Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Spiritualist Murders
    The Dancing Murders
    Chinawoman's Chance
    Audiobook series3 titles

    Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries Series

    Written by James Musgrave

    Narrated by James Musgrave, Joan Dukore and Anne James

    ()

    About this series

    Boomtown San Diego, in 1888, erupts in murder. Retired Marshal and hero of the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp is involved.

    What's really going on? 

    Award-winning, best-selling mystery author, James Musgrave, takes issues from the present and turns them into ingenious puzzles for readers to solve. In the Nineteenth Century the same human foibles existed, but the problems happened at a much slower pace.

    In The Dancing Murders, Musgrave turns four suspects over to the reader to choose a murderer.

    Wyatt Earp, the hero of the O. K. Corral shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona, is charged with the First Degree Murder. Series attorney and detective, Clara Shortridge Foltz, takes the case to defend him, as she’s moved to the San Diego boomtown, and she needs the money. The mystery soon escalates into a deep and increasingly frightening exploration into sex-trafficking, terrorism, mystical Kabbalah, Tantric sex, sado-masochism, and the rivalry of three Stingaree bordello madams, who each has a secret.

    With an extremely unique frame, Musgrave allows the reader to first explore the suspects and the issues through five chapters of prologue. Then, in a very Kurosawa-type twist, as in Rashomon, the reader/viewer gets to explore the psyches of the four main suspects, in chronological progression. However, deep within these characters, in their first-person narratives, lies the underlying truth of this entire mystery and how it will explode into the plot for the seventh mystery in this popular series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEMRE Publishing
    Release dateJun 1, 2018
    The Spiritualist Murders
    The Dancing Murders
    Chinawoman's Chance

    Titles in the series (3)

    • 1

      Chinawoman's Chance
      Chinawoman's Chance

      Chinawoman's Chance

      James Musgrave
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      Clara Foltz, Esq. fights sexism and racism in early San Francisco After losing a case in a sexist and racist kangaroo court, Clara learns to use street tactics to find the real killer.  In this exciting first mystery in the new Portia of the Pacific Historical Mystery series, the reviews are in:  "Chinawoman's Chance is an engaging mystery with a historically informative feminist bent." (Anita Lock, Clarion Book Reviews - Foreword Reviews) "It was fascinating to look at the reactions of the politicians to the perceived growing threat of the 'yellow menace', as they termed it, with their heathen religions and beliefs, comparing that to today's response with respect to Hispanic and Muslim immigration. The 'Exclusion Act' and the 'Muslim Ban' - not all that different, perhaps? This book appealed to me on many levels, but most importantly of all, it was a darn good read and an excellent mystery." (Grant Leishman, author of The Second Coming) "The story line flows smoothly amid several provocative twists and turns that engage the reader until the very last page. Musgrave utilizes vivid description of setting and plot to lure the reader into the realistic detail of his story. The main character is well-defined and inspiring as a 19th century heroine. With its heavy reference to the sexist attitudes of the time, I envision Chinawoman's Chance as a staple in the library of many historical mystery collectors." (Lisa McCombs, author of I Have MS. What's Your Superpower?) Now you can hear how it was in California before civil rights became an issue for anyone but males. Clara Shortridge Foltz, Esq. is the first woman admitted to the State Bar of California. It is 1884 in San Francisco's Chinatown.

      Clara Foltz, Esq. fights sexism and racism in early San Francisco After losing a case in a sexist and racist kangaroo court, Clara learns to use street tactics to find the real killer.  In this exciting first mystery in the new Portia of the Pacific Historical Mystery series, the reviews are in:  "Chinawoman's Chance is an engaging mystery with a historically informative feminist bent." (Anita Lock, Clarion Book Reviews - Foreword Reviews) "It was fascinating to look at the reactions of the politicians to the perceived growing threat of the 'yellow menace', as they termed it, with their heathen religions and beliefs, comparing that to today's response with respect to Hispanic and Muslim immigration. The 'Exclusion Act' and the 'Muslim Ban' - not all that different, perhaps? This book appealed to me on many levels, but most importantly of all, it was a darn good read and an excellent mystery." (Grant Leishman, author of The Second Coming) "The story line flows smoothly amid several provocative twists and turns that engage the reader until the very last page. Musgrave utilizes vivid description of setting and plot to lure the reader into the realistic detail of his story. The main character is well-defined and inspiring as a 19th century heroine. With its heavy reference to the sexist attitudes of the time, I envision Chinawoman's Chance as a staple in the library of many historical mystery collectors." (Lisa McCombs, author of I Have MS. What's Your Superpower?) Now you can hear how it was in California before civil rights became an issue for anyone but males. Clara Shortridge Foltz, Esq. is the first woman admitted to the State Bar of California. It is 1884 in San Francisco's Chinatown.

