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Fremont Jones #1
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones
Set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, whose foggy, gaslit streets still echo with the sounds of horsedrawn carriages as well as the clang of cablecar bells, The Strange Files of Fremont Jones introduces a plucky, independent heroine who might well be the natural ancestor of those modern private eyes Kinsey Millhone and Kat Colorado. When proper Bostonian and Wellesley graduate Fremont (nee Caroline) Jones buys a train ticket to San Francisco to escape her stepmother's meddlesome matchmaking and embark on a career as an independent "type-writer, " she surely knows she is headed for adventure. Well-brought-up young ladies simply didn't do that sort of thing in 1905. But she soon discovers that her new career may involve more excitement than she bargained for. Certainly she had never intended to become so personally embroiled in the lives of her clients. First there is Justin Cameron, the dashingly handsome and somewhat feckless young lawyer, whose charm almost sweeps Fremont off her feet and lands her in mortal danger. Then there is the strangely disturbed and wildly frightened Edgar Allan Partridge, whose phantasmagoric autobiographical manuscript sends her on a mission of discovery up the California coast. And finally there is the elegant and deferential Li Wong, whose untimely death is linked to the paper Fremont typed for him, the content of which she cannot recall. With a setting and period meticulously observed, and a feisty, feminist protagonist, The Strange Files of Fremont Jones provides entertainment and intrigue for modernists and history lovers alike.
245 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
November 18, 2018
The cover and references to Poe and Lovecraft led me to expect a supernatural element which is not, as it turns, present. The base plot is the story of a young, well-off Bostonian woman who moves to San Francisco seeking independence and opens a typing agency. Due to the backgrounds of clients who come randomly to her business she is presented with opportunities to involve herself in goings-on that don't concern her.
This is a first-person narration and how much you like it may depend in part on how much you like Fremont (the heroine, not the suburb). I found her both not quite developed enough and a bit frustrating in her naivety. To a certain degree it is forgivable, in that she is young and inexperienced, but it became tiresome and implausible that she would foolishly trust some people (including one she had never met before) and be groundlessly suspicious of others. Likewise, her pursuit of the mysteries that interested her over ones that seemed like real causes for concern (such as the possibility that something had happened to her landlady) seemed pretty self-absorbed.
Overall it was reasonably entertaining. I'm familiar with all the streets and neighborhoods she described, so that added to my enjoyment. I'll probably order the second volume and decide based on that if I want to continue with the series.
This is a first-person narration and how much you like it may depend in part on how much you like Fremont (the heroine, not the suburb). I found her both not quite developed enough and a bit frustrating in her naivety. To a certain degree it is forgivable, in that she is young and inexperienced, but it became tiresome and implausible that she would foolishly trust some people (including one she had never met before) and be groundlessly suspicious of others. Likewise, her pursuit of the mysteries that interested her over ones that seemed like real causes for concern (such as the possibility that something had happened to her landlady) seemed pretty self-absorbed.
Overall it was reasonably entertaining. I'm familiar with all the streets and neighborhoods she described, so that added to my enjoyment. I'll probably order the second volume and decide based on that if I want to continue with the series.
August 14, 2018
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones by Dianne Day is not bad. There’s a quote on my paperback cover stating that fans of Elizabeth Peters will LOVE Dianne Day. Sorry, quote, but you are wrong. I am a fan of Elizabeth Peters and my reaction to this novel is “eh, it’s okay.”
Fremont Jones is a twenty-something woman of 1919 who escapes from her wealthy family in Boston to live in San Francisco. Her much-loathed stepmother is scheming to marry Fremont off to a nephew and so Fremont takes the last of her mother’s inheritance and runs away. Once there, Fremont drops her first name, Caroline, and follows her dream of opening her own business. She rents a small office above a bookstore and advertises her skills as a typist. Soon, business is steady but she becomes unwillingly entangled in the mysterious affairs of two customers and finds life as a single woman in America’s frontier town of San Francisco to be more exciting than she had ever envisioned.
