Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: Murder on Oak Street by I.M. Foster

 

Today I'm participating in the Murder on Oak Street Blog Tour. In this post you'll find book and author information along with my review. Be sure to enter the giveaway contest below.

 

About the book . . . 

Murder on Oak Street (A South Shore Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – New York
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Inez M. Foster (November 12, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 503 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 173333758X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1733337588
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 503 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1733337571
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1733337571
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BFMT4WL2

 

Synopsis . . . New York, 1904. 

After two years as a coroner’s physician for the City of New York, Daniel O’Halleran is more frustrated than ever. What’s the point when the authorities consistently brush aside his findings for the sake of expediency? So when his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar on their wedding day, he takes it as a sign that it’s time to move on and eagerly accepts an offer to assist the local coroner in the small Long Island village of Patchogue.

Though the coroner advises him that life on Long Island is far more subdued than that of the city, Daniel hasn’t been there a month when the pretty librarian, Kathleen Brissedon, asks him to look into a two-year-old murder case that took place in the city. Oddly enough, the case she’s referring to was the first one he ever worked on, and the verdict never sat right with him.

Eager for the chance to investigate it anew, Daniel agrees to look into it in his spare time, but when a fresh murder occurs in his own backyard, he can’t shake his gut feeling that the two cases are connected. Can he discover the link before another life is taken, or will murder shake the peaceful South Shore village once again?
 
My review . . . Doctor and coroner Daniel O'Halleran remains haunted by his very first death case two years earlier. He can't shake the feeling that his conclusions were ignored and justice wasn't served. Daniel finds himself adrift after this experience, coupled with the unexpected break up of his betrothal which shook his self-esteem to the core. The young doctor hopes that moving from New York City to Long Island for a similar position will offer him a fresh start.

As circumstances would have it, Daniel is given another chance to revisit the old case when Kathleen Brissedon, the local young librarian, asks him to take a closer look. She hopes that reexamining the case will clear the victim's name and bring a sense of closure for her stepbrother Patrick, the victim's son. Things take an interesting turn when a murder occurs in the town. Daniel's innate investigative abilities turn up clues in the new case that seem eerily connected to the prior one. Can he piece together enough proof to solve both cases and bring the guilty to justice? 

This historical mystery, set in New York's Gilded Age, brings to vivid life the ruthlessness of a group of self-made men and their associates, some of whom will stop at nothing--including murder--to obtain wealth and status. It's a showdown between scoundrels and society's better angels who seek justice and accountability in the face of dastardly deeds. 

The story's many plausible suspects, motives, and red herrings move the plot along, held my attention, and kept me guessing until the last few pages. The author has created a multi-layered cast of characters and a budding attraction between the doctor and the librarian, who seem romantically and professionally well-suited. The series is off to a good start with great potential for future storylines and books 2 and 3 already in the works.

About the author . . .  I. M. Foster is the pen name author Inez Foster uses to write her South Shore Mystery series, set on Edwardian Long Island. Inez also writes historical romances under the pseudonym Andrea Matthews, and has so far published two series in that genre: the Thunder on the Moor series, a time-travel romance set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Borders, and the Cross of Ciaran series, which follows the adventures of a fifth century Celt who finds himself in love with a twentieth-century archaeologist.

Inez is an historian and librarian, who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogically speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. Inez is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, the Historical Novel Society, and Sisters in Crime.

 

 

Giveaway . . . Click here for a chance to win books 2 and 3 (choice of print or eBook) in the South Shore Mystery Series.

 

 

Purchase link . . . Amazon 

Author links . . . 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IMFosterMysteries

X: https://www.x.com/IMFosterMystery

Threads: https://www.threads.net/imfosterauthor

 

 

Tour participants . . . 

April 14 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT  

April 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 15 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 16 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

April 16 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 17 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 17 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 18 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

April 19 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

April 21 – Frugal Freelancer – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 22 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 23 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

April 24 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

April 25 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

April 26 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

April 26 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

April 27 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

 

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of Murder on Oak Street in exchange for an honest review.

This Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. It cannot be republished without attribution.

 

 

Friday Focus: Weekend Reads

 

 It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by My Head is Full of Books, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
  

Today I'm featuring Murder on Oak Street by I.M. Foster. The excerpts shared are from an eBook provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Book Beginning:  Prologue

Friday, April 3, 1902

Cornelius Desmond crept up the staircase of the crumbling tenement. Each step creaked and moaned with the pressure of his heavy boots until, at times, he felt sure he would plunge through to the floor below.

********************  

56% of eBook:  "He's helped you before, then?"

"Yes, on occasion." He glanced nervously around the small restaurant, as if gauging whether or not he could make a break for it.

********************  

My thoughts: This is the first book in a new historical mystery series set during New York's Guilded Age. The story brings to vivid life the ruthlessness of a local group of businessmen and their associates, some of whom will stop at nothing--including murder--to obtain wealth and status. Society's better angels--in the form of a young doctor and librarian--seek justice and accountability in the face of dastardly deeds. The book's many suspects, motives, and red herrings held my attention and kept me guessing who was responsible for the murders until the last few pages.

********************  

From Goodreads:  New York, 1904. After two years as a coroner’s physician for the city of New York, Daniel O'Halleran is more frustrated than ever. What’s the point when the authorities consistently brush aside his findings for the sake of expediency? So when his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar on their wedding day, he takes it as a sign that it's time to move on and eagerly accepts an offer to assist the local coroner in the small Long Island village of Patchogue.

Though the coroner advises him life on Long Island is far more subdued than that of the city, Daniel hasn’t been there a month when the pretty librarian, Kathleen Brissedon, asks him to look into a two-year-old murder case that took place in the city. Oddly enough, the case she’s referring to was the first one he ever worked on, and the verdict never sat right with him.

Eager for the chance to investigate it anew, Daniel agrees to look into it in his spare time, but when a fresh murder occurs in his own backyard, he can’t shake his gut feeling that the two cases are somehow connected. Can he discover the link before another life is taken, or will murder shake the peaceful South Shore village once again?

*******************

This Friday Focus: Weekend Reads post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com. It cannot be republished without attribution.