The Stolen Gold Affair is the latest charming historical mystery in Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini’s detective series. In response to a string of gold thefts in a Mother Lode mine, Quincannon goes undercover as a newly-hired miner to identify and capture the men responsible. Meanwhile, Sabina finds herself not only making plans for her and Quincannon’s wedding, but also … her and Quincannon’s wedding, but also investigating both an audacious real estate scam and an abusive young man’s villainous secret.
The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries:
#1 The Bughouse Affair
#2 The Spook Lights Affair
#3 The Body Snatchers Affair
#4 The Plague of Thieves Affair
#5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair
#6 The Bags of Tricks Affair
#7 The Flimflam Affair
#8 The Stolen Gold Affair
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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historical-novel, historical-research, historical-setting, mining, california
Not an unbiased review as I really like the work of Bill Pronzini. This is one of an interrelated series but, other than the wedding plans between John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter of their investigative agency, there is nothing to make it a problem for a reader to just hop in with any of the series. In this one it is 1898 and the assignment is to ferret out thieving in a deep mine in California and simultaneously expose a real estate con. Good background research and a fine story with all sorts of characters. Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
The Stolen Gold Affair by Bill Pronzini is the eighth in the Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery series, and a wonderful entry it is. It is 1898 and San Francisco, California. John and Sabrina have been partners for years and are about to legalize their relationship as well. the wedding is just three weeks off when John Quincannon accepts a job that could keep him out of town for four weeks or more. He expects he will solve it in a week or so but breaking the news to Sabrina will not be an enjoyable task. Sabrina, being her usual level-headed self, accepts the news graciously. It is a lucrative job, after all. A man named Everett Hoxley has hired them to find out who is running a high-grading operation out of his mine, costing him dearly. High-grading is another word for ferreting gold out of the mines surreptitiously, for personal gain. Of course the man was upset.
Quincannon was a little old and a little out of practice for the physical labor than came with going undercover for this assignment. That and the fact that he didn’t drink made him somewhat of an oddity with the other miners. But her was stubborn and smart and it wasn’t many days before he had pinpointed the guilty parties. Next he needed proof. Things were complicated by the fact that there was no telegraph available in Patch Creek so Sabrina could not forward research to him, nor could he send her messages assuring her of his well-being. Both of them being independent and intelligent this proved to be a minor inconvenience. They are a wonderful couple. The idea of them being private investigators at this point in history was a hard mouthful for many to swallow but they had a good reputation and a lucrative business, and well as both being personally resourceful. Now they were to marry. Both were very happy abut that fact: John, a confirmed bachelor, and Sabrina, a widow who never expected to love again. They are a wonderful couple and this is a wonderful series. I recommend it. It is one of my favorite periods in history and this series definitely hits the high points!
I received a free ARC of The Stolen Gold Affair from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thestolengoldaffair