Indigo Christmas (Hilda Johansson Mysteries, No. 6) [Paperback]

Jeanne M. Dams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008

Once housemaid to the wealthy Studebaker family in South Bend, Indiana, Hilda Johansson is now married and living a well-to-do life with her new husband. But her Swedish family doesn't get along with his Irish relations. She's having trouble finding friends, since she no longer fits into her old world and isn't accepted in the new one. Just before Christmas, when the husband of her sole remaining friend is accused of theft, arson, and murder, Hilda has to find new ways of investigating a crime that seems to make no sense. In the hard economic times of 1904 with bank failures weekly, Hilda tries to aid the unemployed youth of South Bend by helping to form a Boys' Club modeled after Hull House in Chicago. And she also enlists some of them as "Baker Street Irregulars" in her mystery investigation, giving the reader a vivid sense of the city and street life of the times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hilda Johansson Cavanaugh finds herself caught between the world of her past as a housemaid and her new role as a wealthy wife in Agatha-winner Dams's delightful sixth mystery set in early 20th-century South Bend, Ind. (after 2005's Crimson Snow). When Hilda's only friend's husband is accused of stealing, arson and murder, Hilda determines to prove him innocent. Meanwhile, as part of her efforts to belong to society, Hilda joins a group of well-to-do members of the community in creating a Christmas party for street boys, some of whom she hires to help in her investigation. The mystery, which evolves naturally and slowly, tends to get lost amid the subtle and sometimes not so subtle social commentary on such matters as the friction between Hilda's Swedish Lutheran family and her husband's Irish Catholic relatives. Still, series fans will be well satisfied. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

The Hilda Johansson series hasn’t been running long enough to need a reboot (this is only the sixth installment), but the author shakes things up a little anyway, keeping the series fresh and offering readers a look at Hilda and her environment (South Bend, Indiana, in the early 1900s) from a new angle. The husband of one of Hilda’s closest friends is under suspicion of murder, and Hilda would dearly like to help out . . . but she is not sure she can. Hilda’s married now, mistress of her own house, no longer a maid—and, to her great consternation, cut off from her usual sources of information: shopkeepers, household staff, and so forth. Luckily, Hilda’s a resourceful woman, and she soon comes up with an ingenious solution to her investigative problem, one that will, not to give too much away, be of particular interest to Sherlock Holmes fans. The novel has a suspenseful story, but, as usual, it’s the characters and setting (rendered in precise but not obtrusive detail) that really capture our interest. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Perseverance Press (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880284952
• ISBN-13: 978-1880284957
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #563,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good entry in this series, November 26, 2008

By 

PJ Coldren (Saint Helen, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Indigo Christmas (Hilda Johansson Mysteries, No. 6) (Paperback)

It's the winter of 1904 in South Bend, Indiana. Snowy and cold, dreary and gray. Newly married Hilda Johannson Cavanaugh is bored out of her mind. Her husband Patrick is faring quite well in his new position at the department store; men are more willing to accept rising stars in the business world. Hilda is caught betwixt and between: no longer a servant and too new in society to be truly welcome, she has nothing to occupy her spare time.

That changes in a matter of moments. Her aunt-in-law, Mrs. Malloy, brings over a woman who would like some help in organizing some activities for the immigrant boys who are running wild in the streets. Hilda bites her tongue and agrees to help. In the middle of this conversation, her very pregnant friend Nora O'Neill bursts in demandind help for her husband Sean, who may be arrested for murder.

Hilda agrees to look into the problem for Norah, and to help plan some things for the local boys. She has her own slew of boys willing to help with both projects; this is handy because she can multi-task and not have to be out and about in the miserable weather. It's more difficult, given her status as a married woman, to be seen wandering about town without inviting negative comments from the women she's working to impress.

Things look bleak for Sean O'Neill. The police are convinced they have their man, in spite of fairly convincing evidence to the contrary. Hilda is hard-pressed to find the guilty party. When she does, the denouement is stunning. Hilda's handling of the social issues confronting her is a testament to her awareness of the structure and the realities of the times as well as to her determination to better herself.

Dams has, once again, given us a look at part of our past and told us a good story in the process. Hilda is flawed, but in ways we can all relate to. Dams' skillful blending of the "facts" and the story make for good reading and a subliminal education about lives that don't make headlines. Hilda is resourceful and determined. Gotta love that.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good cozy mystery, November 23, 2008

By 

Carol Dunbar - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Indigo Christmas (Hilda Johansson Mysteries, No. 6) (Paperback)

A good cozy fireside mystery featuring Hilda Johansson. Jeanne M. Dams weaves a good story around Hilda's quest for answers in a local murder.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book by Jeanne Dams, March 28, 2009

By 

John S. Longcamp (Dillon, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Indigo Christmas (Hilda Johansson Mysteries, No. 6) (Paperback)

Jeanne Dams has a great gift for making her characters come alive. There is so much more to her books than just the mystery. Though this book can stand on its own, the Hilda series has progressed in a thoroughly believable and engaging way.