The Detroit Electric Scheme by D.E. Johnson
D.E. Johnson's acclaimed
novel The Detroit Electric Scheme is a mystery Library Journal called
"essential for historical fans."
Booklist went one further, choosing The Detroit Electric Scheme as one of the Top Ten First Crime Novels of the year, with a starred review (defined as "Outstanding in its genre"). They said, "Every bit as powerful as Patricia Highsmith's Ripley series, this gem of a debut showcases an author to watch very closely."
Detroit 1910: When Will Anderson finds the body of John Cooper crushed in a huge hydraulic press, he panics—for good reason. The body is in his father’s electric automobile factory, in the department Will manages. Worse yet, Cooper is engaged to the woman Will loves, his ex-fiancée, Elizabeth Hume.
He runs, eluding the police but leaving behind his cap and automobile. Under threat from a blackmailer and with the police closing in, Will discovers that Elizabeth is in terrible danger. He follows her through the Detroit underworld, trying to save her and find the killer at the same time.
As the evidence mounts, Will gets closer and closer to the secret Cooper had been desperately trying to keep—a secret that could cost Will not only his life, but also the lives of the people he loves most.
Booklist went one further, choosing The Detroit Electric Scheme as one of the Top Ten First Crime Novels of the year, with a starred review (defined as "Outstanding in its genre"). They said, "Every bit as powerful as Patricia Highsmith's Ripley series, this gem of a debut showcases an author to watch very closely."
Detroit 1910: When Will Anderson finds the body of John Cooper crushed in a huge hydraulic press, he panics—for good reason. The body is in his father’s electric automobile factory, in the department Will manages. Worse yet, Cooper is engaged to the woman Will loves, his ex-fiancée, Elizabeth Hume.
He runs, eluding the police but leaving behind his cap and automobile. Under threat from a blackmailer and with the police closing in, Will discovers that Elizabeth is in terrible danger. He follows her through the Detroit underworld, trying to save her and find the killer at the same time.
As the evidence mounts, Will gets closer and closer to the secret Cooper had been desperately trying to keep—a secret that could cost Will not only his life, but also the lives of the people he loves most.