I do enjoy a good mystery, and the setting of 1867 intrigued me all the more. It was an interesting read, though I'm not sure I will continue the series.

This murder, mystery is written in an interesting time period, 19th Century Chicago. What makes it even more interesting is the partnership which involves a woman, normally during this time period if a woman was involved in this sort of thing it would be well hidden.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Wow love the cover! What a great Victorian era mystery. Highly recommend

I really tried to get into this novel because it seemed like an interesting historical mystery series. However, it felt more like a sequel than the first novel of a new series. This is because their background are next fully touched upon. However, I do recommend this for fans of Rita Baker, May Bridges, and Magda Alexander!

I love historical mysteries and was excited to read this one. It is very well written and I liked the characters of Quinn and Garnick, however in the beginning I felt like I was missing something from their histories. The plot was good and kept me guessing.
Many thanks to D.X. Varos Ltd and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

An entertaining and engrossing historical mystery. It kept me hooked, I liked the solid mystery.
The characters are fleshed out, the historical background vivid.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Enjoyable historical "whodunit"

This was an entertaining read. I am quite partial to historical mysteries with a female detective or lead. Pair her up with a likable male partner and toss in a bit of attraction and you are almost always guaranteed a favorable rating. 😉 I found this one to be well written and well paced. I loved the time and setting. The plot was engaging and kept me guessing. Both Quinn and Garnick were likable leads and had good on page chemistry. All wrapped up in a satisfying ending.

That said, I had one small niggle. This is book one, but there was a lot of backstory regarding both Quinn and Garnick that was just...missing. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Some of it is briefly alluded to, but I kind of felt like I was reading a second book in a series as apposed to the first.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Thank you to Net galley and D.X. Varos, Ltd. for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed this book! It is a mystery story that takes place in 19th Century Chicago. Quinn Sinclair, a Union war bride and Garnick, a former Rebel POW, decide to become partners and open a detective agency. I really liked the setting and all the details of this time period. The author did a good job making me feel like I was really there.
I would read other books by this author, especially if it was a continuation of this series!

An interesting read, though I don't know if I will read the other books in the series or anything else by the author. The writing style wasn't my cup of tea but I know other readers will enjoy it. Because there is a book for every reader, and a reader for every book..

This was a great book to spend a rainy afternoon reading. I found it to be engaging, entertaining and somewhat fast paced. I hope there will be a follow book. My only negatives is it felt like this was a second book in a series (I don't believe this is a series) and the ending was disappointing. It is a good ending but I don't feel like it matches the rest of the book. Other than that I loved it.

DIDN'T DO IT FOR ME

Actual rating: 2.5 ⭐

I was excited by the premise of this book. I like historical mysteries, especially with female sleuths, and was excited to read one set in the states, especially during this time period. Sadly, the execution just wasn't for me.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Language and setting: Both the language and the setting were really well done. It made the reading feel authentic and helped conjure up the feeling of the historical era. There's no doubt that Matthews has done tremendous research into her time period and it pays off.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Beginning: Several times I researched whether or not this was actually the second or perhaps even third in a series. I was so confused. I felt like the beginning wasn't a beginning but a continuation. So many names, so many anecdotes and so many side-stories. It was all over the place and did a poor job of setting the stage.

Background: It's obvious that both our main characters, Garnick and Quinn, have very rich background stories. But they're never completely explained. They're just teased and it bothered me so much. Again, it made me feel like I was reading a 3rd in a series or perhaps even a spin-off series. It made me feel left out and confused.

Characters: There weren't really any of the characters that I liked. They were flat and lifeless. I don't have a sense of any of them.

Tell: This story suffered from a lot of telling and very little showing. It made the story feel very matter-of-fact and with minimum feelings, emotions or sentiments. Probably a big contributing factor to why I didn't connect with any of the characters.

What Immediately caught my eye about this plot was the Yankee lady and the ex-rebel. Who forms a Sherlock and Watson duo. There is a wide range of suspects from reporters, prostitutes, city bigwigs, thieves, and convicts. Every single one of them has an alibi and a motive for arsenic and murder. This might be one of the reasons why it took me a while to engage in this read, trying to keep the characters straight. And I’m not gonna lie, it took me awhile to finish. It has a lot of possibilities for the future though. I very much enjoy the descriptions of the city and the people. I think the author captured the times very well. As endings go, it has a very interesting twist and was quite satisfying. Overall an okay start to a new series.

