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Death at Chinatown Emily Cabot Mysteries Volume 5 Frances McNamara 9780989053556 Books

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Death at Chinatown Emily Cabot Mysteries Volume 5 Frances McNamara 9780989053556 Books

I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this book! I expected to be mildly entertained, but from Page 1 I was engrossed and rapidly turning the pages. I think I only required a couple hours because I couldn't tear myself away. Ms. McNamara takes on a large cast of characters, their personal issues, plus many local, national, and even global geopolitical dilemmas of the late 19th century. Plus there's a plethora of mystery, and one of the most appealing female protagonists I've encountered. I'm thankful this is a series.


Tags : Death at Chinatown (Emily Cabot Mysteries) (Volume 5) [Frances McNamara] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the summer of 1896, amateur sleuth Emily Cabot meets two young Chinese women who have recently received medical degrees. She is inspired to make an important decision about her own life when she learns about the difficult choices they have made in order to pursue their careers. When one of the women is accused of poisoning a Chinese herbalist,Frances McNamara,Death at Chinatown (Emily Cabot Mysteries) (Volume 5),Allium Press of Chicago,0989053555,Mystery & Detective - General,Chinatown (Chicago, Ill.),Chinese Americans,Chinese Americans - Illinois - Chicago,Chinese Americans;Fiction.,Chinese Americans;Illinois;Chicago;Fiction.,Murder - Investigation,Murder;Investigation;Fiction.,Mystery fiction,Chicago,Crime, Thriller & Adventure,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Fiction Historical,Fiction Mystery & Detective General,Fiction Mystery & Detective Historical,Fiction : Historical - General,Fiction : Literary,FictionHistorical - General,FictionLiterary,Historical - General,Historical mysteries,Illinois,Investigation,Literary,Murder,Mystery & Detective - Historical,Mystery fiction,MysterySuspense,FICTION Literary,FICTION Mystery & Detective Historical,Fiction Historical,Fiction Mystery & Detective General,Fiction : Historical - General,Fiction : Literary,FictionHistorical - General,FictionLiterary,Historical - General,Literary,Mystery & Detective - Historical,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Chicago,Illinois,Investigation,Murder,Fiction,MysterySuspense,Crime, Thriller & Adventure,Historical mysteries

Death at Chinatown Emily Cabot Mysteries Volume 5 Frances McNamara 9780989053556 Books Reviews

“Death at Chinatown” is much less a mystery story than a social commentary of 1896 Chicago and Chicago's large and bustling Chinatown. We have as narrator, Emily Chapman, erstwhile professor, amateur sleuth and the harried mother of two small children and a sometimes insensitive husband. Somehow, having a husband and two very young kids gets in the way of the flow of this novel. One cannot imagine Sherlock Holmes with a wife although Watson made up for that with perhaps three. When Lord Peter Wimsey got all soppy about Harriet and Naiao Marsh's Roderick Alleyn went gaga over Troy, the cutting edge of the mystery stories was somehow eroded. The husband or wife of a sleuth gets in the way. The domestic scenes of Emily and her children (such as the baby throwing up on Emily's dress as she welcomes visitors) I imagine will bore most men readers, who being men, will not understand the struggles of a professional woman during the Victorian era. They don't understand modern struggles of the same ilk, either.

There are three pivotal characters in “Death” who actually lived Gertrude Howe, a Methodist missionary and her two proteges Ida Kahn and Mary Stone. Ida and Mary were lucky to escape the scourge of bound feet but having normal “big” feet ruined their marriage prospects, and Ida was also the sixth daughter and as such her parents were happy to get rid of her. Both young women under the aegis of Gertrude Howe attended the University of Michigan, attained their medical degrees and emerged as full-blown doctors both in history and the pages of this book.

