Scandal on Rincon Hill. Finished 10-5-14, rating 3.75/5, mystery, 340 pages, pub. 2010

Book #4 of the Sarah Woolson mystery series (Book 1) (Book 2) (Book 3)

A body is found just blocks from attorney Sarah Woolson’s home on Rincon Hill. Sarah is on the case, but 19th-century San Francisco is soon thrown into a state of panic as a gruesome crime spree begins to take hold of the city.

from Goodreads

Sarah, the only female attorney in San Francisco in 1881 and one of two in all of California, has opened up shop but has a hard time making ends meet.  No one is in a hurry to hire a woman lawyer even though she has helped solve several big name cases.  Her heart is always willing to take on the oppressed and marginalized and she has the smarts and support to do it.  She still lives in the family home and her father and three brothers are all successful in their chosen fields. Only her mother still believes she’ll be able to see Sarah married off someday and in this book there is a marriage proposal so she’s not far off.

Brielle, a young mistress is thrown out of her home after she has a baby and has to turn to a madam to make ends meet.  Two men from China, only in town for days, are railroaded for two murders.  Sarah takes on both cases with little hope of successful outcomes for either.  She might just manage to keep her law practice afloat, but she’ll have to rely on old friends for help.

I like this series. Sarah is a focused and unconventional and Tallman is able to give me real sense of life in 1881 San Fransisco.  If you like historical mysteries and female leads you will probably like this series.

This was from my own library.

Prospect Street. Finished 9-23-14, rating 4/5, fiction, 498 pages. pub. 2002

In one fell swoop, Faith Bronson loses her marriage, her financial security and her home. Despite the protestations of her father, she moves her family to a run-down town house in Georgetown. As she works on the house and attempts to put her life back together, she begins to discover secrets that have been long buried in the house on Prospect Street. Secrets that will change her family forever…

from Goodreads

I don’t want to give away too much so I won’t tell you why Faith’s marriage broke up, but the beginning of the story that concerned this worried me.  It was not the story I wanted from Richards whose heartfelt novels always leave me satisfied.  But as the story became more about Faith discovering her strength, I became more invested and less worried that it would fall down a rabbit hole I didn’t want to be trapped in.  This book was not in a hurry to get anywhere fast and I loved that. I loved meandering through the lives of Faith, her children, her family, and neighbors.  They each had their own story to tell and a mystery that connected them all.

It felt a little like a throwback, I was surprised that it was published in 2002.  Maybe the topic seemed dated, but I don’t know why because it’s not.  Anyway, I got caught up in the people, the mystery of a kidnapped baby and the rich Georgetown setting. I was reading this on our recent trip to Washington DC and we were planning on spending some time there, but it got late and I was too tired to walk across the bridge.  I love Georgetown and the idea of living in the townhouses there. Love it until, like Faith, I learn that renovations are extensive and expensive in those old homes.

It was a warm story of a woman coming into her own while battling the mysteries of her past.  I was captivated.

This was from my own library.