Emperor Norton's Ghost

New York: Doubleday. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1998. First Edition. Hardcover. Protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. Blue boards with gray spine imprinted in silver with title and author. Gold endpapers. Full number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 . 1.1 x 9.56 x 6.53 Inches. 320 pages. A Fremont Jones Mystery, No. 4. Two years after the Great Earthquake that destroyed San Francisco, and a year after the bitter misunderstanding that almost destroyed their budding romance, Fremont Jones and Michael Archer are back in the City by the Bay, this time committed to being "partners in life and work." Their life is shared as equals, and their work is the private investigations agency they have opened together, but--not surprisingly, where Fremont is concerned--it's sometimes difficult to separate the two.<br><br>In fact, it's her friendship with a slightly flighty, pretty, and troubled young woman that gets Fremont involved in her first murder investigation. Frances McFadden is besotted with spiritualism, and the curious but skeptical Fremont agrees to accompany her to a séance. When Frances's husband finds out about their adventure, her punishment is both degrading and galvanizing at once. Then two mediums are murdered, Frances begins to discover her own talent for telepathy and takes a lover, and Fremont becomes dangerously embroiled in her friend's illicit liaison.<br><br>While Fremont hones her investigative skills, she also comes to a new appreciation of Michael's professional talents and his other special qualities as well. As in her three earlier mysteries, Dianne Day provides "foggy period atmosphere, a dash of dangerous romance" <i>(Minneapolis Star Tribune),</i> and a twisty new adventure for her intrepid sleuth.<br><br><br>Dianne Day spent her early years in the Mississippi Delta before moving to the San Francisco Bay area. Fremont Jones has appeared in three previous mysteries: <i>The Strange Files of Fremont Jones,</i> which won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, and two bestselling sequels--<i>Fire and Fog</i> and <i>The Bohemian Murders.</i> Day, who now lives in San Francisco, is at work on her fifth Fremont Jones mystery, <i>Death Train to Boston.</i> .