    • 2

      The Spiritualist Murders
      The Spiritualist Murders

      The Spiritualist Murders

      James Musgrave
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      CLARA AND HER FAMILY MUST STOP A MESMERIZING MURDERER Women in 1886 San Francisco are killing their husbands. Attorney detective Clara Foltz uses an eighteen-year-old clairvoyant to track down the mysterious man using the powers of sexual magnetism and mesmerism to turn abused women into murderers. This becomes a family mystery, as Clara's two oldest children get involved. Clara's assistant, Ah Toy, must also enlist the help of her evil uncle, Little Pete, because he also uses his paranormal abilities to control his harem of prostitutes in Chinatown. Ah Toy learns how he does it and leads Clara and her family inside the dark, seamy side of how women are controlled for nefarious purposes. But the true confrontation comes when Clara joins together with her attorney friend, Laura de Force Gordon, to question witnesses who testified at the trial of Mrs. Rachel Wilson-Rafferty. They also pay a visit to the wife of the man who began the first Rosicrucian group in America, Dr. Paschal Beverly Randolph. They learn he taught sexual magnetism and the use of hashish and marijuana to help transfix his members in spiritual trances before they had sex with their partners. As the wealthy and abusive husbands are murdered by their wives all over the United States, Clara and her team begin to close in on a variety of suspects. The supernatural climax leads to a final confrontation and the solution to the mystery, inside the Winchester house in San Jose, but not without several twists in the action, which place Clara's daughter and son in immediate danger. This second, much-awaited mystery in the Portia of the Pacific series shows how women used Spiritualism in order to further their rights as women and wives. In this case, however, women once again become victims of a sexist predator who will risk everything to achieve his misogynistic goals.

      CLARA AND HER FAMILY MUST STOP A MESMERIZING MURDERER Women in 1886 San Francisco are killing their husbands. Attorney detective Clara Foltz uses an eighteen-year-old clairvoyant to track down the mysterious man using the powers of sexual magnetism and mesmerism to turn abused women into murderers. This becomes a family mystery, as Clara's two oldest children get involved. Clara's assistant, Ah Toy, must also enlist the help of her evil uncle, Little Pete, because he also uses his paranormal abilities to control his harem of prostitutes in Chinatown. Ah Toy learns how he does it and leads Clara and her family inside the dark, seamy side of how women are controlled for nefarious purposes. But the true confrontation comes when Clara joins together with her attorney friend, Laura de Force Gordon, to question witnesses who testified at the trial of Mrs. Rachel Wilson-Rafferty. They also pay a visit to the wife of the man who began the first Rosicrucian group in America, Dr. Paschal Beverly Randolph. They learn he taught sexual magnetism and the use of hashish and marijuana to help transfix his members in spiritual trances before they had sex with their partners. As the wealthy and abusive husbands are murdered by their wives all over the United States, Clara and her team begin to close in on a variety of suspects. The supernatural climax leads to a final confrontation and the solution to the mystery, inside the Winchester house in San Jose, but not without several twists in the action, which place Clara's daughter and son in immediate danger. This second, much-awaited mystery in the Portia of the Pacific series shows how women used Spiritualism in order to further their rights as women and wives. In this case, however, women once again become victims of a sexist predator who will risk everything to achieve his misogynistic goals.

    • 6

      The Dancing Murders
      The Dancing Murders

      The Dancing Murders

      James Musgrave
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      Boomtown San Diego, in 1888, erupts in murder. Retired Marshal and hero of the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp is involved. What's really going on?  Award-winning, best-selling mystery author, James Musgrave, takes issues from the present and turns them into ingenious puzzles for readers to solve. In the Nineteenth Century the same human foibles existed, but the problems happened at a much slower pace. In The Dancing Murders, Musgrave turns four suspects over to the reader to choose a murderer. Wyatt Earp, the hero of the O. K. Corral shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona, is charged with the First Degree Murder. Series attorney and detective, Clara Shortridge Foltz, takes the case to defend him, as she’s moved to the San Diego boomtown, and she needs the money. The mystery soon escalates into a deep and increasingly frightening exploration into sex-trafficking, terrorism, mystical Kabbalah, Tantric sex, sado-masochism, and the rivalry of three Stingaree bordello madams, who each has a secret. With an extremely unique frame, Musgrave allows the reader to first explore the suspects and the issues through five chapters of prologue. Then, in a very Kurosawa-type twist, as in Rashomon, the reader/viewer gets to explore the psyches of the four main suspects, in chronological progression. However, deep within these characters, in their first-person narratives, lies the underlying truth of this entire mystery and how it will explode into the plot for the seventh mystery in this popular series.