This is not a bad book. If I find myself in need of mental cotton candy, I may search out later books in the series. This is the first and it has a few stumbles, but in some areas it’s refreshing and breaks from the mold of romantic thrillers. Fremont is a progressive thinker and is determined not to marry. She knows this will cause her some problems regarding her relations with men (as in, she wants to have sex with them but not marry them) but she doesn’t sit around navel-gazing about it. The prose is plain and no-nonsense, just like Fremont. The pace can be a big draggy in places because the author spends a whole lot of time having Fremont follow up the case of the mysterious customer and Edgar Allen Poe-wannabe but I didn’t think it was interesting and the long italicized excerpts from EAP wannabe’s stories are tedious reading. The intrigue with the Chinese man is much more satisfying.
As with all romantic thrillers, the heroine must have more than one man to pick from. One man is usually the bad guy but he seems to be good, and the other guy seems like the bad guy but he’s the one who’ll swoop in and save her ass and she falls in love with him. That’s where this book differs.
I actually have a kinder outlook for this book now that I’m reviewing it. Fremont is a refreshing leading lady in that she is inquisitive, courageous, and takes responsibility for defending herself (she acquires a walking stick with a long blade at the end she can flick out quickly). She’s also a bit dumb sometimes and annoying and seems (for a 22 yr old) to tire easily. She never would have survived the modern college experience. San Francisco, with its fog and Chinatown, is an important character. In that way the book reminds me of Hyde Place by Virginia Coffman. It also takes place in San Francisco in 1919 and involves romantic intrigues and chills (and a mysterious Chinese man). I recommend that book highly—I’ve read it several times over the years.
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones isn’t a bad romantic thriller to spend a few days with.
Fremont Jones is a twenty-something woman of 1919 who escapes from her wealthy family in Boston to live in San Francisco. Her much-loathed stepmother is scheming to marry Fremont off to a nephew and so Fremont takes the last of her mother’s inheritance and runs away. Once there, Fremont drops her first name, Caroline, and follows her dream of opening her own business. She rents a small office above a bookstore and advertises her skills as a typist. Soon, business is steady but she becomes unwillingly entangled in the mysterious affairs of two customers and finds life as a single woman in America’s frontier town of San Francisco to be more exciting than she had ever envisioned.
This is not a bad book. If I find myself in need of mental cotton candy, I may search out later books in the series. This is the first and it has a few stumbles, but in some areas it’s refreshing and breaks from the mold of romantic thrillers. Fremont is a progressive thinker and is determined not to marry. She knows this will cause her some problems regarding her relations with men (as in, she wants to have sex with them but not marry them) but she doesn’t sit around navel-gazing about it. The prose is plain and no-nonsense, just like Fremont. The pace can be a big draggy in places because the author spends a whole lot of time having Fremont follow up the case of the mysterious customer and Edgar Allen Poe-wannabe but I didn’t think it was interesting and the long italicized excerpts from EAP wannabe’s stories are tedious reading. The intrigue with the Chinese man is much more satisfying.
As with all romantic thrillers, the heroine must have more than one man to pick from. One man is usually the bad guy but he seems to be good, and the other guy seems like the bad guy but he’s the one who’ll swoop in and save her ass and she falls in love with him. That’s where this book differs.
I actually have a kinder outlook for this book now that I’m reviewing it. Fremont is a refreshing leading lady in that she is inquisitive, courageous, and takes responsibility for defending herself (she acquires a walking stick with a long blade at the end she can flick out quickly). She’s also a bit dumb sometimes and annoying and seems (for a 22 yr old) to tire easily. She never would have survived the modern college experience. San Francisco, with its fog and Chinatown, is an important character. In that way the book reminds me of Hyde Place by Virginia Coffman. It also takes place in San Francisco in 1919 and involves romantic intrigues and chills (and a mysterious Chinese man). I recommend that book highly—I’ve read it several times over the years.
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones isn’t a bad romantic thriller to spend a few days with.
July 31, 2012
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones was an enjoyable, and sometimes hilarious read. A great mystery that didn't take itself too seriously, and honestly, I just can't resist a good story with a witty female protagonist and a tall distinguished older gentleman in it.
