Sister Beneath the Sheet [Paperback]

One sunny day in turn-of-the-century Biarritz, the celebrated courtesan Topaz Brown writes her will, bequeathing a certain sum to her maid and 50,000 to the Women's Social and Political Union, a British suffrage group. The next day she is dead, apparently a suicide. Miss Brown's brother plans to contest the will, arguing that Topaz was of unsound mind. But Topaz's maid, Tansy, is convinced that Topaz was murdered--probably by a rival prostitute. Into this maelstrom of doubt steps Union member Nell Bray, whom Emmeline Pankhurst has sent to collect the legacy. Newly released from prison for having hurled a brick at 10 Downing Street during a demonstration, Nell is smart and feisty . An altogether likable heroine, she proves quite capable of investigating Tansy's theories, even when a renegade suffragist's interference produces tragic consequences. Although a few too many gratuitous coincidences weaken her plot, Linscott ( Murder, I Presume ) shows off her historical and political backdrop to good effect, and leavens her mystery with well-measured wit.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

YA-- Nell Bray of the Women's Social and Political Union is sent to Biarritz to uncover the mysterious affair of Topaz Brown's suicide. This charming lady of the night willed her fortune of 50,000 to the women's suffrage group just one day before her untimely death. Nell knows she and the group are suspect since Topaz hardly espoused the suffragettes' cause. Convinced Topaz was murdered, she enlists the dead woman's maid as a reluctant ally and searches for clues in lowlife dives and society mansions as well as at exotic parties and amateur dramatic performances at the popular Edwardian resort. Hampered by Tansy's almost puritanical regard for Topaz's reputation as well as the shenanigans of a sister suffragette intent on assassinating a vacationing MP, Nell struggles with locked doors, secret entrances, and missing keys, but especially with the enigmatic character of Topaz, the benefactor whose profession makes her a double victim. The unusual setting, time frame, and interesting vignettes about the struggle to obtain voting rights for women add an extra measure of delight to this witty thriller. --Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School, Upper Marlboro,
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The author's second turn-of-the-century novel (Murder, I Presume, 1990), set this time in Biarritz, where famed courtesan Topaz Brown has died, leaving her fortune to the Women's Social and Political Union, an embattled organization fighting for the vote for women. Nell Bray, one of its leaders, is assigned to go to Biarritz to protect the union's interests, since Topaz's brother is contesting the will, claiming his sister's suicide was the result of a deranged mind. Meanwhile, Topaz's fanatically loyal maid Tansy Mills is convinced her mistress was murdered by her chief rival, Marie de la Tourelle. Nell also becomes convinced it was murder by a series of unexplained oddities--a five-opal pendant; a cryptic note under Topaz's pillow; a missing key to her private elevator; the strange purchases she made on the eve of her last rendezvous. During her strenuous sleuthing, Nell must also keep an eye on Bobbie Fieldfare, a militant union member out for mischief. In the end, Nell's mission is completed--and justice served- -in a lively story that sometimes sags under its weight of red herrings but gracefully evokes the fervor of the suffragettes and the old-style grandeur of the rich and famous. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Nell Bray, just released from Holloway after being imprisoned for throwing stones at 10 Downing Street, is asked by Emmeline Pankhurst to go to Biarritz. A high-class prostitute has been murdered there, and has left her fortune to the suffragette movement. By the author of "Murder, I Presume".