Smoke and Mirrors

By Casey Daniels

Introducing museum curator and amateur sleuth Miss Evie Barnum in the first of a deliciously quirky new historical mystery series.

Evie Barnum is in charge of her brother’s museum, a place teeming with scientific specimens and “human prodigies” including a bearded woman and the lizard man. In this weird and whacky workplace, Evie hopes she can bury her secrets.

But when an old friend shows up and begs for her help, she does all she can to stay away. The next time she sees him, he is dead in front of the exhibit of the Feejee Mermaid. Suspicion for the murder falls on Jeffrey, known as the Lizard Man, but Evie knows it isn’t possible.

When Jeffrey also goes missing, Evie becomes determined to solve the mystery of her friend’s murder, even if it brings her face to face with her past…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers
• Release date: Nov 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781780109008

Casey Daniels

Casey Daniels once applied for a job as a tour guide in a cemetery. She didn't get the job, but she did get the idea for the Pepper Martin mystery series. Casey learned to love mysteries early thanks to her father, a Cleveland Police detective who enjoyed Sherlock Holmes stories and spent his days off searching for stolen cars—with Casey along for the ride. Later, she read her way through every mystery on the library shelves. Casey has a degree in English and a background in journalism and teaching. She is the author of two previous Pepper Martin mysteries, Don of the Dead and The Chick and the Dead, and lives in Northeast Ohio.

Reviews for Smoke and Mirrors

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1842 New York, Miss Evie Barnum is working in her brothers' museum when an old friend from home, Andrew Emerson, calls asking for help. But with her recent history of home she refuses to speak to him. Later he is found murdered, and she is determined to save an innocent man from being charged.
I enjoyed this mystery, which started slowly, but did increase in pace. I felt it was a good solid start to the series, introducing us to some decent characters which hopefully will appear in future books.
A NetGalley Book