Weekly Reader: The Ginger Gold Mysteries 1-3 by Lee Strauss; Brilliant Jazz Age Historical Mystery Series With Brilliant, Sharp Tongued and Stylish Lead

 Weekly Reader: The Ginger Gold Mysteries 1-3 by Lee Strauss; Brilliant Jazz Age Historical Mystery Series With Brilliant, Sharp Tongued and Stylish Lead

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Last year, I was introduced to Mona Moon, cartographer turned businesswoman in 1930's Kentucky, and one addition to the illustrious sisterhood known as historical mystery female protagonists. Well, rewind about ten years and she would find a kindred spirit in fellow historical detective club inductee, Ginger Gold.

Lee Strauss' lead protagonist is a sharp and sassy war widow and fashionista in 1923. After the death of her father, the Boston based Ginger returns to her childhood home of England to inherit her father's vast estate, Hartigan House.

Ginger always is ready with a quick wit and an adventurous curious spirit. When murder is there, she doesn't mind defying authorities to conduct her own investigation and has something quick to say in her defense. In one instance in Murder on the SS Rosa, after the handsome and potential love interest, Chief Inspector Basil Reed warns her not to get involved with the official investigation, Ginger searches anyway and wants to speak to the deceased's widow. She reminds her bemused friend, medical student Haley Higgins that Basil said "not to officially investigate. (Ginger) only wants to offer condolences." Then wonders if she should bring a gift.

Ginger is a very stylish woman with an outfit for every occasion. In Murder on the SS Rosa, Ginger patiently demonstrates to Haley the difference between a day dress, a Jeanne Lanvin, "suitable for afternoon tea or semiformal dining," and a Coco Chanel evening gown that is "perfect for a night of dancing." Her clothes sense makes for some humorous moments such as when she holds up a murder interrogation because she doesn't have a thing to wear. However, she has an eye for style and what is suitable for women to wear on any occasion. Those attributes plus a desire to do something instead of being one of the idle rich allows Ginger to eventually open a women's clothing boutique called Feathers and Flair. 

However despite her style and penchant for barbs, there are darker aspects to Ginger's character that are gently revealed throughout the series. She is in mourning for her late husband, Daniel Lord Gold, who was killed during WWI. She, like many of her generation, is still reeling from the ramifications of a great war that sent young men from nearly every country to their deaths while she is simultaneously trying to uphold the "live life to the fullest" spirit of the 1920's. This grief makes her wary around men particularly Basil who seems to like her more than friendship and vice versa. One of the most emotional moments occurs in Murder at Bray Manor when Ginger finally visits Daniel's grave and reveals her mixed emotions towards moving on.

Ginger also has a past during the war as a spy. While as of Murder at Bray Manor, it is not fully explained, there are some implications that Ginger was pretty close to some dangerous and duplicitous characters. One was Captain Smithwick who wanted to bring her back into the Game. She also may have been betrayed and nearly died, so even before she begins her career as an amateur detective, Ginger is no stranger to murder or dangerous situations.

The book that I read contains the first three volumes of the series. Each mystery is in a different style, but all are brilliant, suspenseful, and filled with great historic detail for the time, customs, dialogue, and of course the wardrobe.

The first three books are:

Murder on the SS Rosa-Ginger and Haley travel to England so Ginger can inherit her father's estate and Haley can begin her medical studies to become a doctor. The two and Ginger's Boston terrier, Bossy, sail on board a luxury liner, the SS Rosa. Unfortunately, this is no pleasure cruise as the captain, Walsh, winds up dead.

In a seagoing version of a locked room murder mystery, the suspects are a small confined bunch. They include the captain's temperamental widow, a beautiful silent film actress and her dour minder, and a crew with secrets of their own. Because of the limited cast, the murderer and their connection to the captain are pretty easy to guess. However, this book serves as a great introduction to Ginger's character as she uses charm, urbane sophistication, and her quick wit as a means to ascertain information. She is also able to run circles around Basil's investigative methods by using clever observation, intuition, daring, and simple pluck to the point that Basil allows her to listen in on inquiries and act as an unofficial partner.

Murder at Hartigan House-Turns out Ginger's homecoming is just as eventful as the trip over. While getting reacquainted with her childhood home, the staff, and the English ways, the family butler, Pippins, directs Ginger to the attic where a skeleton has been discovered. Apparently, it has been there for over ten years since the house was shut up. This leads to some uncomfortable questions such as who was the body? How did they die? What was the reason behind their death? Above all, what did Ginger's father know and when did he know it? The questions increase as another body is added.

Of the three first books in the series,this one is probably the best. The dead body in the attic seems almost to come from Edgar Allan Poe, an urban legend, or a grim fairy tale. It is a very chilling situation and investigation as Ginger has to question many of her father's old friends and the house staff, some who knew her as a child. She also has to ask some uncomfortable questions about her late father with whom she was close. The mystery has some interesting twists. The reveal is genuinely a surprise and flip flops the notion of who is truly innocent or guilty in this world. Also, the moment when the killer is revealed is genuinely suspenseful as Ginger is put in a helpless situation and at the killer's mercy.

Murder at Bray Manor-We saw Ginger's family home, now we take a trip to her late husband's and meet her in-laws. While Ginger's grandmother-in-law Ambrosia and sister-in-law, Felicia had small roles in Murder at Hartigan House, this book solidifies them as important characters in Ginger's life. Felicia summons Ginger to investigate the appearance of a poltergeist in the Gold family home.

Bray Manor has fallen on hard times and Felicia opens the home as a meeting place for various clubs like knitters, stamp collectors, gardeners and such. It is after one of these gatherings that Felicia's friend, Angela Ashton is murdered. It is up to Ginger to investigate this death and reopen some wounds from her past.

If Murder on the SS Rosa is the wittiest, and Murder at Hartigan House is the most gruesome and suspenseful, then Murder at Bray Manor is the most emotional in the series. There is the aforementioned sadness that Ginger feels about visiting Daniel's grave. Her grief is realistic as is the post trauma that she feels over her war experiences. It's very possible that her sassy fashionable attitude are just covers for the broken soul underneath.

 Besides her problems, the Gold family is caught up in their own turmoil. This is a family that has been steadily losing money for years (in fact Daniel married Ginger for her family's money though their marriage blossomed into love). Ambrosia is an elderly woman so stuck in the past that she would rather be homeless than reshape her life to fit in the new world by letting visitors in her family home. Felicia might seem like a bubble headed flapper on the surface, but as the sole heir to Bray Manor has the foresight to save it. 

The passages between them balancing tradition vs. progress are heartfelt as the two women would otherwise be left alone by an uncaring world.

The emotions shared by Ginger, Ambrosia, and Felicia aren't the only ones that are truly moving. Without revealing too much, the murderer's motives are understandable and almost empathetic. In their confession, we don't see a remorseless cruel person, we see someone who was desperate, broken, and driven by their rage and grief to commit the ultimate crime.

The first three books in the Ginger Gold Mysteries gives us a brilliant sparkling character that is among the galaxy of great historical female detectives. Just like her name, Ginger is pure Gold.