Whispers of Warning

Set toward the end of the 19th century, Estevao’s engrossing sequel to 2016’s Whispers Beyond the Veil finds plucky, wryly observant Ruby Proulx, whose childhood was spent working in her father’s traveling medicine show, now living with her spiritualist aunt, Honoria Belden, in Old Orchard, Maine. Honoria owns a small hotel staffed by practitioners of the paranormal and caters to spiritually inclined guests. The arrival of famous suffragette Sophronia Foster Eldridge creates quite a stir, particularly after she announces that she has written a book revealing the corruption and crimes of leading local citizens. When Sophronia is found drowned, the Old Orchard police chief declares her death a suicide, but Ruby and police officer Warren Yancey believe she was murdered. The chapters narrated by Ruby are rich in details of life on the road with her father and reveal the restrictions placed on women in the period. Those told from the point of view of Warren offer a picture of Ruby that sometimes doesn’t quite jell with how she sees herself, as well as insights into police procedures of the day. Estevao has created a delightful and comforting world filled with a broad and entertaining cast. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Sept.)