Well written murder mystery. The only thing was that I kept getting the characters mixed up ... probably just me, though. ( )

A wagon is abandoned in the lane behind Professor Bradley’s house sometime in the middle of the night and it turns out the owner was murdered. His ten year old daughter witnessed the murder and has gone in hiding because the murderer had on a coat with big brass buttons like those worn like police officers. Her original hiding place was in Professor Bradley’s house, thanks to the assistance of his son Justin, so the Professor becomes obsessed with finding the child.

Chalk this one up to a sophomore slump. I enjoyed “A Spark of Death,” Pajer’s first book in this series, but this offering is somewhat boring. She devotes fully a quarter of the book setting up the main story and an ancillary story about a contest to broadcast performances from a local theater to the homes of local subscribers. After that the plodding pace picks up only slightly. There was never a point at which the novel completely grabbed my attention.

The ending is completely implausible and so lacking in intrinsic interest that I put the book down a couple of times in the last 15 pages and went off to do something more ( )

“Fresh Meat” by Victoria Janssen for Criminal Element

Fatal Induction is the second in Bernadette Pajer’s series about Ben Bradshaw, who serves as Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington. I have not yet read the first book in the series, A Spark of Death, but there was enough detail in Fatal Induction to bring me up to speed on the various secondary characters and how Bradshaw had fallen into investigation.

I chose the book because the series is set in 1901, when many of the devices we take for granted today—or have abandoned in favor of better alternatives—were new and exciting. I loved having a historical view of what it might have felt like to live in that era and deal with such rapidly changing technology—sort of like today, in fact.

There are some great bits of general historical detail about turn-of-the-century Seattle, which was still a fairly wild place thanks to a gold rush, but for me the best part was hearing about aspects of history that are usually forgotten, but at one time were mundane. As you would expect, there are electrical devices in this story (Bradshaw has entered a contest to build a “musical telephone”), but the plot also revolves around patent medicine, which the murder victim sold from a wagon. I had never read much about patent medicine, so that aspect turned out to be an unexpected plus for me.

Read the rest at: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-historic...

First Line: The first indication that Professor Benjamin Bradshaw's life was about to plunge again into chaos appeared in the form of a flatulent horse eating Mrs. Prouty's broad beans over the garden fence, its huge teeth tugging greedily at the vines.

It's 1901, and another school year is about to begin at the University of Washington in Seattle. The obsessively organized Professor of Electrical Engineering, Benjamin Bradshaw, has everything ready for his classes which allows him time to participate in an electrical competition.

In this second book in the series, we get to see Bradshaw not as a teacher, but as an inventor who can lose all track of time down in his basement-- to the dismay of his housekeeper Mrs. Prouty. Unfortunately Bradshaw is not going to be left to his stimulating muse. Mrs. Prouty insists on complaining about the horse that's been eating her beans for hours, and when Bradshaw goes to investigate, he finds the horse hitched to an empty peddler's wagon. Although he searches, he can find no trace of the owner or his daughter, only bottles of Ralph's Restorative-- a tonic that has been making people ill.

Then the entire nation is thrown into shock: President McKinley is assassinated. But Bradshaw can't get the idea out of his head that a little girl is missing and may be in danger. Although he can't let the girl's disappearance go, he seems to be getting very little help from either his friend, Detective O'Brien, or Detective March, a policeman who tries his best to be helpful.

Trying to be his own investigator down in the Tenderloin (an area on the waterfront where all sorts of saloons, brothels, and other sources of vice abound), Bradshaw quickly learns that the only results he may get as a detective are results he doesn't want: putting his own son's life in jeopardy. Then as a few more pieces of information click together, the professor realizes that there may be a way to get the information he needs: turn his electrical invention into a trap to catch the killer.

I enjoy these Professor Bradshaw mysteries. Pajer's research into Seattle's history brings the city and the times to life in a very natural way, whether it's an amusing scene that lets us know how Profanity Hill got its name or by adding a character named Nell "Harry" Pickerell, a real young lady who preferred to go about town dressed as a man.

Another thing that is so enjoyable about these books is the way in which Pajer makes the history of electricity and of electrical inventions fascinating. We tend to take all things electrical for granted. Unless we live in areas that experience terrifying storms, most of us have never known more than a few minutes scattered here and there when we couldn't turn on a light or reach into the refrigerator for a cold drink. Pajer makes the early days of electricity and the inventors who bent it to their will exciting.

Even better than the historical detail and setting are Pajer's characters. Benjamin Bradshaw has known tragedy in his life. Although he still disappears into a fog of inventive fury, he is slowly coming out of his self-induced solitude and is making friends. His relationship with his son is an important feature in the books, and he even has his eye on a young lady-- although at this point he's still much too shy to do anything about it. (And I certainly wouldn't recommend his inviting Missouri Fremont over to dinner if Mrs. Prouty is doing the cooking!)

Yes, these are characters a reader can grow to care about very quickly, and even though it's not necessary to read the books in order for them to make sense, I think you should consider it so you can see how the characters and their relationships grow and change over time.

The only thing about Fatal Induction that I can't rave about is the mystery itself. Let me rephrase that. The mystery is a good one, it's the identity of the villain that I had trouble with because the minute the person was described I thought to myself, "Bingo!" As to the reasons behind the villainy? I didn't have those figured out at all, and oftentimes that's the most important part of the crime, isn't it?

If you're in the mood for an historical mystery that sets you down right in the middle of Seattle in 1901 with a good puzzle to solve and excellent characters to help you along the way, Bernadette Pajer's Professor Bradshaw mysteries are just the ticket. ( )

Fatal Induction is book number 2 in Bernadette Pajer's Professor Bradshaw historical fiction series. It takes place in Seattle in 1901 and is a fairly intellectual novel in that the main character is an electrical engineering professor involved in creating new inventions. The assassination of President McKinley occurs during the week that the story takes place which adds an interesting element.

I had a difficult time getting interested in the book because the first sentences presented an unappealing picture:

"The first indication that Professor Benjamin Bradshaw's life was about to plunge again into chaos appeared in the form of a flatulent horse eating Mrs. Prouty's broad beans over the garden fence, its huge teeth tugging greedily at the vines. Bradshaw knew wrath was sure to follow, but he felt a certain guilty pleasure in seeing the beans disappear. It had been a long and abundant season, and his digestion could use a rest."

The first notice of a crime occurring is a gypsy wagon being left on Bradshaw's property just after the horse did his thing. When news of the McKinley assassination reached Seattle the plot picked up and the book was much more enjoyable.

I am not sure how to rate Fatal Induction. The early 20th century is not a favorite historical period for me but because the writing style of the author was superb, I read straight through in one sitting. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars since the author can't be blamed for my personal interests. ( )