R. J. Koreto
Author of Death on the Sapphire
About the Author
Series
Works by R. J. Koreto
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 20th Century
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Vassar College
- Occupations
- financial journalist
magazine writer
magazine editor
website manager
pr consultant
author (show all 7)
seaman, US Merchant Marine - Organizations
- Mystery Writers of America
- Agent
- Zigmund, Cynthia
- Short biography
- R.J. Koreto has been fascinated by the Edwardian era ever since viewing the original “Upstairs, Downstairs” series.
In his day job, he works as a business and financial journalist. Over the years, he’s been a magazine writer and editor, website manager, PR consultant, book author, and seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Like Lady Frances Ffolkes, he’s a graduate of Vassar College, and like Alice Roosevelt, he was born and raised in New York.
He is the author of the Lady Frances Ffolkes and Alice Roosevelt mysteries. He has been published in both Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. He also published a book on practice management for financial professionals.
With his wife and daughters, he divides his time between Rockland County, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA
Rockland County, New York, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
Another enjoyable mystery with the outspoken and outrageous Alice Roosevelt and her Secret Service 'cowboy' Joseph St Clair. An influential but unpopular member of New York Society is poisoned at the debutante party of Alice's friend Philly, so of course the young president's daughter is drawn into the investigation, and her curiosity is piqued when a second poisoning occurs soon after. The first victim and the second victim's husband were members of an elite organisation called the XVII, show more determined to rid the city of all citizens unable to trace the family line back to the seventeenth century (namely immigrants and African Americans, of course), but could the real motive more about the workings of the heart than family heritage?
I love Alice, both real and fictional, and hope there is more amateur sleuthing to come before her marriage to Nicholas Longworth in 1906. St Clair is equally entertaining and his narration is easy to read. They are a great match too, with Alice using her family name to force her way into houses and confidences and the 'Cowboy' following closely to keep her out of harm's way. I think the author overegged the 'dumb hick with hidden depths' line in this book, however.
The mystery got stuck in a groove around the middle of the story, with Alice constantly talking over known facts and pondering who wanted who dead, but the 'dramatisation' of the murder kicked the pace back into gear. I was a little disappointed by the big reveal but these mysteries are more about the characters for me anyway. Long may Alice reign! show less
I love Alice, both real and fictional, and hope there is more amateur sleuthing to come before her marriage to Nicholas Longworth in 1906. St Clair is equally entertaining and his narration is easy to read. They are a great match too, with Alice using her family name to force her way into houses and confidences and the 'Cowboy' following closely to keep her out of harm's way. I think the author overegged the 'dumb hick with hidden depths' line in this book, however.
The mystery got stuck in a groove around the middle of the story, with Alice constantly talking over known facts and pondering who wanted who dead, but the 'dramatisation' of the murder kicked the pace back into gear. I was a little disappointed by the big reveal but these mysteries are more about the characters for me anyway. Long may Alice reign! show less
Was it the passion for the old family home that led to murder?
The Greenleaf Murders is the first book in R.J. Koreto’s new cozy mystery series, the Historic Homes Mysteries, and it is absolutely a 5-star debut! Not only are readers handed several murders to work out, but they are treated to the fascinating process of restoring a magnificent Gilded Age mansion to its better-than-original state. The stories behind the old home, the factual information of the time, bring glorious color to the show more home’s faded past. However, this is also a solidly modern cozy mystery that happens to hinge on a 100-year-old murder cold case.
The amateur sleuth in the story is a young architect, Wren Fontaine, a junior partner in her father’s firm. Her determination and integrity for perfectly restoring the Greenleaf House is a burning passion for her. She’s quite an introvert and much more comfortable dealing with her building projects than clients. But she’s aware of her nature and is progressing toward overcoming her previous ineptitude in social interactions. She drums up the nerve to initiate a relationship with the distant cousin of the Greenleafs. I also liked Wren’s work partner, general contractor Bobby Fiore. He looks after his employees and boss and loves blasting Italian opera from his truck on the worksite. I loved how the two worked together like a well-oiled machine.
