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There's a lot of ugliness hiding under the shiny surface of PB Ryan's Gilded Age mysteries. Not just murder, but also rape, illegitimacy, conspiracy, fraud, and corruption. MURDER ON BLACK FRIDAY hangs on an obscure and mostly forgotten gold speculation plan that failed spectacularly in 1869, wiping out several fortunes in the crash. The facts are presented in a preface that must be read to make sense of the mystery within; Ryan works the results but not the cause into the plot. In this third Nell Sweeney mystery, Nell continues to act as though she is engaged to Dr Hewitt while she is employed as the governess for his illegitimate daughter. The doctor has just gotten some 'good' corpses for his medical classes -- fresh bodies of suicides. The assumption is that they killed themselves after they were ruined by the gold bust. However, Hewitt is convinced that one, if not both, of the men were murdered. Investigating with Nell at his side, he probes into both victims' financial and social dealings. While it's possible to launch into the series with this book, it's not a particularly good introduction. I found the story quite slow. All of the characters spend most of their time talking instead of acting. Considering the sordid topics they were usually discussing, it was hard to find any character to root for -- everyone, including Nell, has a stain on their character. The plot is as thin as the action; the puzzle is easily solved and I found the treatment of the scandal to be unrealistic. Not only are the readers cheated of the lead-up and impact of the actual bust, the surviving characters also only discuss it tangentially, when something that overwhelming would naturally be the main topic of conversation for weeks. Something that big should not have taken place off stage or be explained in an author's note.
Reviewed by Linnea Dodson, December 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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