Nancy Herriman Knihy

The author of No Comfort for the Lost returns with a new mystery of Old San Francisco... British-born nurse Celia Davies runs a free medical clinic to assist the poor women of San Francisco. Aided in her endeavors by her half-Chinese cousin Barbara and feisty housekeeper Addie, Celia has earned the trust and friendship of many of the city’s downtrodden, including a young orphan named Owen—who’s just confided to her that he’s stumbled upon a corpse. Owen recently started working for the ruthless real estate and development group, Martin and Company, and discovered a dead body in the office’s basement. Celia turns to Detective Nick Greaves for help, only to learn that one of the main suspects—the husband of Celia’s dearest friend—is an old enemy of Nick’s. Now, Celia and Nick must put aside their personal feelings about the case—and each other—if they’re going to bring a killer to justice...

In a new Mystery of Old San Francisco, Celia and Nick must look for answers among the dead to stop a killer among the living . . . With the city’s Fourth of July celebrations in full swing, Celia Davies has stolen a moment away from her nursing duties to take in the festive spectacle, but is stunned when she spots the one person she thought she’d never see again—her supposedly dead husband, Patrick. Moments later, the investigator who had confirmed Patrick’s death is killed when he suspiciously falls from a high window, and Celia begins to fear that the roguish man she married has returned to haunt her life once again. Joining forces with Detective Nick Greaves to get to the bottom of the mystery, Celia is soon drawn into a murky séance group, where the voices of the dead suggest that everyone involved in the case is engaged in some sort of fraud or deception. Determined to discover which of them might be a murderer, Celia and Nick will find themselves following a trail of clues that leads them down dark alleys into a shadowy tangle of spiritualism, altered identities, traumatic pasts, and secrets worth killing for . . .

Set against the backdrop of a lavish masquerade ball in San Francisco, the story follows Celia, who is concerned about a bride-to-be's controlling fiancé linked to past violence. When a maid is poisoned, it becomes clear that the intended victim was the fiancé himself. Detective Nick Greaves partners with Celia to uncover the truth, revealing a web of family deceptions and multiple suspects. As they dig deeper, another murder complicates their investigation, leading to shocking revelations about the wealthy family's hidden secrets.

In this debut historical mystery set in 1860s San Francisco, nurse Celia Davies and detective Nicholas Greaves investigate the murder of a Chinese patient, which threatens Celia's free medical clinic. As they navigate the city's dangers, they uncover a conspiracy that may involve someone close to them.