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Evelyn James
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Memories of the Dead: a cosy 1920s murder mystery (The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Evelyn James (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 1,714 ratings
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One murder. Two suspects. Bad things happen when you mess around with a mother’s grief.

Clara Fitzgerald is struggling to make her name as a private detective in 1920s Brighton, when most people think women cannot solve crimes. Undaunted by the prejudice she faces, she sets out every day to her humble office in the hope someone will ask for her help.

Then she meets Mrs Wilton; a scatter-brained, emotional widow who believes her dead husband can lead her to lost treasure from beyond the grave. Ignoring her better judgement, Clara is drawn into the case. There is nothing she detests more than people abusing another’s grief and that is exactly what a fake psychic is doing to Mrs Wilton.

Wanting to help and understanding Mrs Wilton’s grief all too well, Clara makes a promise to aid her. But when matters take a dark twist, Clara finds herself accused of murder. Can she prove her innocence, along with proving herself as a detective?

Memories of the Dead is the first novel in this cosy, entertaining, historical murder mystery series by Evelyn James.

If you love engaging, quick-witted, no-nonsense female heroines solving dastardly, mind-boggling murders – and doing it all while armed with no more than a sharp hatpin or fire poker – then you’ll love Evelyn James’ page-turning, 1920s, detective series.

Buy Memories of the Dead to start your sleuthing adventure with Clara today.
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  1. Book 1 of 32
    The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 2, 2012
  6. File size
    2660 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008H4LYGK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Red Raven Publications; 1st edition (July 2, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 2, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2660 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 1,714 ratings

About the author

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Evelyn James

Evelyn James

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Evelyn James is one of the pen names for Sophie Jackson, who has worked as an historian and writer since 2003. Sophie began in the world of traditional publishing before making the move to working in digital publishing in 2014 with her first Clara Fitzgerald book.

Her novels about Clara Fitzgerald are inspired by her love of early Twentieth Century history and her fascination with crime stories. Started as a summertime project, the Clara Fitzgerald series now contains close to 30 books, each featuring the feisty, no-nonsense detective and her friends and family.

In 2021, The Gentleman Detective series launched as a separate set of mysteries featuring Colonel Bainbridge and his niece, Victoria Bovington. Set in the late Victorian period Bainbridge and Victoria face different challenges to Clara as they go about solving cases.

You can follow Sophie at

www.facebook.com/SophieJacksonAuthor

and learn more about her books at

www.facebook.com/RedRavenPublications

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
1,714 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

