Overview

A man found drunk on a sidewalk in Boston's West End is taken to Joy Street Jail, he's found dead in the morning. Young Peter Attwood is the policeman who brought him in. When local politician Martin Lomasney gets complaints from his Jewish voters that the man was a well-known jeweler, medical examiner Dr. Jake Magrath is called on the carpet. Morphine poisoning caused the death. Frustrated by the shoddy police work that threatens to convict Peter of negligence, Magrath is near resigning his job. But Frances Glessner Lee and Magrath's staff are determined to clear Peter. Blacklisted policeman Mack plunges into the multi-ethnic culture of the West End to find the truth. There are secrets buried in the depths of the settlement houses and tenements of the vibrant section of the city and they have to be exposed to exonerate the young policeman.

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9781685128487

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Reviews

""What a treat to watch Frances Glessner Lee again bring her keen eye and talent for creating miniature crime scenes to bear in discerning a dead man's truth. McNamara brings 1920 Boston to life with the details of her storytelling; readers won't want to miss this third Nutshell Murder Mystery."" -Edith Maxwell, Agatha Award-winning author of A Case for the Ladies and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries. Praise for Molasses Murder in a Nutshell ""One of the challenges of anyone writing historical fiction is to tell a compelling story while getting the setting and the time period 'right.' Frances McNamara masterfully accomplishes both with Molasses Murder in a Nutshell-a riveting read that occurs amidst the sights and sounds of the early 20th century. What more can lovers of historical fiction ask for?"" - Stephen Puleo, author of Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 ""Overall, Molasses is a real treat. Settings and back stories about the time period run smoothly. Particularly delicious is the unexpected denouement. This reader, for one, looks forward to the next Nutshell mystery."" - Historical Novel Society ""Once again, Frances McNamara brings together the 'dynamic duo' of Frances Glessner Lee and Dr. George Magrath, who use the evolving field of forensic science to lead the reader through their methodical journey of investigation. Magrath's decades of experience and Lee's inquisitive mind that 'work(ed) with the accurate precision of a railroad watch, ' according to Perry Mason novelist Erle Stanley Gardner, chart a course that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, until the clues sprinkled throughout the story come together for an exciting conclusion."" - William Tyre, Executive Director and Curator Glessner House ""This book is a delight for fans of stories set in the early days of forensic science. It presents characters determined enough to test authority and patient enough to test theory against practice. It also offers details about time and place, political and social situations, and major historical figures. In this case: the days before Prohibition, the Brahmins vs. the workers, and former Boston mayor ""Honey Fitz"" Fitzgerald. Suitably twisty-turny and yet surprising; plot resolution centers not only on the usual forensic suspects-bullets, fingerprints-but also on a piece of delicate handiwork."" - Historical Novel Society

Author Information

Frances McNamara is the author of the Nutshell Murder Mystery series featuring ""Mother of Forensic Science"" Frances Glessner Lee. The first in the series Molasses Murder in a Nutshell was released in 2023. Book 2 Three-Decker Murder in a Nutshell was released in 2024. Book 3 Joy Street Jail Murder in a Nutshell will be released in 2025. She is also author of The Emily Cabot Mysteries about a social activist in Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Frances is a member of Sisters in Crime New England and active in MWA New England. Death in a Time of Spanish Flu, book 9 of the series, was released in 2022. Frances grew up in Boston, where her father served as Police Commissioner for ten years. She has degrees from Mount Holyoke and Simmons Colleges, and is retired from the University of Chicago. She now divides her time between Boston and Cape Cod.

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