‘Of Hoaxes and Homicide’ is gripping Victorian mystery | Book Talk
“Of Hoaxes and Homicide” is second in the “Dear Miss Hermione” mystery series by Brecksville author Anastasia Hastings. Set in Victorian England, it’s about a woman whose work writing an “Agony Aunt” newspaper column leads her to investigating murder.
In the first book, “Of Manners and Murder,” just nominated for an Edgar Award, Violet learned that her aunt Adelia was the secret author of the popular “Miss Hermione” advice column. Adelia eloped and passed on the column to the reluctant Violet, who nevertheless forged ahead and solved a murder.
In “Hoaxes,” Violet’s capricious and gullible half-sister Sephora is reading lurid stories about theHermetic Order of the Children of Aed, possibly modeled after the real-life Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. With their leader, a man called Master, the group is rumored to conduct orgies and human sacrifice. “Miss Hermione” receives a letter from a mother whose daughter may have joined the group, and she allows Sephora to accompany her to a lecture by Master.
Disappointed, along with the rest of the crowd, when Master talks only of “the sacredness of trees.” Violet recognizes one of the robed figures as Sephora’s friend and is shocked when a “Novice” is carried off by a man in black.
Is the Order merely a harmless utopian society, living happily in the beautiful English countryside, or is it a sinister cult, with its rituals and hierarchy? Is Master a prophet or a charlatan? Violet poses as a Seeker, a prospective member, and joins the community just in time for an Adept to be murdered.
Sephora, to whom murder is “in very poor taste,” is insulted that Violet hasn’t invited her to accompany her, so Sephora takes up her own investigation that begins as comically stumbling but helps her find a “spark of resourcefulness” and determination.
As good as “Manners” was, “Hoaxes” is better. The Children of Aed occupy a creepy ruined monastery, a perfect site for the mystery. One revelation follows another as Violet and Sephora uncover clues and reveal identities. A third book in the series is not announced but will be most welcome.
“Of Hoaxes and Homicide” (304 pages, hardcover) costs $28 from Minotaur. Anastasia Hastings is a pseudonym; the author writes under many other names, including Mimi Granger (the Love is Murder Mystery series, set in a town based on Peninsula), (the Jazz Ramsey series about a Cleveland woman who trains dogs for human remains detection) and Lucy Ness (the Haunted Mansion series, set in a city that clearly resembles Akron). This series is among her best.
Edgar nominees
Among the nominees for 2024 Edgar Awards are Cuyahoga Falls author Mark Dawidziak (“A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe”) in Best Critical/Biographical; Linda Castillo (“Hallowed Ground”) in Best Short Story and for “An Evil Heart” for the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award, both in her Holmes County-set Kate Burkholder series; Anastasia Hastings for the Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award; and Cleveland author Vivien Chien (“Misfortune Cookie,” ninth in her Noodle Shop Mystery series) for the Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award. The Mystery Writers of America will present the awards May 1.
Award winner
“How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee” by Carole Boston Weatherford, a storybook about the 13-year-old Akron girl who faced discrimination in 1936 when she competed in the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C., has won the 2024 Coretta Scott King Author Honor award. Weatherford also won the award for “Kin: Rooted in Hope” and in 2022 for “Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre.”
Events
Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Carl Elton Cook signs “The Mayflower Project,” 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Willoughby Public Library (30 Public Square): Author Garrett Leinweber and illustrator Brittany Allen read from their storybook “The Kitty Who Stole the Sky,” 6:30 to 7 p.m. Monday. Register at we247.org.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Pediatric neuroendrocrinologist Robert Lustig joins the Online Author Talk Series to discuss “Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine,” 2 p.m. Tuesday. Register at smfpl.org.
Music Box Supper Club (1148 Main Ave., Cleveland): Terry Pluto, author of “The Guy with the Sign: Thoughts on Faith in Everyday Life,” joins the Cleveland Stories Dinner Parties series talking about “My Favorite Cleveland Sports Stories,” 7 p.m. Wednesday. Dinner is $25; the lecture is free. Register at musicboxcle.com.
Hudson Library & Historical Society (96 Library St.): Former special forces officer Brad Taylor signs “Dead Man’s Hand,” eighteenth in his Pike Logan series about an agent in the fictional Task Force, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. In a virtual visit at 7 p.m. Thursday, Harvard law professor Martha Minow discusses “Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve Freedom of Speech.” In a virtual appearance at 10 a.m. Saturday, gardening journalist Jackie Bennett talks about “The Writer’s Garden: How Gardens Inspired Our Best-Loved Authors.” Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Brecksville branch, 9089 Brecksville Road): Wendy Koile talks about “Lake Erie Murder & Mayhem,” 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cleveland Public Library (Union branch, 3463 E. 93rd St.): Cleveland native C.J. Hudson talks about her books including the Bullets & Bloodlines thriller series, 1 p.m. Saturday.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘Of Hoaxes and Homicide’ is gripping Victorian mystery
