North Star Conspiracy

Our crime fighting, feminist librarian Glynis Tryon is back 7 years before the Civil War, and North Star Conspiracy talks about the Underground Railroad, the Fugitive Slave Act and of course the fight for women's rights. Notable historical figures this time include Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Mathew Brady, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman who is mentioned but doesn't actually make it on the scene. It seems no matter where women worked, whoever they supported thanked them for their efforts then ignored their value when push came to shove. Even Frederick Douglass turned against their needs in the end thinking women's rights would follow along in their own good time. Look what's happened in Egypt. Women show more support a revolution then get pushed right back into the kitchen and bedroom where they are thought to belong.

I love the way Monfredo involves these people in a story that makes the times understandable. She puts so much research into her books and expresses it so clearly she's both a delight and an education to read. show less

Ms. Monfredo is a force to be reckoned with within the historical mystery genre. Her heroine, Glynis Tryon, is a wonderful creation. She is by far one of the most intereting and realistic historical fiction characters that I have come across in quite some time. This book is an historical mystery, but it is also an expose of the American Slave Trade. Ms. Monfredo blends real-life people such as Elizabeth Stanton and Harriet Tubman into her stories, and this makes the books fascinating and truly informative. This book illustrates the powerlessness of women and slaves during the 1840's in America. And we also get a first-class mystery that kept me guessing throughout. I simply cannot wait now to read the next story in this powerful series.

Monfredo is one of my favorite mystery writers and this is one of her best.

Good series!