Death at Pullman

Emily Cabot Mysteries #3

by Frances McNamara

A model town at war with itself . . . George Pullman created an ideal community for his railroad car workers, complete with every amenity they could want or need. But when hard economic times hit in 1894, lay-offs follow and the workers can no longer pay their rent or buy food at the company store. Starving and desperate, they turn against their once benevolent employer. Emily Cabot and her friend Dr. Stephen Chapman bring much needed food and medical supplies to the town, hoping they can meet the immediate needs of the workers and keep them from resorting to violence. But when one young worker-suspected of being a spy-is murdered, and a bomb plot comes to light, Emily must race to discover the truth behind a tangled web of family and company alliances.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery

260 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2011

About the author

Frances McNamara grew up in Boston, where her father served as Police Commissioner for ten years. She has degrees from Mount Holyoke and Simmons Colleges, and formerly worked as a librarian at the University of Chicago. When not working or writing she can be found sailing on the Charles River in Boston or beaching on Cape Cod.

Be sure to follow me on BookBub to learn of new books and special sales https://www.bookbub.com/authors/franc...

Reviews

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in this series. I have enjoyed all three. This was probably the best of the three, still a bit implausible but another easy good read

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Emily Cabot gets herself involved in a murder. This time she is trying to help the Pullman Car strikers with food and medical supplies from Hull House. As I've indicated in earlier reviews Frances McNamara places her heroine in a pivotal time in American history. It was a time of great social upheaval. It was time when the working man needed to stand up the the "robber barons" of industry since local, state, and even national government was not helpful.

When a striker is killed and accused of being a spy for the company Emily feels the need to help the destitute family he is a part of. But as usual there is much more than meets the eye and the level of complication gets deeper and deeper. Her personal discomfort and misunderstanding of Dr. Chapman only gets worse and just when I'd like to shake Emily she finally gets it!

Frances uses many of the same characters and not some of the others from previous books. Absent is my personal favorite, Fitz, though she promises me he will appear in future novels. Detective Whitbread is back and in the thick of things, as is Alden and Dr. Chapman. I really don't want to give too much of the story away but this one is a turning point for many of the characters especially Emily and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

If you like a good story in an historical setting you will like the Emily Cabot mysteries.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone familiar with historic Pullman, it was fun to read the landmarks and names written here. I found the rest of the book a bit... off, though. It was sometimes hard to understand what was going on, and there were lots of sentences that could have been combined. I couldn't always connect with the main character either. I haven't read the others in the series, but hr personality still ought to be better defined. All and all, "Death in Pullman" definitely could have used some tailoring, but I rather liked it anyway. Not sure I'd re-read, but still good...

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-researched and interesting story combines a murder mystery with the historical events surrounding the Pullman strike in Chicago in 1894. I didn't like how the heroine, Emily Cabot, was made obtuse in order to give the author reason to explain the issues, and there was a bit too much repetition. But I appreciated that all sides of the conflict were presented through interaction with characters - it put the history on a much more human, personal level. Overall, an engaging way to step into the past.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mysteries and historical fiction are hard. There's so much content and plot dictated by outside forces. That being said, I think McNamara does an excellent job of setting her scenes and giving enough (and accurate) history. But that being said, Emily Cabot herself is frustratingly dense. I know this is done so that the author can explain things to the audience, but it really doesn't have to be this way (see Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart mysteries). Still an engaging mystery that does a great job of explaining a piece of Chicago and labor history that is often forgotten.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good so far. It is an easy read which is nice some times. I like the story line, but sometimes felt that it just touched the surface and it could have delved deeper into the history or been more of a story that what was there. I did enjoy it and I did like how it ended and was surprised how it ended, did not see that coming, that was nice.

[Betty410 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third of a series taking place in Chicago in the late 1800's during a workers strike at the Pullman railroad car company. It was not much of a detective nor police story as it was history. The characters were colorful and depicted according to the customs of the times but the story was slow moving.

[Donna Frasor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting historical fiction centered around the Pullman strike in 1894. I enjoyed reading about the historical Pullman area of Chicago more than the murder mystery. She did a nice job of weaving historical facts into her novel.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. Not as good as the first two.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting historical fiction taking place during the infamous Pullman strike of the late 19th century. Unfortunately, the really only interesting part of the mystery is the historical setting.

[Cook Memorial Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended by staffer Susie.

Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/...

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the history lesson but the heroine was not very believable.

[Gail Holman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good history, but very slow going and a little too formulated. Ms. McNamara and myself are about the same age and from the Boston area. I expected a little more.