October 3, 2015
Two and a half stars is charitable for what is obviously a first novel. Day has some good ideas that could have borne more development than the "gothic" bit. The ending was rushed, going more for Twilight Zone last-scene effect a than satisfying finish. I got very tired indeed of the interpolations of Edgar/Peregrine's supposed stories, which led me to wonder if Ms Day had tried her hand at that particular genre without success.
I know wealthy girls were supposedly kept wrapped in cotton wool in those days but as others have stated, one wonders how such a babe in the wood could have made it across the country on her own without being robbed, raped and/or murdered, let alone wandering around a strange city in the dark. She might not be the first miss to merrily hand her maidenhead to the first charming young man who paid attention to her, but surely with her conservative upbringing it wouldn't have taken just a few kisses? I guess my complaint is that the novel doesn't seem to know where it's going. The main character is a wee bit too modern in thought and action for the time and her supposed education, and I didn't find the Justin character at all convincing (and yes, I've known plenty of guys like the one he was supposed to be.) There's a lot of talk about carrying brown paper lunch bags; however even though the self-opening sack was patented in the 1880s, I feel pretty sure that most people carrying their lunch on a regular basis at that time would be using metal dinner pails or lunch tins. Certainly where I live the round, stackable lunch tins carried by many construction workers haven't changed in over 100 years and are still widely available.
I'm not usually demanding when it comes to a weekend read, but this needs work.
I know wealthy girls were supposedly kept wrapped in cotton wool in those days but as others have stated, one wonders how such a babe in the wood could have made it across the country on her own without being robbed, raped and/or murdered, let alone wandering around a strange city in the dark. She might not be the first miss to merrily hand her maidenhead to the first charming young man who paid attention to her, but surely with her conservative upbringing it wouldn't have taken just a few kisses? I guess my complaint is that the novel doesn't seem to know where it's going. The main character is a wee bit too modern in thought and action for the time and her supposed education, and I didn't find the Justin character at all convincing (and yes, I've known plenty of guys like the one he was supposed to be.) There's a lot of talk about carrying brown paper lunch bags; however even though the self-opening sack was patented in the 1880s, I feel pretty sure that most people carrying their lunch on a regular basis at that time would be using metal dinner pails or lunch tins. Certainly where I live the round, stackable lunch tins carried by many construction workers haven't changed in over 100 years and are still widely available.
I'm not usually demanding when it comes to a weekend read, but this needs work.
September 8, 2008
THE STRANGE FILES OF FREMONT JONES - Okay
Day, Dianne - 1st in series
Brave, resourceful, adventurous Fremont (nee Caroline) Jones is a woman ahead of her time. Hungry for independence, she's traded in her conventional life in Boston for a career as a "type-writer" in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. But Fremont soon discovers that her clients aren't always what they appear to be, and that in doing her job she's transcribing her way into a wealth of mystery—and mortal danger....
Dashing lawyer Justin Cameron well-nigh sweeps Fremont Jones off her feet—and into a situation ripe with perilous intrigue. A client meets an untimely death that Fremont suspects is linked to the paper she typed for him, of which she can recall but one small fragment. And her attempts to disentangle reality and imagination in the gothic tales penned by Edgar Allan Partridge—whose demeanor is one of terror under the barest restraint—send her up the rocky California coast on a mission of discovery from which she may not return....
This book won the 1996 Macavity award but I found it dreadfully slow and didn't care for the protagonist.
Day, Dianne - 1st in series
Brave, resourceful, adventurous Fremont (nee Caroline) Jones is a woman ahead of her time. Hungry for independence, she's traded in her conventional life in Boston for a career as a "type-writer" in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. But Fremont soon discovers that her clients aren't always what they appear to be, and that in doing her job she's transcribing her way into a wealth of mystery—and mortal danger....
Dashing lawyer Justin Cameron well-nigh sweeps Fremont Jones off her feet—and into a situation ripe with perilous intrigue. A client meets an untimely death that Fremont suspects is linked to the paper she typed for him, of which she can recall but one small fragment. And her attempts to disentangle reality and imagination in the gothic tales penned by Edgar Allan Partridge—whose demeanor is one of terror under the barest restraint—send her up the rocky California coast on a mission of discovery from which she may not return....
This book won the 1996 Macavity award but I found it dreadfully slow and didn't care for the protagonist.
