Spirits and smoke / Mary Miley.

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Title:

Spirits and smoke / Mary Miley.

Author:

Miley, Mary, author.

ISBN:

9780727850430

Edition:

First world edition.

Physical Description:

216 pages ; 23 cm.

Series:

A mystic's accomplice mystery ; [book 2]

Maddie Pastore mystery ; 2.

General Note:

Book 2 in Maddie Pastore Mystery. -- goodreads.com

Abstract:

"December, 1924. Young widow Maddie Pastore feels fortunate to be employed by the well-meaning but fraudulent medium Carlotta Romany. Investigating Carlotta's clients isn't work she's proud of, but she's proud of how well she does it. Maddie's talents, however, draw them unwelcome attention: sharp-eyed Officer O'Rourke from the Chicago Police. He doesn't believe in spiritualism - but in a city packed with mobsters, con artists and criminals, he'll take any help he can get. It's not long before Maddie has a case to bring him. Why did teetotal banker Herman Quillen die of alcohol poisoning? And who is the gold-toothed man claiming to be his brother, and demanding the spirits reveal where Herman hid his money? All Maddie wants is to uncover the truth - but to her horror, she's soon mixed up in a tangled web of secrets and deception that leads to the heart of Chicago's violent gangs . . . and she'll need all her wits about her if she, and her loved ones, are going to make it out again alive."--Publisher.

Subject Term:

Psychics -- Fiction.

Nineteen twenties -- Fiction.

Bankers -- Crimes against -- Fiction.

Gangs -- Fiction.

Médiums -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Années vingt (Vingtième siècle) -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Banquiers -- Crimes contre -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths.

FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Historical.

Geographic Term:

Chicago (Ill.) -- History -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Chicago (Ill.) -- Histoire -- 20e siècle -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Illinois -- Chicago. (OCoLC)fst01204048

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Historical fiction. (OCoLC)fst01726640

Detective and mystery fiction. (OCoLC)fst01726581

Fiction. (OCoLC)fst01423787

History. (OCoLC)fst01411628

Mystery fiction.

Detective and mystery fiction.

Historical fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback	120791003013393	M MIL	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Deadly drinks, vicious gangsters, missing money . . . Reluctant sleuth Maddie Pastore is back with a bang, in the second Mystic's Accomplice historical mystery set in 1920s Chicago.

"Miley's storytelling skills do justice to her clever, gutsy, and endearing protagonist. This is a real treat for readers who love stories set in the Roaring '20s"- Publishers Weekly Starred Review

December, 1924. Young widow Maddie Pastore feels fortunate to be employed by the well-meaning but fraudulent medium Carlotta Romany. Investigating Carlotta's clients isn't work she's proud of, but she's proud of how well she does it.

Maddie's talents, however, draw them unwelcome attention: sharp-eyed Officer O'Rourke from the Chicago Police. He doesn't believe in spiritualism - but in a city packed with mobsters, con artists and criminals, he'll take any help he can get.

It's not long before Maddie has a case to bring him. Why did teetotal banker Herman Quillen die of alcohol poisoning? And who is the gold-toothed man claiming to be his brother, and demanding the spirits reveal where Herman hid his money?

All Maddie wants is to uncover the truth - but to her horror, she's soon mixed up in a tangled web of secrets and deception that leads to the heart of Chicago's violent gangs . . . and she'll need all her wits about her if she, and her loved ones, are going to make it out again alive.

Spirits and Smoke , the sequel to The Mystic's Accomplice , is an ideal pick for readers who enjoy Jazz Age mysteries with feisty female sleuths, sparkling historical detail and Prohibition high-jinks.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, Miley's vibrant sequel to 2021's The Mystic's Accomplice finds young widow and mother Maddie Pastore working as a shill and researcher for spiritualist Madame Carlotta Romany when a thuggish man crashes a séance and demands Carlotta contact his brother, bank teller Herman Quillen, who died after ingesting a poisonous "smoke cocktail." But when Maddie digs into Quillen's background, she discovers he had no brother. In fact, Quillen's sister is convinced her brother was murdered. Who could have wanted the inoffensive and colorless Quillen dead, and who was the mysterious "brother" trying to find out at the séance? Could it have something to do with $100,000 missing out of a huge deposit by the mob at Quillen's bank? The bagman who's on the hook for the missing money believes Maddie knows where the money is, and he's determined to get it from her any way he can. Miley's storytelling skills do justice to her clever, gutsy, and endearing protagonist. This is a real treat for readers who love stories set in the Roaring '20s. (Jan.)

Kirkus Review

Miley's follow-up to her exciting series debut, The Mystic's Accomplice(2021), plunges her intrepid heroine into even greater danger in 1924 Chicago. Maddie Pastore has been doing everything she can to support her baby ever since her mobbed-up late husband Tommaso's first--and apparently still legal--wife reappeared after his murder, claiming Maddie's house and all her savings. She works for a woman calling herself Madame Carlotta Romany, the mother of a childhood friend who has established herself as a medium, doing the research that enables Carlotta to convince her clients she's the real thing. A new name to investigate is that of the late Herman C. Quillen, a victim of alcohol poisoning whose brother has made an appointment for a seance. Checking Quillen's will, Maddie discovers that he was a bank cashier whose only siblings were two sisters. When the phony brother is thrown out of the seance, trouble follows with the news that he's a mobster looking for stolen money. At first the police are uninterested, but Maddie wants to help one of Quillen's sisters, who's in dire straits, and teams up with Lloyd Prescott, a reporter with connections and moxie. They sense that there's something wrong at the bank where Quillen worked--after all, that's where the money is, or was. Finding the missing cash involves Maddie with the mob her husband worked for and raises the novel question of how to turn Al Capone down when he wants to be godfather to your baby. Maddie will have to outsmart the mob and a clever thief to survive. All the colorful characters and historic details from the heroine's debut, fortified by a stronger mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

Miley's sequel to The Mystic's Accomplice is rich in historical details of gangs and Prohibition in 1924 Chicago. Maddie Pastore, a widow, has moved into Madame Carlotta Romany's Chicago house, where she assists the medium by acting as her investigator. When a new client requests an appointment, Maddie checks out wills and obituaries. Herman Quillen's brother, Samuel, wants to talk with the deceased man, but Maddie's search reveals that Quillen only had two sisters. After Carlotta accuses the man of lying, Maddie learns he's really Louis Roth, part of Chicago's North Side Gang. Why would a gangster want to talk to a dead bank teller? Quillen was murdered, and Roth believes he stole cash that belonged to the gang. Roth wants it back, and he suspects Maddie knows where the money is. He threatens Maddie and her baby and gives her a deadline to return the cash. Shrewd, street-smart Maddie will use all her wits and assistance from Officer Kevin O'Rourke and a new reporter friend to uncover the truth behind Quillen's life and death, while protecting those she loves. VERDICT Fans of fast-paced historical mysteries will appreciate Miley's latest.--Lesa Holstine