Marilyn's Mystery Reads

As president of B & H Foods, Margot Harriman is used to being successful at everything she does.  That includes fundraising, even if most of the credit goes to the all male New York City Charity Hospital board.  This is, after all, the early 1900s, and men are in charge of nearly everything.

Margot is discussing the plans for the upcoming gala in support of the hospital with Dr. Stephen Jameson when something catches her eye as it moves past the physician’s window.  Then there is a thud, followed by a scream.  The deceased was Stella Nowak, a nurse at the hospital, and her death, sad as it is, is officially ruled a suicide.

Margot, however, doesn’t agree, especially when her friend CeeCee, a nurse at the facility, tells her that Stella’s death was only the most recent one.  Is there something going on at the hospital that Stella was aware of that led to her passing?

Much of the plot contrasts the care given to patients at the Charity Hospital and that given to the residents at the Caspian, a luxurious setting catering to well-to-do clientele suffering from the stresses of high society.  But here too, there are mysterious happenings, including the death of Margot’s friend Dotty shortly after they share lunch at the facility’s beautiful dining room.

When Dr. Beales, a physician at both hospitals, visits Margot to tell her of Dotty’s passing, she decides the only way she will find out what caused the death is to become a patient at the Caspian herself.  It’s certainly easy enough to plead fatigue and overstimulation as the reasons to do so, and the following week Margot is at the facility.

At the same time, CeeCee and her lover, private investigator Rett Mancini, are looking into the recent deaths at the Charity Hospital, including Stella’s.  Is it simply coincidence that both hospitals are experiencing an unusual number of deaths, or is it something more sinister?

One of the most interesting things about reading novels that take place in another time is how similar or different things were then compared to our own time.  In A Deadly Entanglement, it’s easy to spot the differences between that time and ours, but it’s also easy to see which things haven’t changed at all, or at least not much.

One of the changes is certainly the recognition of gay relationships.  CeeCee and Rett are in a committed lesbian relationship, but they can tell no one about their feelings for each other.  And Margot has strong feelings for Shiloh, a magician’s assistant and lock-picking expert, but in addition to the same-sex aspect of their affair is the issue of their very different places in society, with Shiloh being especially aware of the economic and educational differences between them.

A Deadly Entanglement is more than an entertaining read, although it is that.  It’s also a penetrating look into society’s mores and values in the early 20th century and how they compare to ours.  Cathy Pegau has written an outstanding mystery with characters and a plot that will resonate with readers.

You can read more about the author at this site.

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