Kelli Stanley has just come out with the second in her Miranda Corbie mystery series set in San Francisco in the 30’s and 40’s—this time someone’s killing Jewish women, women whose place on the edges of society makes them particularly vulnerable. No one’s going to step up and bring them justice—or so the powers that be hope. They didn’t count on Miranda.
Previously I’ve reviewed Kelli’s Roman series, which I love (Nox Dormienda and The Curse-Maker), but City of Dragons and now City of Secrets are just as compelling. Kelli is a rising star in the world of mystery authors: Nox won the Bruce Alexander Award, City of Dragons was an LA Times Book Prize Finalist and, most impressively, the Macavity Award Winner for the Best Historical Mystery of 2010. Her tough, noir style, brings us multi-layered characters, fast-paced unpredictable action, and a setting that makes you feel like surely your armchair has been transported to San Francisco at that intriguingly rough period at the very end of the 30’s.
If somehow you haven’t made Miranda’s acquaintance yet, you have a double delight ahead. For those of you who read City of Dragons, your next fix is available.
I haven’t read the others, but this one is a must. It’s the thought of the victims that gets me.
Yes, Kelli’s good at getting into her readers that way. She’s chosen Treasure Island during the big exhibition/carnival, so these are women doubly on the edge, not only for their religion but also for their jobs which cause them to be viewed as women of no morals.
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