Blackmailed by Holly Bush @hollybushbooks #TheBrownsOfButchersHill #Blackmailed

the setup…
Things have settled down following the events in the prior story. Virginia Wiest, daughter of Phillip Brown’s employer, has returned from her extended European stay healed and even more invigorated. Phillip’s life has been fairly uneventful until his sister Sarah finds the body of a man behind the dress shop where she works and she enlists his help. While he’s a floor manager at the Wiest Oyster Cannery, Phillip, is well known on Butcher’s Hill as the go-to man when someone is in trouble. The dress shop owner has gotten in over her head with the dead man and is now fearful for her life. Meanwhile, Phillip’s manager has also asked for his help with a personal matter. Someone is stealing items from his household and he wants the thief identified. But Phillip never expects to collide with a blackmail scheme.

the heart of the story…
Phillip’s investigation of the dress shop dead man leads him down some seriously treacherous paths but he’s got plenty of game. When Virginia overhears some of the details regarding the home thefts, she inserts herself as it involves those at her society level. The attraction between these two continues to grow and the romance progresses in a way completely in tandem with the period.

the bottom line…
I got a strong sense of the 1867 Philadelphia setting, from the workplace, to societal norms, fashion and level of danger. From Pinkerton detectives to a US Speaker of the House, I was swept up in the period as much as the mysteries and thrills. I enjoyed the combination of the historical elements (well researched) and the two gnarly cases. I’m looking forward to what’s next for this couple.

Book Info

• Release Date: August 19, 2025
• Series: The Browns of Butcher’s Hill #2
• Page Numbers: 208
• Publisher: Holly Bush Books

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(Thanks to the author for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)