Feelings run surprisingly hot and high during the home restoration, and Wren’s questions put her and her new friend, Hadley Vanderwerf, in danger. There is a surprising clue connecting the cold case and modern-day murder. The resolution made sense, and I was entertained from start to finish. I’m anxiously looking forward to future books in the series.With its likable main character and historical backdrop, I recommend THE GREENLEAF MURDERS to cozy mystery readers who enjoy historic homes, DIY shows, New York City settings, and the smooth incorporation of a bit of history in their stories.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. show less
The Greenleaf Murders is the first book in R.J. Koreto’s new cozy mystery series, the Historic Homes Mysteries, and it is absolutely a 5-star debut! Not only are readers handed several murders to work out, but they are treated to the fascinating process of restoring a magnificent Gilded Age mansion to its better-than-original state. The stories behind the old home, the factual information of the time, bring glorious color to the show more home’s faded past. However, this is also a solidly modern cozy mystery that happens to hinge on a 100-year-old murder cold case.
The amateur sleuth in the story is a young architect, Wren Fontaine, a junior partner in her father’s firm. Her determination and integrity for perfectly restoring the Greenleaf House is a burning passion for her. She’s quite an introvert and much more comfortable dealing with her building projects than clients. But she’s aware of her nature and is progressing toward overcoming her previous ineptitude in social interactions. She drums up the nerve to initiate a relationship with the distant cousin of the Greenleafs. I also liked Wren’s work partner, general contractor Bobby Fiore. He looks after his employees and boss and loves blasting Italian opera from his truck on the worksite. I loved how the two worked together like a well-oiled machine.
Feelings run surprisingly hot and high during the home restoration, and Wren’s questions put her and her new friend, Hadley Vanderwerf, in danger. There is a surprising clue connecting the cold case and modern-day murder. The resolution made sense, and I was entertained from start to finish. I’m anxiously looking forward to future books in the series.With its likable main character and historical backdrop, I recommend THE GREENLEAF MURDERS to cozy mystery readers who enjoy historic homes, DIY shows, New York City settings, and the smooth incorporation of a bit of history in their stories.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. show less
Intriguing Regency-era murder mystery among the ton during London's season.
Winter's Season by R.J. Koreto is an intriguing Regency-era murder mystery set in 1817 London during the season. When a young noblewoman is murdered, her body found discarded in an alley in an unsavory area of town, Captain Edmund Winter, of the Home Office and involved in the development of the new Bow Street investigative service, is assigned to unravel the case discreetly.
Winter is an interesting, multi-faceted show more character who straddles the well-entrenched class lines of Regency England. Born a farmer's son, he formed a close childhood friendship with the noble landowner's son, the future Earl, which led to a gentleman's education and an officer's commission. This decorated veteran of the Napoleonic Wars finds a career as the criminal investigator, or "special envoy," for the Home Office, and is attached to Bow Street. His unusual upbringing and aristocratic connections makes him uniquely qualified to investigate wrong doing among the peerage as well as those among the lower classes. Although not a member of the ton by birth nor viewed as one of their own by the working class, Winter moves with confidence among both. As one of the first of his kind (a detective for the government), he conducts a well-structured investigation along the lines of an historical police procedural. Winter is joined by several major but secondary characters who provide assistance in his criminal investigations and introduces possible romantic interests, for "it is a truth universally acknowledged" and all that.
The plot is well-paced and kept me fully engaged from start to finish. I love mysteries from this time period, in the days before Bow Street was well and truly organized and still finding its place. I thought the Captain's investigation followed logical directions and was surprised by some of the revelations he brought to light. While I didn't figure out the truth behind the murder on my own, the identity of the killer and their motive made sense, though I had questions about the practicality of how they did what they did. Still, I hope this turns into a series.
I recommend WINTER'S SEASON to readers of historical mysteries, especially fans of the author's previous work and of Sophie Barnes's House of Croft series.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. show less
Winter's Season by R.J. Koreto is an intriguing Regency-era murder mystery set in 1817 London during the season. When a young noblewoman is murdered, her body found discarded in an alley in an unsavory area of town, Captain Edmund Winter, of the Home Office and involved in the development of the new Bow Street investigative service, is assigned to unravel the case discreetly.
Winter is an interesting, multi-faceted show more character who straddles the well-entrenched class lines of Regency England. Born a farmer's son, he formed a close childhood friendship with the noble landowner's son, the future Earl, which led to a gentleman's education and an officer's commission. This decorated veteran of the Napoleonic Wars finds a career as the criminal investigator, or "special envoy," for the Home Office, and is attached to Bow Street. His unusual upbringing and aristocratic connections makes him uniquely qualified to investigate wrong doing among the peerage as well as those among the lower classes. Although not a member of the ton by birth nor viewed as one of their own by the working class, Winter moves with confidence among both. As one of the first of his kind (a detective for the government), he conducts a well-structured investigation along the lines of an historical police procedural. Winter is joined by several major but secondary characters who provide assistance in his criminal investigations and introduces possible romantic interests, for "it is a truth universally acknowledged" and all that.
