E. W. Cooper

Murder At The Met (Penelope Harris Mystery #2), by E. W. Cooper, is a historical murder mystery set in 1920s Manhattan. If you haven't read the first Penelope Harris book, The Jade Tiger, it's still easy to pick up Murder at the Met and understand the plot. Penelope Harris has recently returned to New York from Shanghai, hoping to repair her reputation and restart a musical career. She's quietly networking and looking for voice students at an amateur recital, which turns into a dramatic mix with an incredibly pushy stage mother, talentless singer from a powerful family, and loads of casting dramas. I loved meeting all these characters, and seeing all their performance intrigue and personality clashes, and it sets up the rest of the book so well.

Penelope's bumped into an old flame, Thom Lund, and settled down to enjoy a night at the opera (and each other's company, obviously) when there's a mysterious death of another opera attendee. Without revealing spoilers, it could just be a tragic accident... but something's not quite right, especially as more is discovered. Penelope feels loyalty to the daughters she met earlier that day, and finds herself pulled into an investigation instead of canoodling with Thom. Meanwhile, Thom's been asked to look into a recent suicide, also while keeping his investigation quiet to avoid scandal and gossip for the family.

Penelope and Thom both find themselves pulled into a complicated investigation, where nothing's really what it seems at first. There are so many society secrets around affairs and money that at first it seems like Penelope and Thom could never solve their cases. I enjoyed discovering the secrets and the constant keeping up appearances, and I kept wanting Penelope and Thom to finally get some time alone.

Murder at the Met is a fast-paced mystery, with a roaring twenties backdrop. Yes, there's murder in the book, and the location and condition of the body is described, but none of the descriptions are gross. It's not quite a cozy mystery though, Penelope's in real danger and there's a real body count, but fortunately for me, there never any gory descriptions. Mostly there are wild personalities to meet and society secrets to uncover in this historical mystery.

Thanks to BookSirens for the ARC. Opinions are my own, as always.… (mehr)

1928 New York. Penelope Harris and her family have left Shanghai after her husband, Kinkaid Ambrose, was killed and she settled all his debts. In New York she meets the ex-lover, Renee Strong, of her husband who is now involved with Penelope's cousin, the supposedly rich Charles Staughton. But when Renee is found murdered, suspects abound, all with secrets to keep hidden, and how many have been blackmailed by Renee. Lt Nathan Blake and Patrolman James McCain investigate.
An enjoyable cosy historical mystery though I admit I didn't take to many of the characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)

1928, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, private-investigators, NYC, historical-fiction, family-dynamics, class-consciousness***

I felt lost at the beginning because I had not read the first book and the early chapters were not as helpful as intended. While the characters were clearly drawn, their positions and purposes were not. Thom is now a PI, but had been with the police in Shanghai after the Great War. Penelope had been there also but has returned to NYC and they are attracted to each other. Now they come across a probable murder and probable poisoning of people from a family who are beyond unstable. The sleuthing is good anyway.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Ink Dog Press via NetGalley.… (mehr)

This is the second installment in the Penelope Harris Mysteries. There is a bunch of Penelope’s history only to be gleaned by reading the first book in the series which might be difficult as the book is hard to find

Penelope used to run a casino in Shanghai, was married to an abusive man and was a performer of some note. That was then and as this book opens she is attempting to navigate the social rules of high society in New York. Her cousin Mary is trying to help her navigate the ins and outs of the misery of being a part of the social elite. Oh who cares?

Murder at the Met was a piece of fluff which provided a few hours easy reading. I was hoping for a little more about the old Metropolitan Opera House, the performances and performers but despite the title the book was light on that score. Get it? Opera House, Score, Ah well I might have just proved that the pun is the lowest form of humor.

Your basic murder mystery - this one just happens at the Met- a dead body, a love interest, a semi-intriguing past history, some very unlikeable characters, some difficult situations, maybe a little blackmail, some dry humor, another dead body or two - the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Ink Dog Press for a copy.… (mehr)