Under the Dragon's Tail - Murdoch Mysteries

Zusatztext "Vivid . . . heartwrenching. Late-19th-century Toronto comes startlingly alive in Jennings's second gripping tale." - Publishers Weekly "[Murdoch's] warm heart makes him the right sleuth for this cold city." - New York Times "A very powerful novel." - Poison Pen "There are touches of Anne Perry and Peter Lovesey in her clear-eyed look at the social ills of the period." - Denver Post Informationen zum Autor Maureen Jennings Klappentext Desperate women! rich and poor! come to her in need of help - and discretion. Dolly Merishaw is a midwife and an abortionist in Victorian Toronto! but although she keeps quiet about her clients' condition! her contempt and greed leaves them resentful and angry. So it comes as no surprise when this malicious woman is murdered. What is a shock! though! is that a week later a young boy is found dead in Dolly's squalid kitchen. Now! Detective Murdoch isn't sure if he's hunting one murderer - or two. Chapter One Sunshine was streaming through the kitchen window, making the flies sluggish as they crawled across the pine table. Irritably, Dolly Merishaw swatted a few of them, brushing the carcasses onto the floor. Even that slight effort caused a stabbing pain behind her eyes. She tried to wet her lips but her tongue was thick as cloth. She picked up the beer jug from the sideboard, but there were only dregs left and a bluebottle had drowned itself in the bottom. She knew the two boys were out scavenging along the Don River and that Lily was delivering laundry to her customers on Gerrard Street, but she resented the fact they ­weren’t here to look after her, to bring her a pot of tea the way she liked. “Useless slags,” she said out loud. Not that she ever uttered a word of appreciation when her daughter waited on her. In Dolly’s opinion, Lily had forfeited the right to thanks. She pushed up the window sash and stuck her head out. The air was warm and soft, the sun caressing. Early July was the best time of the summer, before the August heat roasted the city like a cut of beef. Even for Dolly, the sight of the trees dappling the street was appealing, and she leaned her arms on the windowsill for a moment. Two women bicyclists rode by, both of them sitting straight and rigid at the high handle­bars. One was wearing knickerbockers and leggings, and Dolly noticed a passerby turn and glare. Many people were offended by these new bicycling outfits, Rational Dress, as they were called, but Dolly approved. She was happy to see women upset male tempers. She retreated back to the kitchen, wondering if she was well enough to go out. She decided she was. She fancied some calf’s liver for her breakfast, and Cosgrove’s, the butcher, ­wasn’t too far. And she could go to the Dominion Brewery on Queen Street. They sold stale beer at a cheap price. Her felt slippers loose on her feet, she shuffled off to the parlour to get dressed. Ever since they had moved to Toronto, Dolly had been essentially living in this one room, as she was usually too full to climb the stairs to her bedroom. She slept on a Turkish couch, and Lily brought her meals on a tray. It was not uncommon for Dolly to throw the food at her daughter if she was displeased and Lily screamed back, raw, wordless cries. In the kitchen the boys listened, ears pricked, wary as fox kits. It took Dolly almost an hour to make the journey, but when she returned to the house, neither her daughter nor her foster sons had returned. “Where is the slut?” She poured herself some of the flat, bitter ale and took a long swallow. Her parched throat was eased at once. She put the package of meat on the table and opened it up, smoothing out the newspaper that the butcher had used to wrap the liver. Her glance was idle at first, but suddenly she paused, bent closer, and squinted at a pho...

Product details

• Authors: Maureen Jennings
• Publisher: Random House Canada
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 18.09.2012
• EAN: 9780771095979
• ISBN: 978-0-7710-9597-9
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 200 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Murdoch Mysteries; Murdoch Mysteries
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense