First published 2007
Nora Simms arrives in gold rush San Francisco with ambitions to build wealth through her beauty and charm. She enters the world of prostitution, determined to climb from the bottom to the top of her dangerous profession. Her plans take a terrifying turn when murders begin claiming the lives of women in her circle. Each victim shares disturbing connections to Nora herself. Success brings her to the fashionable districts of the city, but wealth and status cannot protect her from the mounting threat. The killer grows bolder while Nora struggles to identify allies from enemies. She must solve the mystery before becoming the next victim. Diana Gabaldon praised the novel, calling Nora "hilarious, heart-breaking, tough, perceptive." The book earned a nomination for a Pushcart Press Editor's Book Award.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, mystery, suspense
Setting: San Francisco
Period: Gold Rush
257 pages · Paperback · Heyday Books
Content warnings: murder, violence