      Boomtown San Diego, in 1888, erupts in murder. Retired Marshal and hero of the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp is involved. What's really going on?  Award-winning, best-selling mystery author, James Musgrave, takes issues from the present and turns them into ingenious puzzles for readers to solve. In the Nineteenth Century the same human foibles existed, but the problems happened at a much slower pace. In The Dancing Murders, Musgrave turns four suspects over to the reader to choose a murderer. Wyatt Earp, the hero of the O. K. Corral shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona, is charged with the First Degree Murder. Series attorney and detective, Clara Shortridge Foltz, takes the case to defend him, as she’s moved to the San Diego boomtown, and she needs the money. The mystery soon escalates into a deep and increasingly frightening exploration into sex-trafficking, terrorism, mystical Kabbalah, Tantric sex, sado-masochism, and the rivalry of three Stingaree bordello madams, who each has a secret. With an extremely unique frame, Musgrave allows the reader to first explore the suspects and the issues through five chapters of prologue. Then, in a very Kurosawa-type twist, as in Rashomon, the reader/viewer gets to explore the psyches of the four main suspects, in chronological progression. However, deep within these characters, in their first-person narratives, lies the underlying truth of this entire mystery and how it will explode into the plot for the seventh mystery in this popular series.

    Author

    James Musgrave

    James Musgrave has been in a Bram Stoker Finalist anthology, and he’s won the First Place Blue Ribbon for Best Historical Mystery, Forevermore, at the Chanticleer International Book Awards. His most recent publication, “Bug Motel,” is the first story in the Toilet Zone 3 Horror Anthology, Hellbound Books. "Jasmine," is in the anthology Draw Down the Moon published by Propertius Press. His adult short fiction anthology Valley of the Dogs, Dark Stories, won the Silver Medal at the 2021 Reader's Favorite international contest. Two of his historical mystery series are published through and curated by the American Library Association's Biblioboard.com.

    Related to Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Bringing Light To HORROR

      Jul 24, 2020

      I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK Stream* or watch from August 9, Sundays at 8.30pm on FOX SHOWCASE [115] For true-crime writer Michelle McNamara, patterns were key. While investigating the cases that fascinated her, she would look for repetition, coincidence

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ten Must-Read Crime Books Set in the American West

      Dec 27, 2019

      This list of must-read crime titles forms part of a lesser-known West, an awesomely weird landscape in which the line between Good and Evil shimmers like a mirage. The post Ten Must-Read Crime Books Set in the American West appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      An Aneurism of Axe Murders: On ‘The Man from the Train’

      Oct 9, 2017

      You can’t help but read these murders as a parable of alienation. The lone drifter stalking the country by train, itself a mode of transport from a bygone era, to literally smash apart families with an instrument that evoked America’s timbered frontier. The post An Aneurism of Axe Murders: On ‘The Man from the Train’ appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Best Crime Books of 2017

      Dec 20, 2017

      The Best Crime Books of 2017
      20 min read

    • Article

      Must See, Must Read

      Mar 1, 2022

      Must See, Must Read
      14 min read

    • Article

      Golden State Killer: A Primer On An Elusive Predator

      Apr 25, 2018

      Here is a primer on the Golden State Killer from the pages of the Los Angeles Times: Q: What do we know about the Golden State Killer? A: The killer is believed to be responsible for 12 slayings, 45 rapes and more than 120 residential burglaries betw

      3 min read

    • Article

      Soldiers, Poachers And Detectives

      Jul 16, 2021

      BREAKER MORANT by Peter FitzSimons (Constable, R355) The Australian colonials in the Anglo-Boer War were rough and tough and, as such, exactly what the British needed to take on the unconventional Boer forces. But the 16 000 Australians could be trou

