’t her first discovery of a dead body, but the first had been so long ago; she resolutely blocked it from her mind.
She took in every detail of the scene with a reporter’s eye, ignoring her hammering heart. Hilda Rock wore a light wool, navy-blue traveling dress, the jacket trimly tailored, with a row of gold buttons down the front. Her boots were sturdy. Had she been planning a trip? Sophie could see no purse or luggage nearby. Had she been robbed?
Allowing her eyes to drift over Hilda’s form, avoiding the terrifying stain on the woman’s chest, Sophie caught the glint of a watch fob pin dangling from her lapel. If it was a robbery, wouldn’t a thief have grabbed it She peered closer and saw that the glass face was shattered, the hands frozen at five after eleven. She swallowed, wondering if Mrs. Rock had taken a breath after that moment.
Sophie heard the distant thunk of something hitting the floor. She jerked her head up, and sweat broke out across her back. Had the killer returned to remove the evidence? She had to get help. She had to find the police. There was no telephone in the suffrage office, and even if there had been, she couldn’t imagine stepping over the lifeless body of Hilda Rock to enter and use it. Turning, she stumbled back down the hallway.
“Help…” As if in a dream, she could barely make herself speak. “Help!” she tried again, lifting her voice a little louder. She tried to open Mr. Pitman’s door, but it didn’t budge. She knocked fiercely. “Mr. Pitman? Are you there?” Silence.
Sophie ran to the stairs. Then she heard another thunk. A chill crawled down her spine. This one was closer. But next came a plaintive meow as Anthony, the stray cat that often wandered the building, pranced around the corner. When he saw Sophie, he mewled again and scurried to her side, rubbing against her calf.
“Crazy cat,” she muttered. She grabbed the banister and hurried down the stairs.
The Thursday Quotables was originally a weekly post created by Lisa Wolf for her book blog Bookshelf Fantasy . It isn’t a weekly post anymore, not even for Lisa, but just like her, I still love to share my favourite reads on Thursdays and I still use the original template which included an excerpt.