avid reader
5.0 out of 5 stars love the history
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
Really well written story, love the history,
One person found this helpful
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Julie A. Aloisio
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun easy read
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2019
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The story and characters were engaging, and while light, still a reminder of the way the world was different right after WWI.
The thing that bothered me the most was the editing, misspelled words and verbs of the wrong tense, it's distracting. This book had less errors than the following books which seem to get worse.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Fast Read
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2018
A pleasant read but not memorable. Perhaps the author’s purpose was to depict a time when women were first braving employment in unexpected and unexplored livelihoods. Everyone in this book was a bland version of characters that were never developed.
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Mary S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Solidly good
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Neither flashy nor plodding but logical, consistent and honest. No last minute surprises or information withheld. Characters are rather well drawn and believable yet deep enough to surprise with their depth.
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MrIndiana
4.0 out of 5 stars Really fun story, a nice light read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2016
As stated in a previous review of this book, (that really hits the nail on the head), in regard to the poor editing job on this book. It is a little frustrating to try and read this book because all of the typos. The editing job really take away from the flow of the story. There are misspelled words, random words thrown in that don't belong there, words that are missing and ruin the sentence structure and grammar, wrong tenses. Typically there are a lot of editing blunders in Kindle books but this editing job really ruins this great story. As far as the actual story goes, it's a great historical murder mystery. Kudos to Evelyn James! The story takes place in post WWI and includes a cast of very interesting and likable characters. I can not wait to continue to read the rest of the books in the series (I believe there are 6 in he series so far)! The length is perfect at 213 pages and its a fun read. I highly recommend this story, but for your sake I hope they have released a newly updated Kindle version minus all of the typos!
2 people found this helpful
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Trinity Cause
4.0 out of 5 stars Post WWI murder cozi
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2013
Really enjoyed the characters and post WWI English setting. Felt the story was a good detective cozi. Problem is that there are so many typos not only misspelled words but words thrown in that shouldn't be there. Words dropped that should be there. Wrong tenses. Character names erroneously inserted into conversations so I have to remind myself who is supposed to be speaking. I've seen a lot of editing blunders in Kindle books but this book has them all which is why, even though it's a wonderful murder mystery, it only gets four stars. If a revision comes out for Kindle it would get five stars. Not the author's fault. Evelyn James did a wonderful writing job.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Mr C
5.0 out of 5 stars I don't do book reviews
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
I don't do book reviews like you keep seeing, as I find that some give too much of the plot away and I personally hate that, as it makes the book not worth reading. I much prefer to take the authors back cover write up as a review as it can either intrigue you enough to read the book of provide you enough information to make you decide that the book is not for you.
My review rules are: The more stars, the more I liked it.
If there are too many typos or errors the less stars I give
If the storyline or plot is poor or contains too many errors, the characters are too weak, the ending lacking something, then the less stars I give.
Simple, uncomplicated and to the point without giving anything away.
Some of the books I read have been given to me by the author as a pre-release copy and this does not bias my reviews in any way.
One person found this helpful
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S G
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant plot, through the dark maze of human mind and motive
Reviewed in India on May 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
It started with a rather harmless request - to decipher some riddles, from a deceased husband. Clara thought what a waste of time, attending seance. Little did Clara knew that she was in for a bumpy ride. The more she looked, blacker the past seemed to be. In the end, will Clara be able to join all the dots and is there really a treasure to make the ride worthwhile?
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Isabelle L
4.0 out of 5 stars Liked the story and the characters
Reviewed in France on December 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
I liked the story and the characters. On top of an enigma,
It’s interesting to see the aftermaths of WW1, and how it affects those who went in the trenches, those who stayed,...
I really liked the characters because they have multiple layers: doubts and demons and hopes.
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sj
4.0 out of 5 stars Got to love a period mystery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
I am always on the hunt for another author of period murder mystery stories and have just found the Clara Fitzgerald series. This is well written and evokes the period just after World War 1 beautifully. The characters are well drawn and I can't wait to read more.
One person found this helpful
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Miss T
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
Set after the Great War, Clara's lost her parents to a zeppelin raid and is looking after her brother Tom who's returned from the trenches unable to walk. Finding that their inheritance only covers the most basic costs in keeping the family home and being naturally inquisitive Clara sets herself up as a private detective mostly helping with trying to track down the whereabouts of lost soldiers and domestic matters.

When Mrs Wilton arrives at her door with a rather strange request things liven up considerably. The widow is a spiritualist and has been visiting a medium to try and find out where her departed husband has hidden the family money. Clara suspects that Mrs Greengage, the medium, is a charlatan preying on the vulnerable Mrs Wilton who's struggling to make ends meet. The medium is giving her riddles, at 3 appointments, to solve to find the "treasure" and Clara really doesn't believe it's anything more than a ploy to take what little money Mrs Wilton has left.

Agreeing to join Mrs Wilton at a seance, with her brother along for the entertainment, the parrot (yes, parrot!) Mrs Greengage uses as a conduit to the other side drops dead. They all leave without any more clues.

The next day Mrs Greengage's body is found shot through the heart by their maid. The husband, a meek little man suffering from agoraphobia following his time in the trenches, has slept through the whole thing apparently having taken a heavy sleeping draught.

With a past that's meant she's had to move away from Eastbourne and start again, Mrs Greengage certainly has enemies but did they feel so bitter that murder was the only option? Or had she pushed another client too far?

Clara is persuaded and encouraged to dig around by Inspector Park-Coombes when she manages to find out more information than he can in his official capacity.

Can Clara solve the murder case and find Mrs Wilton's "treasure"?

Enough twists and turns for an enjoyable, light-hearted read.
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