Customer Reviews

Crimson Snow (Hilda Johansson Mysteries, No. 5)

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A lover of all things Victorian and Edwardian, Jeanne M. Dams is a lifelong resident of South Bend, Indiana and writes historical mysteries. She is of Swedish descent, and her CRIMSON SNOW incorporates all of these influences to form a tale set in Indiana that is well researched and full of the flavor of the times. Dams has nominations for both the Macavity and the Agatha Award, and has won the latter.

Hilda Johansson is at a peculiar crossroads. A Swedish immigrant, she is presently employed as a maid. But all that will soon change, as her intended has just been offered a position that will enable her to quit her job. She and her Irish fiance will also begin married life in a house that will be given to them by Patrick's uncle and aunt. But when her young brother's teacher is brutally murdered and an innocent man stands in danger of being accused, Hilda puts on her detective hat:

"Mr. Barrett held up his hand. 'You see, Daniel Malloy is a good friend of mine. I've been his lawyer for many years, and I know he family well. He told me all about what you did in that unfortunate business a couple of years ago, how you, virtually unaided, solved the crimes of which he had been wrongly accused.' He waited while Hilda took that in, and then continued. 'The police brought Pinkerton's men in for this business, from the time they first found the body, but the seem to be doing nothing but making a lot of fuss and learning nothing new. I-my wife is suffering a good deal over this. Would you be willing to-to do whatever it is you do, to winnow out the facts of the matter?'"

Written with extensive research into a documented murder, Jeanne M. Dams then recreates the world of 1904 in South Bend, Indiana. Hilda Johansson is an endearing character who has the youth, optimism, and intelligence to advance herself in the sometimes corrupt world of the Gilded Age. Dams builds a convincing scenario to explain this unsolved murder with events swirling around Hilda, who keeps her head, solves the murder, and gets her man. Dams is a romantic, and the love story surrounding her tale is touching and straightforward.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

I've always been a big fan of Dams' Dorothy Martin series, but was late coming to the Hilda Johansson mysteries. Now I think I actually like them more than the Martin books. In this series, the reader is transported back to the turn of the century and experiences life in South Bend Indiana through the life of the protagonist Hilda Johansson, a maid in the wealthy Studebaker household.
In Crimson Snow, Hilda's brother Erik's teacher has been murdered, and the police are not having much luck, or maybe not trying too hard to find the killer. Erik initially gets Hilda to snoop around the case, but when a close friend of the Studebakers is suspected of involvement, her employers ask her to seriously investigate.
This book is perfect for fans of historical mysteries as it is based on a real case that to this day is unsolved. Many of the chapters are headed with short quotes of various news articles about the murder from the South Bend Tribune. Also, the research for this book as well as the whole series is impeccable. The reader gets a taste of what life was like not only for the servants, but also the family Hilda works for as well as society as a whole.
Readers who enjoyed watching the BBC's Upstairs Downstairs series should give the Hilda Johansson books a try.

I read this in 1 night. I really enjoy Dams' writing style and prefer her Hilda Johanson series better than her Dorothy series in England.

Jeanne M. Dams is one of my favorite authors. Having read everything she has written, I was disappointed that "Crimson Snow" blunders with the issue of contraception at the beginning of the 20th century. It would not have been a problem. At that time Lutherans and Catholics agreed completely on the issue. All Christians considered it against God's law until 1930!!!! Then Anglicans okayed it, but only in rare instances!!! The Catholic Church is faithful in its teachings from earliest times of the Church.