January 8, 2012
The author bio of Dianne Day states "is the author of nine novels of romantic suspense..." and at times it shows. More than one scene contained the "purple prose & heaving bosoms" one might expect to find in a romance novel. There is plenty in this novel to still warrent a read, if you are a fan of historical mystery. There were interesting historical details throughout and some education on treatment of the Chinese people who were living in California at the beginning of the 1900s. This is a fast moving, spirited read that could have done with a little more editing. I felt at times that Day was trying to shove too much into this first novel of a series and with one lesss mystery she might have firmed up some of the overly obvious supporting characters ie Justing Cameron. However, I will gladly pick up the next adventure of Fremont Jones. Add a half star if you are a reader of romance novels expanding into suspense/mystery.
July 4, 2013
The first lesson any author should learn is what genre of book he/she is writing. Dianne Day didn't quiiiiite have that figured out. The Strange Files of Fremont Jones starts off as a coming-of-age story of a young woman in 1905 then morphs into a potential mystery before taking on supernatural elements of weird Poe-esque formatting until settling in for a single sex scene that could have come out of any trashy dime-store romance novel. Not cool and I'd like to hope, not her best effort!
Because despite all the culminating weirdness, the character of Caroline Fremont Jones is likeable and intrigued me from the very beginning. The other major problem aside from the hodgepodge of genres is the predictable nature of the actual "mystery" in the book. I knew, or at least suspected, who was involved from almost the very moment I met him. Why? Because I didn't like him much, knew I was supposed to, so my feelings of dislike must stem from the direction I myself would take such a character, i.e. making him a villain. Needless to say, Fremont doesn't always have the best judgement!
And that's another thing. This girl is stupid! For being such a fan of Sherlock Holmes (my fangirl's heart LOVES that part of her character), she really doesn't make safe or rational judgement calls. What young, respectable woman in 1905 charges off into San Francisco's Chinatown without an escort? I realize she wants to be independent, but really?
So, I couldn't put the book down and it had fascinating elements, but I hope Dianne's next books in the Fremont Jones series have a more cohesive plot. I don't want my supernatural mysteries to mesh with reality. If she wants to give her readers the chills, then by all means stick to a Poe format, but don't bounce between ghost stories and real mysteries.
Because despite all the culminating weirdness, the character of Caroline Fremont Jones is likeable and intrigued me from the very beginning. The other major problem aside from the hodgepodge of genres is the predictable nature of the actual "mystery" in the book. I knew, or at least suspected, who was involved from almost the very moment I met him. Why? Because I didn't like him much, knew I was supposed to, so my feelings of dislike must stem from the direction I myself would take such a character, i.e. making him a villain. Needless to say, Fremont doesn't always have the best judgement!
And that's another thing. This girl is stupid! For being such a fan of Sherlock Holmes (my fangirl's heart LOVES that part of her character), she really doesn't make safe or rational judgement calls. What young, respectable woman in 1905 charges off into San Francisco's Chinatown without an escort? I realize she wants to be independent, but really?
So, I couldn't put the book down and it had fascinating elements, but I hope Dianne's next books in the Fremont Jones series have a more cohesive plot. I don't want my supernatural mysteries to mesh with reality. If she wants to give her readers the chills, then by all means stick to a Poe format, but don't bounce between ghost stories and real mysteries.
October 22, 2013
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones is set in San Francisco in 1905. Caroline Fremont Jones is a thoroughly modern miss whose father has no real idea how to control her or make her confirm to society’s expectations of how women should act. She has now finished her college education and is at a bit of a loss on what to do next. Her father married a woman that Caroline dislikes and her new stepmother believes that marriage is all that a woman requires and has just the nephew in mind for Caroline. While her father and his bride are on their honeymoon Caroline runs away to San Francisco, changes her name to Fremont Jones, finds herself lodgings with a widow called Mrs O’Leary, settles in and sets up her own a typing business.
