Still Life With Murder (Nell Sweeney Mystery Series, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

P.B. Ryan (Author)

Book Description

Book #1 of P.B. Ryan’s bestselling historical mystery series featuring Boston governess Nell Sweeney and opium-smoking former battle surgeon Will Hewitt. Long thought to have died during the Civil War, Will is arrested for murder, and it's up to Nell to prove his innocence. Originally published by Berkley Prime Crime.

“A beautiful combination of entertaining characters, minute historical research, and a powerful evocation of time and place. I’m very glad there will be more to come.” New York Times bestselling author Barbara Hambly

“P.B. Ryan makes a stunning debut with Still Life With Murder...I can’t wait for the next installment.” Bestselling author Victoria Thompson

“If you like fast moving, accurately drawn, historical mysteries, you won’t go wrong by trying Still Life With Murder.” Reviewing the Evidence

“Still Life With Murder is sheer perfection... gripping... powerful... unforgettable...You’ll know you’ve read one hell of a story after you turn the last page!” Reader to Reader Reviews

"This is the first book in the acclaimed Gilded Age Mysteries series, and has many things to recommend it... a tidy package of well-drawn characters, lively story and historical verisimilitude." MyShelf.com

“...a highly entertaining book with a well-drawn pair of characters who have both sparkling chemistry and conversation. I’m looking forward to more Nell Sweeney mysteries.” All About Romance

“With its rich sense of place and time and a crisp, intelligent plot, readers will speed through this tale and be clamoring for more.” Bestselling author Earlene Fowler

“Utterly absorbing. Vividly alive characters in a setting so clearly portrayed that one could step right into it. A very clever plot in which each clue is clearly offered and yet the identity of the murderer is a complete surprise.” Roberta Gellis

“This debut mystery is a winner, with a feisty heroine, a colorful historical backdrop and a strong mystery rife with complexities. An ideal blend of history and mystery.” Romantic Times BookReviews

About the Author: Patricia Ryan has written more than two dozen novels, which have garnered rave reviews and been published in over twenty countries. A RITA winner (for Silken Threads) and four-time nominee, she is also the recipient of two Romantic Times Awards and a Mary Higgins Clark Award nomination for the second book of her bestselling historical mystery series featuring Boston governess Nell Sweeney, which she wrote under the name P.B. Ryan. Pat’s Evil Twin, Pamela Burford, is also a published romance novelist.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With its rich sense of place and time and a crisp, intelligent plot, readers will speed through this tale and be clamoring for more." Bestselling author Earlene Fowler

"Utterly absorbing. Vividly alive characters in a setting so clearly portrayed that one could step right into it." Bestselling author Roberta Gellis

"This debut mystery is a winner, with a feisty heroine, a colorful historical backdrop and a strong mystery rife with complexities." Romantic Times BookReviews

About the Author

Patricia Ryan has written more than two dozen novels, which have garnered rave reviews and been published in over twenty countries. A RITA® winner (for Silken Threads) and four-time nominee, she is also the recipient of two Romantic Times Awards and a Mary Higgins Clark Award nomination for the second book of her bestselling historical mystery series featuring Boston governess Nell Sweeney, written under the name P.B. Ryan.

For updates about Pat's new releases and other news, subscribe to her newsletter at pb-ryan.com & patricia-ryan.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 549 KB
• Print Length: 324 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0425191060
• Publisher: Hawkley Books; 2 edition (July 5, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003UV98MM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,147 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #34 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Historical
  • #52 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 162 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You will love following Nell around 19th century Boston! January 11, 2005

By Kimberly M. Traynor

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I was up until 7am this morning reading this book and its sequel, Murder In a Milltown. Not since Owen Parry's Abel Jones series have I been so excited about a mystery series.

