Summary:
On her way to San Francisco to find her brother, Caleb, who went missing three months ago, Camriann Coulter meets Judith and Kenzie, who both have their own mysteries to solve in the booming West Coast city. The women decide to help each other, including rooming together and working at Kenzie’s cousin’s chocolate factory.
Camri’s search for her brother, an attorney, leads her deep into the political corruption of the city–and into the acquaintance of Patrick Murdock, a handsome Irishman who was saved from a false murder charge by Caleb. Patrick challenges all of Camri’s privileged beliefs, but he knows more about what happened to her brother than anyone else. Together, they move closer to the truth behind Caleb’s disappearance. But as the stakes rise and threats loom, will Patrick be able to protect Camri from the dangers he knows lie in the hidden places of the city?
My Thoughts:
One of the reasons I chose to review this book is that I was excited about the setting of San Francisco in the early 1900’s. I also was intrigued by the mystery element of this book. A missing brother, political corruption and other characters with their own mysteries to solve. All that said I did struggle with this book. After diving in, I really did not connect with the main character, Camri. She came across as rude, condescending, and very self absorbed. Camri’s ideas about how women should value education over love or marriage were preachy and narrow minded. It was hard for me to get past a heroine that I just did not care for. Another issue I had with this book is that things were so convenient for all the characters in this story and it just made things seem unrealistic. Camri’s brother just happened to live in a nice, seemingly large house, in a nice neighborhood, with servants. Camri also just happened to have a key to his place because she had visited him once. The girls all managed to get jobs together. It was like any sort of hardship or issue was taken care of. I also had a hard time believing that anyone who was truly worried about a relative disappearing would go to plays, visit friends in their spare time, and really even find a job and basically set up a new life in a new city under someone else’s roof. I felt like Camri said she wanted to find her brother, but basically put no effort into doing so. By the time pieces started falling into place I had such a lack of interest in the actual mystery that I did not really care much about the conclusion. This book just wasn’t for me. Some books just don’t click with certain readers and this one just did not click for me.
To purchase a copy of this book or learn more about the author visit the links below.
http://traciepetersonbooks.com/
*I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.