Fremont’s fellow boarding house guest is the enigmatic Michael Archer, who Mrs O’Leary is convinced is a spy. The plot is based around the three of Fremont’s customers and Michael. The first is a rather nice young lawyer called Justin Cameron who quickly becomes her boyfriend. Justin is followed by a rather creepy author, Edgar Allan Partridge, who wants his handwritten manuscript typed out. As Fremont types out his macabre stories we get to ‘read’ them as well, and when he doesn’t turn up to collect the finished manuscript, Fremont follows hints in the stories to try and track him down. The third major client to make up Fremont’s ‘strange files’ is an elderly Chinese man called Li Wong – who dictates his last will and testimony. A week later he has been murdered and Fremont’s office is broken into.
This is a wonderful start to a new (for me) series – a mystery complete with strong female character, lots of thrills and adventure. There is humour, death, romance, twists, turns and realistic characters. All this is accompanied by vivid descriptions of San Francisco that just conjure up a sense of place and time.
Fremont’s fellow boarding house guest is the enigmatic Michael Archer, who Mrs O’Leary is convinced is a spy. The plot is based around the three of Fremont’s customers and Michael. The first is a rather nice young lawyer called Justin Cameron who quickly becomes her boyfriend. Justin is followed by a rather creepy author, Edgar Allan Partridge, who wants his handwritten manuscript typed out. As Fremont types out his macabre stories we get to ‘read’ them as well, and when he doesn’t turn up to collect the finished manuscript, Fremont follows hints in the stories to try and track him down. The third major client to make up Fremont’s ‘strange files’ is an elderly Chinese man called Li Wong – who dictates his last will and testimony. A week later he has been murdered and Fremont’s office is broken into.
This is a wonderful start to a new (for me) series – a mystery complete with strong female character, lots of thrills and adventure. There is humour, death, romance, twists, turns and realistic characters. All this is accompanied by vivid descriptions of San Francisco that just conjure up a sense of place and time.
November 17, 2015
I agree with the synopsis of Day's File of Fremont Jones here on GoodReads in that it compares Jones to Grafton's Kinsey Millhone. The characters certainly have a very similar vibe and I think fans of Grafton's Alphabet Series would enjoy Jones.
I do think I will end up reading through the series eventually but there were some pretty big disappointments in this opener. I really wanted more depth from Jones - as well as a bit more maturity/common sense. Both the main character and the majority of the plot resolution felt coated in naiveté. There was enough to make it an interesting, though quick, read. However, Jones' experiences with China Town, the tease of Gothic elements, and her interactions with other characters felt rather fumbled in parts.
I ended up wishing that Day had avoided the Gothic and Poe side of things and stuck with a Jones Goes to China Town deal; preferably postponing the bigger arc entanglement of Poe for a blank slate. It certainly had enough to itself to warrant the freedom of said slate and I think she could have really played around with it all quite wonderfully because she certainly had something there. It just felt like a long tease with an unsatisfyingly abrupt resolution. It also felt like Day could have given us more weight in the China Town direction because it seemed like she had enough skill to back up a better view of the historical but she reigned it in for some reason.
It's actually this arc entanglement that so reminded me of Grafton's Millhone character and serial mysteries. I've read through the available books this year and the books that have a divided focus end up feeling unsatisfying to me. Whereas Grafton certainly has enough skill to keep you hooked when she focuses her plot. Similarly, Day's Jones feels like it suffered under the same kind of division when it could have shone a lot brighter.
I do think I will end up reading through the series eventually but there were some pretty big disappointments in this opener. I really wanted more depth from Jones - as well as a bit more maturity/common sense. Both the main character and the majority of the plot resolution felt coated in naiveté. There was enough to make it an interesting, though quick, read. However, Jones' experiences with China Town, the tease of Gothic elements, and her interactions with other characters felt rather fumbled in parts.
I ended up wishing that Day had avoided the Gothic and Poe side of things and stuck with a Jones Goes to China Town deal; preferably postponing the bigger arc entanglement of Poe for a blank slate. It certainly had enough to itself to warrant the freedom of said slate and I think she could have really played around with it all quite wonderfully because she certainly had something there. It just felt like a long tease with an unsatisfyingly abrupt resolution. It also felt like Day could have given us more weight in the China Town direction because it seemed like she had enough skill to back up a better view of the historical but she reigned it in for some reason.