Nell Sweeney is a young woman with a dark past struggling to make a new life for herself assisting a physician when she is given the oppurtunity of a lifetime. Out of the blue, she's offered a position as governess to the wealthy Hewitt family's new ward, Grace. She knows that her scandalous past would disqualify her for the position but decideds to hide her past and take the job, hoping that this will bring the safety and security she's always wanted.

For a time all goes well, but Nell's carefully maintained new identity as straight-laced governess is put in jeapordy when her mentor and employer, Viola Hewitt, begs her to help save the eldest Hewitt son, Will, from hanging for murder. Unable to disappoint the woman who took such a chance on her, a poor unconnected Irish girl, Nell agrees to ivestigate the case. Suddenly, Nell is plunged back into a world of crime and poverty as she investigates the murder Will has been arrested for. Will, rich boy, martyr and rake, dominates every scene he is in. While his innocence is questionable, his charisma and the tragedy of his story soon have Nell determined to do everything she can to help him. While Will might be a bit of a cliche, the way he wears his frailties on his sleeve making him a worhty counterbalance to Nell's self concious propriety and righteousness. Their scenes together are some of the best in the book.

Still Life With Murder is teeming with fascinating characters. Nell's remarkable empathy with each of them, from Detective Cook to the prostitute Pearl to self-destructing Will Hewitt, make her not only a great amateur sleuth but the perfect guide through the posh parlors and rank opium dens of 19th century Boston.

An entertaining and satisfying read and a very promising series.

79 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best mystery novel I've come across in years July 14, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Excellent, excellent novel. A hopeless lover of mysteries, I will be the first to admit that 95% of the mystery novels out there are badly written and poorly conceived. "Still Life With Murder" is a true exception to that rule. I so enjoyed this world -- I am so glad that I picked this up at the bookstore. I am so devastated that I have finished it and that no sequel has been published yet.

The sleuth is no shrinking violet: born to a delicate age, she is anything but fragile and no where near naive. (Jane Austen would be shocked out of her little white bonnet.) The handsome, damaged, wildly charismatic and most-likely murderous William Hewitt had me swooning in my chair as if he were standing right in front of me -- cooly mocking and deadly enticing. Her characters are that well-drawn. And the setting, 1860's Boston, was marvelously vibrant. As a current-day resident of Boston, I learned so much about my adopted city's history. I will never be able to stroll trough the Public Gardens again without thinking of this book and hoping to find Nell and Dr. Hewitt engaged in furtive conversation on a bench nearby.

WORD TO THE WISE -- don't read the 1st review down there written by a highlighted reviewer -- they give WAY too much of the story away. The most enchanting part of this mystery is the mysterious sleuth herself -- the author knows what she is doing will let you know what she wants you to know WHEN she wants you to know it. Nell's history is meant to unfold slowly and tentatively throughout the novel.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars EXCEPTIONAL CHARACTER DETAIL - NOT MUCH MYSTERY June 8, 2010

By Joseph Yeater

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Any astute mystery lover will figure out the identity of the killer fairly quickly, but a trip through the time machine back to post Civil-War Boston sets this book apart from the pack. Interesting characters make this book worth reading and I have just finished doing so. On the side table rests the next installment of Nell and company, MURDER IN A MILL TOWN which will be picked up shortly after this review is posted.

Do not understand one viewer complaining about sexual content--hardly any-just one or two VERY brief scenes describing nudity that was pertinent to the scene of the moment. While others rave and give 5 stars, I personally feel that 4 stars is the accurate rating because of the lack of mystery concerning the killer

Worth your time and recommended.

More About the Author

Patricia Ryan, aka P.B. Ryan, is the bestselling author of 28 historical mysteries and romances, which have won numerous awards, including Romance Writers of America's RITA for her medieval romance Silken Threads. She is also the recipient of two Romantic Times Awards and a Mary Higgins Clark Award nomination for Murder in a Mill Town.

For updates about Pat's new releases and other news, subscribe to her newsletter at pb-ryan.com & patricia-ryan.com.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#67 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#67 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical