After San Francisco's 1906 earthquake and the fires that followed leave Fremont Jones without a home or office, she tries to rebuild her life while also running errands for the relief effort. But between the strange behavior of a new friend and Fremont's discovery of an inaccuracy in the list of quake victims, it doesn't take long for her inquisitive nature to get her into trouble.This book is similar to the first in that there's more than one mystery going on. They seem a little more successfully woven together in this case, but I wasn't crazy about the fact that so many things relied heavily on coincidence. Some plot elements set up additional misunderstandings and conflicts in heavy-handed ways, for example, there's one minor character whose sole purpose in the story seems to be keeping Fremont out of communication with the largely absent Michael Archer for a few extra days.I would have been less bothered by the coincidences and overdone twists if Michael had been around more, the best moments of both books are when he's playing Watson to her Holmes. I think I'd like these stories better if they were more of a constant team.
I think it's the sign of a well written mystery novel, when the mystery is subtle and not in the form of a dead body which the main character just happens to stumble upon. Bringing back Fremont Jones, the story is featured during the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. With her home destroyed Fremont temporarily sets up a new office with a previous client, Alice whom she stumbles upon while driving for the Red Cross. Anonymous threats lefts at her doorstop, amorous suiters who refuse to take no for an answer, the mysterious deaths of her previous landlords the Sorensons, ninjas? Ok, the last one was a little over the top but I respected Fremont throughout the book and lauded her decisions. Dianne Day has done a very smooth job of integrating real life events with this series in a way that keeps the momentum going, easily setting up the next few novels.
Do You like book Fire And Fog (1997)?
I've been trying to get book 1 so I could start at the beginning (series was recommended by a friend), but apparently one library in the entire valley has it. So I went with book two. It is a fun series, even with starting with the second one. I like the main character, her independence and desire to be a modern woman, even though she wouldn't know that phrasing yet. I also like the experience painted of those who lived through the San Francisco earthquake and its impact on day to day living. Some of her experiences were unrealistic, but isn't that why we read fiction? I'll be reading more of Fremont Jones.
—Grace
Kind of torn on this one. Fremont stumbles upon several mysteries in this one, but is, understandably, entirely caught up with the aftermath of the great San Francisco earthquake and fire so there's not all that much of an attempt to solve anything. Well, she puts a great deal of effort into solving one mystery, which gives her the answer to a mystery that she didn't know existed until she solved it. I guess this whole book was something like a mystery slight-of-hand. Overall, not bad. But I was getting a little annoyed with Fremont's obliviousness to danger, both to herself and to those around her. She's so caught up in wanting to be independent and not accepting the charity of friends that she tends to do stupid things.
—Erin
