Dianne Day (1938–2013)

Set in San Francisco in the early 20th century, The Strange Files of Fremont Jones is about a modern woman who abandons her wealthy Boston home to seek her own life. She has vowed never to marry, so when her father and his new wife are on their honeymoon, she leaves for San Francisco and starts a typing business. Things are going well, and she becomes involved with her new friends: a young lawyer named Justin Cameron, her curious landlady, Mrs O'Leary, and a mysterious neighbor, Michael show more Archer. Opening up her new Typewriter Service Fremont Jones quickly becomes involved in a mystery when she is approached by a Chinese man who is later found dead. Soon afterward she discovers her office has been burgled and his file stolen. Fremont knows his family needs the information in the letter, which has disappeared, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it all. Along the way, she becomes a private detective, falls in love, and gets in one scrape after another.

I thought this was a promising start to a good series. The time period and the characters are all very colorful. You almost feel the San Francisco of that time. The plot and mystery have some twists and turns that made it very interesting. Ms. Day passed away in 2013 and I noticed there are five more in the Fremont Jones series. I would definitely pick one up to find out what happens to Fremont in the future. show less

A fictionalized telling of Clara Barton (of Red Cross fame), and her work on the front lines of the Civil War in South Carolina. Clara finds herself in love with a married soldier and discovers that the war isn't the only evil that threatens the Gullah people of the Lowcountry.
I felt there was a little too much going on here and I think the book as a whole suffered for it. The war, the nursing and the romance would have been enough material but the addition of the 'sadist predator' portions show more felt garish and jarring. show less

Set in the early 1900's in San Francisco, this tells the story of Freemont (nee Caroline) Jones who moves from Boston to be a Typewriter in San Francisco, trying to find a place in the world outside the constraints placed on women in her time. She lands a strange job transcribing what the author, Edgar Allan Partridge, describes as stories but seem to be very wierd and very disturbing, are there echoes of truth in the stories or are they just fiction? Also what does dashing lawyer Justin show more Cameron want from her?

Interesting, a bit predictable but I enjoyed the ride. show less

Opening Sentence: ‘…know what people say about me: I am willful an opinionated, shockingly eccentric in my manner of dress (this is because I will not wear a corset), altogether a trial to my father…’

The Strange Files of Fremont Jones is set in San Francisco in 1905. Caroline Fremont Jones is a thoroughly modern miss whose father has no real idea how to control her or make her confirm to society’s expectations of how women should act. She has now finished her college education and show more is at a bit of a loss on what to do next. Her father married a woman that Caroline dislikes and her new stepmother believes that marriage is all that a woman requires and has just the nephew in mind for Caroline. While her father and his bride are on their honeymoon Caroline runs away to San Francisco, changes her name to Fremont Jones, finds herself lodgings with a widow called Mrs O’Leary, settles in and sets up her own a typing business.

Fremont’s fellow boarding house guest is the enigmatic Michael Archer, who Mrs O’Leary is convinced is a spy. The plot is based around the three of Fremont’s customers and Michael. The first is a rather nice young lawyer called Justin Cameron who quickly becomes her boyfriend. Justin is followed by a rather creepy author, Edgar Allan Partridge, who wants his handwritten manuscript typed out. As Fremont types out his macabre stories we get to ‘read’ them as well, and when he doesn’t turn up to collect the finished manuscript, Fremont follows hints in the stories to try and track him down. The third major client to make up Fremont’s ‘strange files’ is an elderly Chinese man called Li Wong – who dictates his last will and testimony. A week later he has been murdered and Fremont’s office is broken into.

This is a wonderful start to a new (for me) series – a mystery complete with strong female character, lots of thrills and adventure. There is humour, death, romance, twists, turns and realistic characters. All this is accompanied by vivid descriptions of San Francisco that just conjure up a sense of place and time.

I have the next book in the series on order. show less