It is summer 1893 in Portland, Maine, when petty thief
Frankie "the Foot" Cosgrove is shot to death as he delivers
a rare artifact he's recently stolen. Then a few days after
he's buried, Cosgrove's charred remains show up in an
abandoned house. Obviously staged to appear that he rose
from the dead, police detective Archie Lean is given the
perverse case to investigate. Realizing there is much more
involved with this incident than he can officially
scrutinize, Lean calls on private investigator (and former
Pinkerton agent) Perceval Gray's assistance. Grey was
instrumental in solving a previous case with Lean, so the
savvy policeman is familiar with the unique way Grey has of
reasoning out some of the most bizarre pieces of evidence.
As the case progresses, several threads of intrigue
involving the Webster family come to light involving the
theft of a mystifying relic called the thunderstone,
thought to have belonged to an early Native American tribe,
as well as a missing member of the family. As the detective
and the private investigator pursue separate paths of clues
in the investigation, they eventually reach the same
conclusion in the explosive ending of this dynamic mystery.
Set in New England during the 1890s, A STUDY OF REVENGE is
a detailed historical mystery with believable characters
and an intricate plot. As a follow-up to THE TRUTH OF ALL
THINGS, it brings together again Portland police detective
Archie Lean and ex-Pinkerton detective/ private
investigator Perceval Grey, who is part Native American.
Grey reminds me of another famous historical investigator,
Sherlock Holmes, with his brilliant intellect and unique
way of puzzling out crimes. And Archie Lean makes a great
partner who keeps them both on track. A great historical
mystery series!
In 1893, a trail of ashen footprints leads Deputy Archie
Lean to the body of a murdered thief. The man’s exposed
flesh has been horribly burned and occult symbols mark the
nearby walls. Most troubling of all is what Lean witnessed
two days earlier: this same man being lowered into his
grave without a burn mark on him. Once again, the
Portland, Maine, police deputy must turn to the brilliant
criminalist Perceval Grey for help.
Grey, a half-
Abenaki Indian detective, faces problems of his own after
agreeing to an elderly tycoon’s death-bed plea to find his
long-lost granddaughter. The dying man’s family is less
interested in the missing heiress than with the recent
theft of an obscure heirloom carved with curious symbols.
As the family’s shadowy history is revealed, the three
mysteries intersect to draw Lean and Grey into a maze of
murder, deceit, and revenge. Each deadly new clue points
toward an even greater puzzle—one that will pit Grey
against a devious murderer in a race to unlock an ancient
and mysterious power.