The Chinatown of Chicago in the late nineteenth century is almost like another country to Emily. When Mary Stone is accused of the murder of an herbalist (she had been observed pouring something into his ear) Emily's husband Stephen urges Emily to pursue the matter as an investigator, but Emily would much rather be at home with her children. An interesting situation how many husbands in 1896 and now would prefer their wives to WORK rather than mind the kids and be a full-time wife? Somehow the fact that Emily is more or less being pushed into a criminal investigation dilutes the situation as you feel she doesn't much care so why should you, the reader? She does protest too much, throughout the entire novel,being torn between her obligations as a mother and her interest in helping the police.

The local backgrounds of Chicago's China Town offered in the novel are as important or more so than the plot, and with Emily you will plunge ahead cold turkey. The immigration laws, the language, the superstitions, the attire, the food are spread before you. Do you know exactly what chop suey is? You enter many places in Chinatown, all atmospheric, smelling of exotic spices, dark little alleys and doorways, burnished wood. You observe men with pigtails down their back, women with bound feet. The characters, themselves, however, seem to be less distinct than the atmosphere. The two Chinese doctors, Ida and Mary, aside from the fact they are determined, and remarkably good with small children, never gel as personalities. Emily's friend Inspector Whitbread fares little better. The characters on this stage verge on being cardboard.

Given the importance of Chinese herbal medicine both in this book and in the real world it is surprising the author doesn't go into detail specifically about the herbal concoction that Dr. Mary had poured into the murdered man's ear and why that potion was presumed to have killed him. Authorities must have examined the elixir- what herbs were involved?

A Chinese dignitary, Viceroy Li (a real historical figure) visits Chicago and the novel reaches its climax. There is a kidnapping, and a near murder. Emily and Detective Whitbread learn the motive for the herbalist's assassination and simultaneously discover a sinister plot. Although this is a good novel and I enjoyed it, the book lacks dynamism, it lacks punch because Emily as the reluctant sleuth comes over as rather bland. We like our sleuths barreling along, their noses (figuratively) to the ground while yelling “The game's afoot!” We like our sleuths unfettered by a husband or wife or small children.
Frances McNamara's "Death at Chinatown" is the fifth book in the Emily Cabot mystery/historical fiction series. Set in the late 1800s, she and her husband and a detective friend solve a different mystery in each book.

In this book, the setting is 1896 Chicago, mainly in the Chinatown area. Two young Chinese women are newly graduated from medical school, and are planning to return to China to open a hospital. Rival Chinese gangs clash over the politics of their homeland, and one of the young doctors is blamed for a murder. Emily helps to solve the mystery, and also settles some of her own struggles with career and motherhood.

I liked the setting of the book, and the vivid descriptions of the time period. The book also portrays the issues women had being accepted in traditionally male careers, especially after they were married and had children. I wish I had read the previous four books before reading this one, so I'd have been more invested in Emily's back-story and her colleagues. As it was, I had to get to know them as I was reading, and it distracted me from getting immersed in the story. I also found Emily's character to be a little bit vague and bland. I grew up reading feisty Nancy Drew mysteries, and I wished for that kind of spunk and fire in Emily.

The author's descriptions of the restaurants, herbalist's shops, dry goods stores, clothing and culture of the residents of Chinatown were very realistic, and the way she fit Chinese poetry and fables into the story was seamless. My favorite part of the book was the Afterward, which told the reader some of the background of the real-life characters in the book, and explained some historical context that added an extra dimension to the story.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by The Cadence Group for review purposes.
Great read. Especially like the historical setting in Chicago, representing great research into the culture of the era.
Carefully researched as with all Ms McNamara's books with great character continuity and development. Unusual historical p!it demonstrating racial interactions at the end of the 19th century.
I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this book! I expected to be mildly entertained, but from Page 1 I was engrossed and rapidly turning the pages. I think I only required a couple hours because I couldn't tear myself away. Ms. McNamara takes on a large cast of characters, their personal issues, plus many local, national, and even global geopolitical dilemmas of the late 19th century. Plus there's a plethora of mystery, and one of the most appealing female protagonists I've encountered. I'm thankful this is a series.