Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries Series
Written by James Musgrave
Narrated by James Musgrave, Joan Dukore and Anne James
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About this series
Boomtown San Diego, in 1888, erupts in murder. Retired Marshal and hero of the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp is involved.
What's really going on?
Award-winning, best-selling mystery author, James Musgrave, takes issues from the present and turns them into ingenious puzzles for readers to solve. In the Nineteenth Century the same human foibles existed, but the problems happened at a much slower pace.
In The Dancing Murders, Musgrave turns four suspects over to the reader to choose a murderer.
Wyatt Earp, the hero of the O. K. Corral shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona, is charged with the First Degree Murder. Series attorney and detective, Clara Shortridge Foltz, takes the case to defend him, as she’s moved to the San Diego boomtown, and she needs the money. The mystery soon escalates into a deep and increasingly frightening exploration into sex-trafficking, terrorism, mystical Kabbalah, Tantric sex, sado-masochism, and the rivalry of three Stingaree bordello madams, who each has a secret.
With an extremely unique frame, Musgrave allows the reader to first explore the suspects and the issues through five chapters of prologue. Then, in a very Kurosawa-type twist, as in Rashomon, the reader/viewer gets to explore the psyches of the four main suspects, in chronological progression. However, deep within these characters, in their first-person narratives, lies the underlying truth of this entire mystery and how it will explode into the plot for the seventh mystery in this popular series.
Titles in the series (3)
- Chinawoman's Chance
1
Clara Foltz, Esq. fights sexism and racism in early San Francisco After losing a case in a sexist and racist kangaroo court, Clara learns to use street tactics to find the real killer. In this exciting first mystery in the new Portia of the Pacific Historical Mystery series, the reviews are in: "Chinawoman's Chance is an engaging mystery with a historically informative feminist bent." (Anita Lock, Clarion Book Reviews - Foreword Reviews) "It was fascinating to look at the reactions of the politicians to the perceived growing threat of the 'yellow menace', as they termed it, with their heathen religions and beliefs, comparing that to today's response with respect to Hispanic and Muslim immigration. The 'Exclusion Act' and the 'Muslim Ban' - not all that different, perhaps? This book appealed to me on many levels, but most importantly of all, it was a darn good read and an excellent mystery." (Grant Leishman, author of The Second Coming) "The story line flows smoothly amid several provocative twists and turns that engage the reader until the very last page. Musgrave utilizes vivid description of setting and plot to lure the reader into the realistic detail of his story. The main character is well-defined and inspiring as a 19th century heroine. With its heavy reference to the sexist attitudes of the time, I envision Chinawoman's Chance as a staple in the library of many historical mystery collectors." (Lisa McCombs, author of I Have MS. What's Your Superpower?) Now you can hear how it was in California before civil rights became an issue for anyone but males. Clara Shortridge Foltz, Esq. is the first woman admitted to the State Bar of California. It is 1884 in San Francisco's Chinatown.
- The Spiritualist Murders
2
CLARA AND HER FAMILY MUST STOP A MESMERIZING MURDERER Women in 1886 San Francisco are killing their husbands. Attorney detective Clara Foltz uses an eighteen-year-old clairvoyant to track down the mysterious man using the powers of sexual magnetism and mesmerism to turn abused women into murderers. This becomes a family mystery, as Clara's two oldest children get involved. Clara's assistant, Ah Toy, must also enlist the help of her evil uncle, Little Pete, because he also uses his paranormal abilities to control his harem of prostitutes in Chinatown. Ah Toy learns how he does it and leads Clara and her family inside the dark, seamy side of how women are controlled for nefarious purposes. But the true confrontation comes when Clara joins together with her attorney friend, Laura de Force Gordon, to question witnesses who testified at the trial of Mrs. Rachel Wilson-Rafferty. They also pay a visit to the wife of the man who began the first Rosicrucian group in America, Dr. Paschal Beverly Randolph. They learn he taught sexual magnetism and the use of hashish and marijuana to help transfix his members in spiritual trances before they had sex with their partners. As the wealthy and abusive husbands are murdered by their wives all over the United States, Clara and her team begin to close in on a variety of suspects. The supernatural climax leads to a final confrontation and the solution to the mystery, inside the Winchester house in San Jose, but not without several twists in the action, which place Clara's daughter and son in immediate danger. This second, much-awaited mystery in the Portia of the Pacific series shows how women used Spiritualism in order to further their rights as women and wives. In this case, however, women once again become victims of a sexist predator who will risk everything to achieve his misogynistic goals.
- The Dancing Murders
6
Boomtown San Diego, in 1888, erupts in murder. Retired Marshal and hero of the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp is involved. What's really going on? Award-winning, best-selling mystery author, James Musgrave, takes issues from the present and turns them into ingenious puzzles for readers to solve. In the Nineteenth Century the same human foibles existed, but the problems happened at a much slower pace. In The Dancing Murders, Musgrave turns four suspects over to the reader to choose a murderer. Wyatt Earp, the hero of the O. K. Corral shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona, is charged with the First Degree Murder. Series attorney and detective, Clara Shortridge Foltz, takes the case to defend him, as she’s moved to the San Diego boomtown, and she needs the money. The mystery soon escalates into a deep and increasingly frightening exploration into sex-trafficking, terrorism, mystical Kabbalah, Tantric sex, sado-masochism, and the rivalry of three Stingaree bordello madams, who each has a secret. With an extremely unique frame, Musgrave allows the reader to first explore the suspects and the issues through five chapters of prologue. Then, in a very Kurosawa-type twist, as in Rashomon, the reader/viewer gets to explore the psyches of the four main suspects, in chronological progression. However, deep within these characters, in their first-person narratives, lies the underlying truth of this entire mystery and how it will explode into the plot for the seventh mystery in this popular series.
James Musgrave
James Musgrave has been in a Bram Stoker Finalist anthology, and he’s won the First Place Blue Ribbon for Best Historical Mystery, Forevermore, at the Chanticleer International Book Awards. His most recent publication, “Bug Motel,” is the first story in the Toilet Zone 3 Horror Anthology, Hellbound Books. "Jasmine," is in the anthology Draw Down the Moon published by Propertius Press. His adult short fiction anthology Valley of the Dogs, Dark Stories, won the Silver Medal at the 2021 Reader's Favorite international contest. Two of his historical mystery series are published through and curated by the American Library Association's Biblioboard.com.
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