It's actually this arc entanglement that so reminded me of Grafton's Millhone character and serial mysteries. I've read through the available books this year and the books that have a divided focus end up feeling unsatisfying to me. Whereas Grafton certainly has enough skill to keep you hooked when she focuses her plot. Similarly, Day's Jones feels like it suffered under the same kind of division when it could have shone a lot brighter.
January 21, 2021
Very disappointing book. There was so much material to work with and it went nowhere.
March 15, 2021
Fairly enjoyable suspense/mystery novel. Enjoyable enough that I will try Book 2 in the series 3.5 stars
February 2, 2010
Caroline Fremont Jones, aka Fremont Jones, is her own woman during the time women had only the rights bestowed her by her father or husband.
Fremont Jones leaves her father’s home with a college degree and a small amount of money left her by her mother in hand because she has a non-compatible relationship with her stepmother who disapproves of Fremont because she refuses to wear a corset and behave as women of the day are expected to behave.
Freemont moves to San Francisco and opens a letter typing business. Her business takes off right away and not only are her customers of those wanting her to type their letters but those wanting her to transcribe their book manuscripts. One of the manuscripts is from a man who tells her his stories are like Edgar Allen Poe’s but better because they’re true. As Fremont Jones reads the manuscript, her curiosity overtakes her and she sets out to learn the truth behind the stories.
An excellent read.
Fremont Jones leaves her father’s home with a college degree and a small amount of money left her by her mother in hand because she has a non-compatible relationship with her stepmother who disapproves of Fremont because she refuses to wear a corset and behave as women of the day are expected to behave.
Freemont moves to San Francisco and opens a letter typing business. Her business takes off right away and not only are her customers of those wanting her to type their letters but those wanting her to transcribe their book manuscripts. One of the manuscripts is from a man who tells her his stories are like Edgar Allen Poe’s but better because they’re true. As Fremont Jones reads the manuscript, her curiosity overtakes her and she sets out to learn the truth behind the stories.
An excellent read.
October 21, 2014
I am a big fan of Molly Murphy and the Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen Rhys Bowen as well as The Blackbird Sisters by Nancy Martin. Nancy Martin I was excited to start another female detective novel set in a specific historical time.
The Boston connection was perfect for me as a New Englander. There certainly were some twists to this story. The plot line intrigued my thirst for American history and introduced me to the world of the American Asian culture in California at the turn of the century (1900s).
I was not happy with the inference that the non-traditional background and upbringing of a child is the cause of his/her poor choices later in life.
The book was entertaining, with romance, friendship and mystery.
The Boston connection was perfect for me as a New Englander. There certainly were some twists to this story. The plot line intrigued my thirst for American history and introduced me to the world of the American Asian culture in California at the turn of the century (1900s).
I was not happy with the inference that the non-traditional background and upbringing of a child is the cause of his/her poor choices later in life.
The book was entertaining, with romance, friendship and mystery.
November 19, 2011
Caroline Fremont Jones is an engaging character you can relate to and understand her motives well. She is making her way in the world against odds and convention. She uses both her brain and her heart, it's easy to feel respect her and root for her. I definitely want to read more about her.
The supporting characters are all well developed and you have a strong feeling they will show up throughout the series. There is a bit of romance along with the suspense. It's a fun read with a lot of research on San Francisco. My only issue is that the main character seems a bit too anachronistically modern for the time period that she is in, but that could be my opinion on it.
From the strength of this book I got the whole series which I am currently reading.
The supporting characters are all well developed and you have a strong feeling they will show up throughout the series. There is a bit of romance along with the suspense. It's a fun read with a lot of research on San Francisco. My only issue is that the main character seems a bit too anachronistically modern for the time period that she is in, but that could be my opinion on it.
From the strength of this book I got the whole series which I am currently reading.
May 26, 2008
I ended up reading this simply because it was on the shelf and I wanted something to read while staying at the in-laws' house. It's a mystery novel set in the early 1900's (I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of San Francisco in that era) about a young woman going against the grain by being out on her own, making a life, and not running away from trouble. I'm sure it's targeted more to women, but I ended up enjoying it anyway and even read some of the later books in the series as well. It's not action packed and the mysteries aren't very complicated or developed, but it's unique and is a good read.
