Beacon Street Mourning: A Fremont Jones Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Dianne Day (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2001

Five years ago Caroline Fremont Jones fled the proper world of her native Boston for the independent life of a California private detective. But now, in the winter of 1909, she is grief-stricken to learn of her father’s grave illness.

Still hampered by half-healed injuries from her last adventure — but buoyed by her ever-deepening affection for her partner in love and work, Michael Kossoff — Fremont leaves sunny San Francisco for the ice-edged air and handsome mansions of Beacon Street.

Her visit has scarcely begun when her father, suffering from a malady not even his doctor can diagnose, takes a turn for the better ... only to die suddenly in the middle of the night. Fremont is certain her odious stepmother, Augusta, somehow caused her father’s death. But how? And did she have an accomplice?

Michael questions Fremont’s suspicions ... until an exotic piece of evidence and a second, violent death trigger an investigation that draws upon childhood memories and fears to become Fremont’s most personal one yet.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fremont Jones, still mending from her last adventure (Death Train to Boston) is called back from San Francisco to Boston because of her father's illness. When Fremont arrives to find him hovering near death, her dislike of her stepmother, Augusta, soon blooms into suspicion about Augusta's role in Leonard's mysterious "wasting" disease. Their strained relationship becomes even more difficult when Fremont insists that Leonard be moved immediately to a hospital. Fremont is so encouraged by her father's progress and so willing to make him happy that, despite her feminist principles, she acquiesces to his wish that she marry her lover Michael, the intriguing Russian émigré who is also her partner in a California detective agency. But then Leonard dies, supposedly of a heart attack. Fremont is certain he's been poisoned, but when Augusta too dies--shot to death--it becomes clear there is more than one adversary for the plucky young woman to contend with, and she sets out to solve the mystery.

Fremont Jones is an intriguing character, a Boston Brahmin and bluestocking whose New England roots are strong and deep and whose independence and autonomy are often in conflict with her love for Michael as well as with the cultural mores and values of her time and place. Author Dianne Day gets the period details down perfectly and adds to the picture of Fremont Jones that has emerged from her previous books featuring this strong-willed, sexy, and consistently interesting heroine. The pace is slow, but both the development of character and the atmosphere Day creates make that a plus rather than a minus. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Plenty of period flavor and a heroine who's a nascent feminist with an independent streak as wide as San Francisco Bay distinguish this sixth turn-of-last-century adventure from Macavity Award winner Day (The Strange Files of Fremont Jones). Though still recovering from devastating injuries incurred during a previous outing, feisty Fremont Jones leaves San Francisco to return home to Boston to attend her ill, perhaps dying father, Leonard. Fremont makes the arduous trip cross country accompanied by her lover, Michael Kossoff, co-owner and partner in the J&K (detective) Agency. Fremont has to cope not only with Leonard's illness but also with her stepmother, Augusta, whom she suspects may have been poisoning him, as well as with a greatly changed Boston (or is it she who has changed?). As Fremont faces the inevitable parting from her father, she also begins to deal from a new, adult perspective with the people she knew as a child. Just as she and Michael are on the verge of sorting out some tricky questions of poison and murder, the shooting death of Augusta forces them to reassess their assumptions. Day's astute descriptions of the social mores and day-to-day life in Boston in 1909 are as entertaining as the characters she creates, and give much added pleasure to the reader.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553580612
• ISBN-13: 978-0553580617
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.5 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy it because it's the last one!, January 27, 2003

By 

Beverly B. Allen "Bev9200" (Farmington, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beacon Street Mourning: A Fremont Jones Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Doubleday no longer intends to publish series mysteries, and because of this, Fremont Jones has met an untimely end. And because of contractual matters, Day can't take the series to another publisher. So, enjoy this one, folks -- it's the last in the series. It's a real shame!

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet in this great series, September 9, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beacon Street Mourning: A Fremont Jones Mystery (Hardcover)

Over four years ago, Fremont Jones, a prominent young woman in Boston high society, left her home to escape the social pressure fostered on her by the upper crust. She journeyed to San Francisco where she opened up a typing business. On the West Coast, Fremont met the love of her life, Michael Kossoff, a former(?) spy for both the American and Russian governments. They survived the first great twentieth century earthquake in the area and now manage a detective business, the J and K Agency.

While recovering from some recent injuries, Fremont worries about not hearing from her East Coast father. She learns that he is probably dying. Fremont wonders if her detested stepmother Augusta is involved with her dad's failing health. She arranges for her father to go to the hospital and accompanied by Michael, heads east to visit him. While in Boston, Fremont sees her dad rallying. He leaves the hospital only to die from a sudden heart attack. Fremont and Michael investigate Augusta's activities as they expect foul play occurred until someone kills the wicked stepmother.

Dianne Day is one of the better historical mysteries on the market today. Fremont is a great character struggling with gender discrimination in the first decade of the twentieth century. Her independence stamps her as unacceptably strange. BEACON STREET MOURNING is a thought-provoking tale that is an insightful social commentary as well as an in depth character study. Adding to the fun of this novel is that for the the first time in the series, the audience glimpses what drove Fremont to go west young lady. Fans will understand her demons and motives even as new readers search for previous tales in a fabulous series.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fremont returns home- to a murder, June 25, 2002

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beacon Street Mourning: A Fremont Jones Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Fremont Jones and her partner return to her native city of Boston. Fremont's father is very ill and feared near death. Fremont suspects that her stepmother is behind his illness. She arranges for her father to enter the hospital and then for nurses to attend him and he seems to rally, until one night, he suddenly dies of a heart attack. Unbeknownst to her stepmother, Fremont has been left the bulk of her father's considerable estate which can only lead to more trouble.

This was a really quick read. The author takes you back to Philadelphia in the early 1900's. The story is very quick moving and the characters vivid. The mystery is not difficult, but no less interesting.