Brave, resourceful, adventurous Fremont (née Caroline) Jones is a woman ahead of her time. Hungry for independence, she's traded in her conventional life in Boston for a career as a "type-writer" in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. But Fremont soon discovers that her clients aren't always what they appear to be, and that in doing her job she's transcribing her way into a wealth of mystery--and mortal danger.... Dashing lawyer Justin Cameron well-nigh sweeps Fremont Jones off her feet--and into a situation ripe with perilous intrigue. A client meets an untimely death that Fremant suspects is linked to the paper she typed for him, of which she can recall but one small fragment. And her attempts to disentangle reality and imagination in the gothic tales penned by Edgar Allan Partridge--whose demeanor is one of terror under the barest restraint--send her up the rocky California coast on a mission of discovery from which she may not return.... A riveting, atmospheric mix of intrigue and humor introduces a new investigator as cultivated as Sherlock Holmes and as spunky as Kinsey Millhone. From the Paperback edition. Mix together a foggy San Francisco of 1905, a female Sherlock Holmes, Chinese tongs, a hint of Norman Bates, and Caroline Fremont Jones, late of Boston, and you have this enchanting book. Fremont leaves Boston to escape from an arranged marriage, sets herself up in a "type-writing" (i.e., secretarial) business, and becomes independent. Her first client, Justin Cameron, is a young lawyer who becomes her beau. Another client is the strange and very weird Edgar Partridge. Her landlady, Mrs. O'Leary, and another roomer, Michael Archer, complete the cast. Day, author of several pseudonymous romance novels, has beautifully captured the rhythm and speech of a Victorian novel. She leads Fremont on an extraordinary adventure and the reader on a delightful read. The characters are all a bit mysterious, which adds to the pleasure. Recommended for popular collections.?Barbara Maslekoff, Ohioana Lib., Columbus Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Twentysomething Caroline Fremont Jones, on the verge of becoming a spinster, is definitely not your stereotypical turn-of-the-century Bostonian young lady. She drops her first name to become the more androgynous (and adventurous) Fremont Jones and moves west to San Francisco, where she opens her own business as a "type-writer." Fremont quickly settles into her adopted city and finds plenty of folks eager to pay the exorbitant rate of 10 cents per page to take advantage of the latest technology and have their letters and papers translated into type. But soon some very odd clients have turned up on her doorstep--including a paranoid writer with the unlikely moniker of Edgar Allan Partridge and a wizened Chinese man who turns out to be a tong leader. The exuberant Fremont, one of the most refreshing heroines to appear in years, becomes involved in romance, intrigue, and mystery, pursuing them all with energy and charm. Day rates top marks for her crisp, witty dialogue; colorful descriptions of San Francisco; cleverly conceived plot; and darkly menacing touches of the macabre. Emily Melton "A fine, buoyany literary style...A spirited, likable heroine."-- Kirkus Reviews "One of the most refreshing heroines to appear in years...Day rates top marks for her crisp, witty dialogue;...cleverly conceived plot; and darkly menacing touches of the macabre."-- Booklist "Dianne Day provides a delightful heroine and a lively, twisty, intriguing mystery."--Carolyn G. Hart, author of Death on Demand and the Henrie O mysteries. From the Paperback edition. "Fans of Elizabeth Peters or Anne Perry should love Dianne Day's new turn-of-the-century female sleuth. Uncorseted and thoroughly liberated, Fremont Jones is the American cousin of Amelia Peabody and Charlotte Pitt--opinionated, resourceful, imaginative, brave and thoroughly entertaining." --Margaret Maron, author of The Bootlegger's Daughter and Shoot at Loans "Dianne Day has created a turn-of-the-century feminist as ingenious and timeless as a woman of the nineties. Fremont Jones is one dynamite lady by one terrific writer." --Sarah Shankman, author of He Was Her Man rceful, adventurous Fremont (née Caroline) Jones is a woman ahead of her time. Hungry for independence, she's traded in her conventional life in Boston for a career as a "type-writer" in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. But Fremont soon discovers that her clients aren't always what they appear to be, and that in doing her job she's transcribing her way into a wealth of mystery--and mortal danger.... Dashing lawyer Justin Cameron well-nigh sweeps Fremont Jones off her feet--and into a situation ripe with perilous intrigue. A client meets an untimely death that Fremant suspects is linked to the paper she typed for him, of which she can recall but one small fragment. And her attempts to disentangle reality and imagination in the gothic tales p