      2 min read

    • Article

      Crime

      Apr 3, 2024

      Crime
      3 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Oct 27, 2023

      By Janice Hallett Bestseller Hallett’s latest novel reunites us with the Fairway Players, the beleaguered am-dram group who featured in her debut, The Appeal. As before, young lawyers Femi and Charlotte must work out whodunnit from a bunch of emails,

      2 min read

    • Article

      Off The Shelf

      Jan 25, 2024

      Greed is a fascinating topic and one that Fiona Lowe explores with great insight in this tale of financial corruption in a small community. On the surface, Izzy Harrington is on the brink of an ideal future, perfectly packaged for a perfect life as t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Digging Into Danger

      Sep 26, 2021

      Like an Olympic pole vaulter who raises the bar after already securing the gold, Scottish author Val McDermid continues to push herself to new heights even though she’s well entrenched as a modern queen of the crime genre. after taking her long-runni

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Murder The Strange Case Of Walter Sickert And Jack The Ripper

      May 19, 2022

      Whitechapel, London, the autumn of 1888. Through the midnight streets stalks a dark figure, wrapped in a long, checkered coat. As the secretive figure makes his way along Copenhagen Street, he attracts the attention of a group of young girls. Talk of

      15 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Go… The New Zealand Countryside Circa 1960

      Aug 22, 2018

      “Bit of bad news, you chaps. No use beating about the bush, Jock’s gone.” “Gone?” echoed Simon. “Gone where?” For a moment Jim wondered exactly where, then put the unseemly speculation aside and said, “Sorry, Simon, but there it is. I mean — he’s dea

      4 min read

    • Article

      Top 10 Reads

      Jan 1, 2020

      Top 10 Reads
      2 min read

    • Article

      Catch Up On The Best Of 2020

      Nov 13, 2020

      Catch Up On The Best Of 2020
      5 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Sep 23, 2022

      By Robert Galbraith At 1,024 pages, the sixth outing for private investigators Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott is the longest yet, but this tale of internet pileons repays the commitment. Edie Ledwell, co-creator of popular YouTube cartoon The Ink

      2 min read

    • Article

      'Beneath A Ruthless Sun' Is A Wrenching Story Of Bigotry – And An Inspiring Tale Of Heroes

      Apr 26, 2018

      This kind of narrative is familiar territory for Gilbert King, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his remarkable 2012 bestseller "Devil in the Grove," another look at violence, injustice, and heroic opposition.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Cracking The Case

      Aug 14, 2022

      Cracking The Case
      2 min read

    • Article

      True Crime

      Apr 8, 2021

      When the sun went down in 1985 Los Angeles, Richard Ramirez terrorised its residents. Dubbed the Night Stalker by the press, Ramirez broke into people’s homes in the middle of the night and murdered the innocent victims. One of the most notorious ser

      2 min read

    • Article

      The 10 Best Books Of February Reckon With The Past – And Present

      Feb 27, 2024

      Float Up, Sing Down, by Laird Hunt In Laird Hunt’s collection of stories, residents of an Indiana farming community in 1982 go about their routines, with secrets and regrets roiling beneath the surface. “Things grew where they grew and flew where the

      2 min read

    • Article

      Best Of Bing E TV

      Mar 29, 2020

      Starring Steve Buscemi and featuring a jazzy soundtrack, this gritty Prohibition-era drama follows a politician who meddles in local affairs, bootlegging and other criminal activities. Julia Roberts stars in this psychological thriller about a woma

      5 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jun 15, 2022

      Great Read
      4 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Aug 26, 2022

      By Lawrence Osborne Osborne’s latest book is set in a vividly rendered Hong Kong during the Chinese government’s brutal suppression of the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations. The ghosts of Graham Greene’s world-weary expat protagonists hover over jade

      2 min read

    • Article

      Raising The Dead

      Nov 13, 2022

      During the pandemic, internationally bestselling Christchurch author Paul Cleave returned to his writing roots: writing scripts for TV drama Dark City: The Cleaner, based on his 2006 debut; and, in his 13th novel, The Pain Tourist, readers get the mu

      2 min read

    • Article

      Mayhem And Murder Aplenty!

      Nov 19, 2021

      by Qaanitah Hunter, Kaveel Singh & Jeff Wicks (Tafelberg, R280) “Who knew what, when?” has been one of the most frequently asked questions about the eight days “that set South Africa alight”, as this deeply researched retelling puts it. All three wri

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words