Winter at Death’s Hotel By Kenneth Cameron
Arthur Conan Doyle and his wife check into a smart NYC hotel, as Arthur is scheduled to embark on a whirlwind lecture tour across the United States. Almost immediately, Louisa trips and severely injures her ankle, so Arthur goes on ahead. Since Arthur controls their life and financial resources his absence leaves Louisa — a dutiful sheltered wife who marryied above her class to ensure her financial stability — with little money.
This does not initially hinder her, as she is brave and inquisitive and begins take an interest in the mysterious goings on at the hotel. Despite being on crutches due to a severe sprained ankle, Louisa makes her way to the newspaper office to learn what is really behind the lurid articles about murders and adventures in the tabloid press. She meets and forms a bond with a young dashing female reporter who embodies the freedom she can only dream of — and there is a very surprising twist before this woman is brutally murdered as the mysterious events at the hotel merge with the violent crime of the streets.
All this adventure, but still, Arthur has sent no monies to support Louisa until his return. She strives to live by downsizing and is relocated from their their opulent suite to a smaller meagre section of the hotel. Her new quarters place her well to discover more about the nefarious situation, becoming braver and more daring than she could imagine, successfully coping in NYC without her dominant husband.
When Arthur finally returns, he assumes that life will go on as before, but Louisa has been changed absolutely by her adventures and their life will never be the same!
Tone of book was light without being trivial or condescending.
Novel is set in NYC around the turn of the century.
Library catalogue:
Winter at Death’s Hotel by Kenneth Cameron
Sunny Seagull
SMSA Mystery & Crime Reading Group member
