A Golden Grave

A Golden Grave / Erin Lindsey
NY: Minotaur, c2019
400 p.

This is the second book in the Rose Gallagher mysteries by Canadian Erin Lindsey. I read the first one, Murder on Millionaires' Row, last year and really enjoyed it, so when this one arrived in my library I grabbed it. 

Like many second novels, it is not *quite* as good as the first. In the first book we are meeting Rose and her friend Clara for the first time, and there is lots of new and fresh detail to take in. There was also the surprise (for me) appearance of the paranormal in this mystery! Getting to know Rose and learning about her new skills and her crush on her employer Thomas was fun and engaging. 

In this book, Rose has learned the truth about most of what Thomas actually does as a paranormal Pinkerton. She's even been hired to work with him as a fellow Pinkerton. Much of the tension of Rose's ignorance of the truth that powered the first book is gone in this one. There is the excitement of the plot (a good one) and the growing yet still denied attraction between Rose and Thomas. And a few more developments about the world that Lindsey has created add to the complexity of her storylines. 

Rose's first official case as a new Pinkerton is to track down the would-be assassin of the candidate for governor of New York - none other than Theodore Roosevelt. When she meets him, she finds that he also has some of the charismatic charm that those gifted in magic carry with them. So who wants to get rid of him, and why?

More intrigue, more kicking ass, and a bit of romance make this into another winner. A fun, quick and campy read that I enjoyed immensely as a spot of relaxing reading.