August 8, 2018
Fremont Jones series is just good reading and meant to be very enjoyable as a character. She is the early independent thinking woman and she is resourceful and fun. She strikes out on her own and learns early the "school of hard knocks" but she is persistent and you will find yourself getting involved with her latest challenge and cheering her on and then sometimes it will touch you just for a moment when she is so alone and loses faith in herself. If you loved Nancy Drew (those of you who remember Nancy), you will love Fremont Jones. I saw them on my bookshelf this morning and just smiled to remember such a good series.
May 11, 2014
Good historical setup, good characters, Fremont's lack of experience shows (she's 22 and sheltered, after all). I probably would've enjoyed it more if I hadn't been trying to figure out whether it was fantasy or not - I conclude that it probably isn't. Except maybe for the last line. Nonetheless, I will probably try to find the succeeding volumes at some point; good historical fiction is worth looking for!
November 27, 2016
I rate this brain ok a 3.5. There much I like - Fremont, who matures in this novel, San Francisco in 1906, good mix of good/bad guys and not knowing which is which (although its obvious quickly), and enough suspense to keep me reading. But, it was a bit too macabre and a sex scene - really? Not what I would expect in a suspense/mystery book. But, I will continue with this series and see how it goes.
June 13, 2018
More romantic suspense than true mystery. Carolyn Fremont Jones has left her first name and her unpleasant stepmother behind in Boston, and set up a typewriting service in San Francisco. She is given a manuscript of horror stories to type, and the author tells her they are all true. The man never returns to pick up the work, and the stories haunt her, so she sets out to track him down and try to find out whether the stories have any basis in fact.
January 18, 2020
Interesting mystery. Could have done without the sexual scenes. Took the main character out of her time to present day values. Author went too far to illustrate that this was a “modern” woman for her time. Less than believable for this reader. Wasn’t moving from her father’s home, deciding not to marry, opening her own business enough? But hey! It’s fiction right?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2010
First in a historical mystery series set in San Francisco during the early 1900's. I liked the main character, though I doubt if she was historically appropriate, but the various plot elements were just OK and there was a bit too much romance.
September 5, 2008
Not so mysterious mystery with some gothic Edgar Allen Poe references thrown in for good measure. Stilted, first person narrative was somewhat annoying.
March 10, 2017
So much fun, set at the perfect time and in one of my favorite places, San Fransisco. I love Fremont. What a woman!
July 8, 2021
This is not a cozy mystery. --- It gets pretty creepy in parts.-- Caroline Fremont Jones was a Boston upper class, well-educated (Wellsley grad), young lady refused to follow the society rules of the times. She was willful, opinionated, eccentric in manners (refused to wear a corset!!) and horrors! – she was unmarried (by her own design) at the age of 22. --- Her father hoped her new step-mother would make Caroline into a “lady.” Caroline had other plans. With some money she had from her mother’s will, when her father and new bride were on their extended honeymoon, Caroline packed a few belongings and bought a train ticket to San Francisco. On the way west she dropped the “Caroline” and became, Fremont Jones, an independent businesswoman. She arrived in San Francisco in 1905, taught herself to type and opened up her own office where she typed papers for clients who could not do so for themselves. One of her first clients (EAP) had written a spooky book made up of three tales he swore were the truth…. He gave Fremont more than enough money to pay for the typing and ran out of her office saying that he had been followed and had to get away. He never returned to pick up the typed manuscript. Another of her early clients was Li Wang, an important member of the Chinese community who had to have a paper typed in English by someone who would not reveal its contents. Unfortunately, Li Wang was murdered shortly after receiving the paper from Fremont. Meanwhile, Fremont was becoming intrigued by the various people she met. She began questioning what was going on around her: Were EAP’s stories true? Could she trust her boyfriend? Was Li Wang a Tong leader? Was her neighbor a spy? Oh! MY!
not-finished-abandoned
September 20, 2017A charming, compelling voice gets this novel off to a zippy start. Once under way, though, I began to suspect that her narrator's voice and a few plot ideas were all Dianne Day had planned. In 1905, rebellious bluestocking Caroline Fremont Jones flees Boston for San Francisco, drops "Caroline," and sets up as a typist. Excellent premise! However . . . Another reviewer has compared Day to Sue Grafton; I agree in that both authors meander and vamp, as if they're not sure which way to steer their narrators. Fremont Jones vacillates much more than Kinsey Millhone: sometimes she's a take-charge amateur detective, sometimes a rather limp romantic heroine, sometimes a bystander in a Poe tale. The pre-quake San Francisco setting is dotted with just enough anachronisms to put me off ("mom and dad"? no formalities between ladies and gentlemen? and the big sex scene is a Harlequin classic); and by midway through the story, suspense--alas!--had dissipated.
