The Lost Gold of San Francisco Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a fan of historical fiction. But as the former editor of San Francisco's city magazine, I'm picky when it comes to stories set in SF. The romance, the history, the twists and turns and exotic corners of the city invite mystery writers, but a story can't just be 'set' in San Francisco, it has to be saturated with the feel, the sounds, the air. Michael Castleman delivers it all with a well-crafted plot that draws on the minted gold wealth upon which the city was founded...and the shaky fault-ridden ground that gave way in the catastrophes of 1906 and 1989. A tough-minded reporter of the breed that once made the city famous (Mark Twain penned much of his work a short walk from the famous San Francisco Mint which is at the center of Castleman's novel), pursues the story of the mysterious lost gold and in the course of his investigation almost...ok, no spoilers. San Francisco has delivered some of the greatest mystery writers, and Castleman seems ready to join their ranks. (An added bonus: those who know the city well will love matching up some of the books most colorful characters with their famous and notorious real life counterparts.)

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This intricately-plotted mystery thriller is charged by priceless missing Mint gold framed between the two big earthquakes of 1906 and 1989.The day before the 1906 earthquake, the US Army failed to pick up $130,000 in mis-struck $20 gold pieces at the San Francisco Mint. These coins' S mint marks had been accidentally double-struck SS and they were to be melted down in Denver. After the Big One, the coins dissapear; only two are ever found. These are the most storied coins in US history, with the others known as the Lost Gold of San Francisco. In 1989 Chester Worthington Gilchrist III, billionaire publisher of the San Francisco Foghorn newspaper donates his priceless coin collection -- with one of the SS pieces -- to the California Museum. Then the founder of the Museum, a contoversial figure, turns up murdered. Brash reporter Ed Rosenberg chases the story . More bodies drop, and Ed suspects a connection to the Lost Gold.

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Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery Review

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(More customer reviews)This historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco is a complete package of a modified locked room puzzle, more than one murder, daring undercover snooping, romantic tension and a few twists and turns for a powerhouse of a debut novel.
When I finished this book I immediately missed Annie (a liberated woman ahead of her time!) and the other characters, showing just how well they had been brought to life and made, dare I say...memorable. The mystery was well plotted so I went down the wrong path along with the police at first. The setting of Victorian San Francisco and period details are rich and layered, easily woven in the overall story from the attitudes towards Chinese and class divisions to the strict propriety rules restricting women. The journey back in time seemed so complete I felt jarred if pulled back into the modern world when my reading was interrupted.
The climax and revealing of the murderer was tense and an edge-of-your-seat ordeal where Annie is in very real danger. The ending was satisfying and I put the book down smiling at the wrap-up.
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It's the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie's husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt.Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco's most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl's clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen.Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior.Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco.

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