The plot is well-paced and kept me fully engaged from start to finish. I love mysteries from this time period, in the days before Bow Street was well and truly organized and still finding its place. I thought the Captain's investigation followed logical directions and was surprised by some of the revelations he brought to light. While I didn't figure out the truth behind the murder on my own, the identity of the killer and their motive made sense, though I had questions about the practicality of how they did what they did. Still, I hope this turns into a series.
I recommend WINTER'S SEASON to readers of historical mysteries, especially fans of the author's previous work and of Sophie Barnes's House of Croft series.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. show less
I have been slightly infatuated with Alice Roosevelt since reading about her in Stephanie Marie Thornton's novels, to the point of buying a throw pillow printed with one of her bon mots: If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me. I love people, especially women, especially women from wealthy backgrounds in the nineteenth century, who have the guts to say what they're thinking.
R J Koreto obviously loves the same qualities because Miss Alice is wonderfully forthright show more and fearless while playing lady detective, and more than a match for her 'cowboy' Secret Service agent, Joseph St Clair. When the story opened in the first person, I was a bit concerned about a male author writing from the perspective of a woman, even a gutsy character like the President's daughter, but the narrator is actually St Clair and all that is lost is that uniquely feminine eye for detail (I never did get a sense of turn of New York at the turn of the previous century).
St Clair, who was a sheriff in Laramie and a Rough Rider under Alice's father at San Juan Hill, is a dry and often despairing observer, companion and accomplice of seventeen year old Alice, who is young in age and a little naive about real life, but more than a match for any man. When she decides to investigate the recent assassination of President McKinley, which boosted her father into the top spot, St Clair can only trail along in her wake and try to keep her safe. The plot, about anarchists and family corruption, was a bit slow and repetitive, and by the end I was only waiting for Alice to realise who the real villain was, but I enjoyed the interaction between St Clair and his charge. I felt the forced attraction was a bit conceited, although Alice is young and St Clair a big tough man, but the Princess and the Cowboy play well off each other.
A few details that had me reaching for Google while reading were the pronunciation of Czolgosz, McKinley's assassin, whether the President's family would have had Secret Service agents in 1902, and a few phrases that felt anachronistic, but the Roosevelt women were indeed very real and as Koreto writes: Alice, Eleanor, and Anna were all remarkable women and, in their own highly individual ways, outstanding contributors to American political and social life. I think it’s no coincidence that Theodore, surrounded by these examples, was one of the first major US political figures to call for women’s suffrage, as early as 1912.
Fascinating and great fun. I will definitely be reading the sequel! show less
R J Koreto obviously loves the same qualities because Miss Alice is wonderfully forthright show more and fearless while playing lady detective, and more than a match for her 'cowboy' Secret Service agent, Joseph St Clair. When the story opened in the first person, I was a bit concerned about a male author writing from the perspective of a woman, even a gutsy character like the President's daughter, but the narrator is actually St Clair and all that is lost is that uniquely feminine eye for detail (I never did get a sense of turn of New York at the turn of the previous century).
St Clair, who was a sheriff in Laramie and a Rough Rider under Alice's father at San Juan Hill, is a dry and often despairing observer, companion and accomplice of seventeen year old Alice, who is young in age and a little naive about real life, but more than a match for any man. When she decides to investigate the recent assassination of President McKinley, which boosted her father into the top spot, St Clair can only trail along in her wake and try to keep her safe. The plot, about anarchists and family corruption, was a bit slow and repetitive, and by the end I was only waiting for Alice to realise who the real villain was, but I enjoyed the interaction between St Clair and his charge. I felt the forced attraction was a bit conceited, although Alice is young and St Clair a big tough man, but the Princess and the Cowboy play well off each other.
A few details that had me reaching for Google while reading were the pronunciation of Czolgosz, McKinley's assassin, whether the President's family would have had Secret Service agents in 1902, and a few phrases that felt anachronistic, but the Roosevelt women were indeed very real and as Koreto writes: Alice, Eleanor, and Anna were all remarkable women and, in their own highly individual ways, outstanding contributors to American political and social life. I think it’s no coincidence that Theodore, surrounded by these examples, was one of the first major US political figures to call for women’s suffrage, as early as 1912.
Fascinating and great fun. I will definitely be reading the sequel! show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Statistics
- Works
- 10
- Members
- 287
- Popularity
- #81,378
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 37
- ISBNs
- 47
