A March to Remember

Loan-Wilsey’s fifth Hattie Davish mystery (after 2015’s A Deceptive Homecoming) takes the reader on a fascinating journey into America’s past. In March of 1894, private secretary Hattie Davish accompanies her employer, Sir Arthur Windom-Green, an American-history scholar, on a research trip to Washington, D.C. They arrive at the same time that thousands of unemployed workers known as Coxey’s Army march on the U.S. Capitol to present their grievances. After Jasper Neely, one of the marchers, is fatally stabbed in the neck during a confrontation with the police, Hattie discovers that Neely sought to blackmail some powerful Washington politicos, one of whom may be Sir Arthur’s friend. The plot unravels at the end with a couple of implausible coincidences, but Hattie is an endearing, stalwart heroine, and Loan-Wilsey skillfully evokes time and place. Those who like their mysteries mixed with history and a little romance will be pleased. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Oct.)