May 30, 2019
It's not literature as billed but nevertheless entertaining, I like San Francisco and it was fun to read about it in the setting of the beginning of the 20th century, although as hinted at the gloom of the impending disaster hangs over the story which is altogether dark and unsettling anyway. The entire story I was thinking that someone who compares herself to Sherlock Holmes would be smart enough to inspect her typewriter ribbon to uncover the contents of a lost letter typed by her on her machine but no, that does not happen and the lost letter is found in a strange plot twist, I will say no more. The book has basically two disconnected story lines that are only in the same book because the same inquisitive protagonists chooses to pursue them but otherwise have little to do which each other, for a literary novel you would expect them to be somehow connected but then again this isn't really literature. Poor literature or good pulp, take your pick.
June 16, 2023
Ah Fremont Jones. I first read these books when they came out, back in the late 90s. I love the setting of San Francisco at the turn of the last century with the early feminist character striking out on her own. She lives on the 3rd floor of a big house and can watch the fog roll in over the bay from her window. So easy to imagine. Itʻs also easy to imagine her dressed in the clothes of the time, taking a streetcar and setting up her downtown office with her typewriter and not too much else. The sex in this first book is somewhat misplaced as if this former romance novelist was getting her footing in a different genre. The mystery and the plot are fine to keep the pages turning. The subplot of her crazy client Edgar Allen Partridge is somewhat off-putting but again it feels like the first attempt of the writer to set herself up in a new style much like how Fremont is setting up a new life for herself. I still enjoyed this 25 years later.
May 12, 2017
Caroline Fremont Jones leaves her father's house in Boston when he goes off on his honeymoon with his new wife who has plans to marry off Caroline to her nephew. Having graduated from Wellesley College and not interested in being a society matron, Caroline moves to San Francisco in March 1905 and sets up a typewriting service and drop the Caroline, becoming Fremont Jones. Her typing jobs bring an assortment of characters from a young lawyer unable to afford a secretary, to a skeletal figure writing gothic stories, to a Chinaman writing a business contract. She interacts with each of them in interesting ways. She has a character in Mrs. O'Leary, her landlady and a mysterious neighbor who Mrs. O'Leary thinks is a spy. When one client is murdered and one disappears, Fremont is drawn into finding out their stories. I liked this heroine and look forward to more of her adventures.
March 8, 2023
Overall, a good story. But a few things that I didn't like as much. Some of it was a bit unbelievable - I doubt it would have been that easy for her to pick up and move across the country, alone, and set up a business so quickly. I found the writing felt a bit inexperienced at times. I thought the excerpts from the young man's stories were too long, but maybe I didn't realize at first that I needed to pay more attention to them. (Then again, why else were they in the book?) And the intimate scene with Justin didn't sit well with me, given that she felt uncomfortable about it afterwards. Also, was not expecting that level of detail in this kind of book. Also, I felt that the climax of the book was too rushed and she should have been much more devastated about everything related to Justin at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2020
Simply too many ridiculous plot points for me to enjoy. Fremont's instant business success wasn't very realistic. And for a well born, educated woman, how could she not realize what an insult it was for Justin to be surprised at her virginity, or to be insulted when one of his main concerns after her first sexual encounter was the blood on his new carpet?! I entirely disliked the Edgar Allen Partridge character (and the repeated, awkward use of his name), as well as the horror stories that were interspersed throughout the book. Frankly, I didn't find Fremont very likable either. I bought this book because the cover claimed fans of Elizabeth Peters and Anne Perry would like this character, but while I've read and enjoyed most of the works by those authors, I didn't much like this.
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