I first met Dr. Genevieve Summerford on July 31, 2016. When I met her in the pages of A Deadly Affection I became enchanted with her drive to help people, her struggle with classism and her struggle to prevent herself from falling in love, a prospect that rarely ever works in books like this, much to the delight of this reader.

I was looking forward to catching up with Dr. Summerford again this summer between the covers of A Promise of Ruin, the latest mystery in the Summerford Mystery series by Cuyler Overholt. Genevieve, or maybe by this point I can call her Gennie as Simon does, is full that same fire and determination that won me over in A Deadly Affection.

The topics touched on in A Promise of Ruin may walk a fine line for readers—sex abuse, child abuse and sex trafficking. These are not easy topics to read and Overholt doesn’t shy away from affects of the mental and physical abuse and the cultural implications of the time period which still resonate today. Although I suspect that Overholt just scratched the surface of all that could be touched on in relation to these topics. View Spoiler »

As in book one, the other characters that populate Genevieve’s world are just as real and tenacious as she is. Simon, Genevieve’s love interest, struggles with his own masculinity as Genevieve strives to forward her position and ideas in a world that traditionally does not allow women to be so outspoken. Pauline and Angela, who run a home for ‘fallen’ women, help Genevieve out immensely and show Genevieve she is not alone in trying to make the world a better place. Fo me, it was nice for Genevieve to have a connection with other women bucking tradition as sometimes it feels she is awfully alone in her crusade.

I definitely enjoyed this second installment in the Dr. Genevieve Summerford Mystery series. Overholt continues to write historical mysteries that resonate into twenty-first century. I can’t wait for my next meeting with Dr. Summerford!

This was the second book in this series that I have read. I really enjoyed the first book a lot. This one, not so much. I had a really hard time trying to get into the character Dr. Genevieve Summerford this time.

While it did turn out to be a decent read, it just didn't have the ability to keep me focused as I read. I found myself with my thoughts wondering a lot throughout most of the first part of the book. Once it did hit me, it was barely enough to keep me going.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

My Review: Set in early 1900's New York City, A Promise of Ruin is the second book in the Dr Genevieve Summerford historical mystery series. Genna is a young psychologist and continues to struggle to make a name for herself especially since some people think her profession is not something a woman should strive for.

Central to the plot is the plight of Italian immigrants who flooded New York City at the time but the strength of this book is in its historical information and the blatant prejudice against these immigrants. The Blackhand, a group of Italians who prayed on their fellow countrymen with abuse, threats and extortion as well as sex-trafficking, kidnapping, sex abuse etc are important and eye-opening parts of the plot.

One of the aspects that I enjoyed from the first book was a look at the psychiatric profession through the eyes of a woman in the early 20th century. That struggle is focused on less in this book and readers who dive right into this book (which could be read as a standalone) will miss out on much of that important aspect of the series.

The mystery itself was good but lacked the energy of the first book and I felt that the romance between Genna and Simon ran a little lukewarm. While it took me a bit to get back into the characters lives, the plot ramps up with a solid ending. I look forward to more books featuring Dr Summerford.

I really loved the first book and I was looking forward to this new story! It must be said that the whole context that the author has chosen is fascinating!

So we find Genevieve ready for new adventures. In fact, as she tries to know exactly what she wants to do with her feelings towards Simon and to understand what she wants, our dear psychiatrist will have to face new problems. The author plunges us into the world of forced prostitution in the Italian community of a New York in the 1900s. It is a really interesting and terrible subject especially when we know that it still exists today.

In fact, while she meets with Simon, she attends the draft of a young Italian who seems to have suffered a lot of vices and that is how she meets Rosa who begs her to find one of her friends Italian too, which seems to have disappeared. Intrigued by these events, Genevieve won’t be able to prevent herself from mingling with this sordid story to understand exactly what is going on. But this story is much more complex than she thought, and the slave trade does not particularly like when someone takes a closer look at the business.

I found the story really exciting. I was waiting impatiently to find out what was going to happen. It must be said that our heroine has the chic to end up in compromising situations. This novel is a bit different from the first one but I found that the turn that the author had taken was just as well!

This is not a simple story and it is sad to see what these girls have suffered but I confess that I did not expect at all the culprit of the story. It must be said that we easily follow the hypotheses of Genevieve without ever questioning them!

A very good new novel

Another historical fiction novel that expects me to guess the year/era.
This hindered my ability to get into the storyline and therefore I did not enjoy it.
I do not post 3* reviews to my blog or social media accounts and wish the author the best of luck with the novels release.