Devil by the Tail by Jeanne Matthews is a detective novel taking place in or around 1866 in Chicago. In a time when private detectives were not really de rigueur, a female detective was even less likely, but such was the case with Gabriel Garnick and Quinn Sinclair. Quinn was a widow of a Civil War soldier, fighting with her in-laws for her husband's estate. Garnick was a veteran who had fought for the Confederacy but had ended up in a Unions prison in Chicago. Quinn went by Pascal as using her relay name would not be helpful in getting her inheritance. She had a lawyer called Winthrop who didn't appear to be all that helpful in her quest. They received a case from him one day. He needed assistance in proving his client, innocent. He was willing to trade her fee for the lawsuit with his fee for his client. Seemed reasonable. At the same time, a man named Handish appeared, want assistance in finding the man he claimed had murder his wife (out of town) and left him as the only suspect. They were both complicated cases, but led the detectives to question many of the same witnesses. Very odd.

This was a compelling mystery, with clues that didn't always add up. Being clever detectives they eventually made sense of all of it, and even saw the bad guy, mostly get his punishment, although not as one might suspect. There was a great deal of governmental fraud involved, but, sadly, that existed even then. There was also an entertaining, if not totally honest, reporter. Again, not new news. What made the book so worth reading was the situation of women at the time, as well as transportation. Both caused problems and made for interesting turns of the plot. A really good exposé on greed, which is often behind any mystery. There were good people, as well. It was an entertaining book, for lovers of historical mystery. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Devil by the Tail (clever title) by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #devilbythetail

Jeanne Matthews introduces an engaging new mystery series with Devil by the Tail.
Set in post-Civil War Chicago, it centers around widow Quinn Sinclair "Paschal" and her partner former Confederate soldier Garnick. The two have partnered in a detective agency and we are quickly immersed in two seemingly unrelated cases.

The setting and action is interesting and fast paced and I'm curious to see how the series progresses.
I did feel as if much of the backstory would have been far more interesting if we could have experienced it first-hand instead of after the fact. For example, Quinn's antagonistic in-laws, her work with the Pinkertons, and how she and Garnick became partners are events and relationships I wish could have been fleshed out in more detail. I would have loved to experience more of these, even if only in a few more flashbacks. I also felt the romantic relationship between Quinn and Garnick seemed unrealistic.

That being said, the setting was varied and vivid. And I especially enjoyed the very real danger our protagonist experienced. I felt the tension and suspense and I was anxious to see her safely solve the case.

I would certainly recommend this to fans of Historical mysteries, and look forward to seeing where the series will go from here.

1867 Chicago. Mrs Quinn Sinclair aka Mrs Paschal, widow of a a Union soldier has teamed up with Garnick, an ex-Confederate soldier to form a detective agency. At the moment they have two cases, but there are it seems, connections between them. Can they solve the cases while their lives are being threatened.
An entertaining well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters. A good start to the series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed most (all?) of the books in Jeanne Matthews’ Dinah Pelerin series, but haven’t seen a new title in that series for several years. So I was a little surprised to see that Matthews had a brand-new book in a brand-new series coming out in July, 2021. I was fortunate enough to be granted an advance review copy of Devil by the Tail, and I liked it a lot.

Matthews starts her new series with an interesting premise: what happens when a Union widow and an ex-Confederate soldier start a detective agency together in Chicago, just after the war? She then adds in some uncooperative former in-laws for the widow; a couple of odd-ball cases that may or may not be related, but almost certainly won't pay very much; and a little (actually, more than a little) corruption among the city’s powerful elite. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery. Having myself been an engineer in a time when there weren’t many female engineers, I especially liked watching the widow, Quinn Sinclair, work to establish herself and her business in another field that wasn’t all that friendly to women, even though she was a graduate of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Finally, there’s also a bit of female-male tension between Quinn, who uses the name “Mrs. Paschal” professionally, and her partner, Garnick, to liven things up.

One small disclosure: I’m always a bit biased towards historical mysteries, especially when they are in a time or place that is new to me, and post-Civil-War Chicago, with all its energy, and all its flaws, was certainly a new setting for me. But even without my natural bias, I found Devil by the Tail to be a well-written mystery with engaging characters, and I hope there are more books to come in the series. I tend to be quite sparing with five-star reviews, so for me, a four-star review is a solid “read” recommendation, and that’s what Devil by the Tail gets. And my thanks to publisher DX Varos, and to NetGalley, for the review copy.

3 stars

From the beginning, Devil by the Tail draws you into the colorful world of post-Civil War Chicago with a tale of corruption, murder, and sex. Matthews does an excellent job of bringing the story to life through well-researched historical details and carefully woven layers of mystery.

While I enjoyed Devil by the Tail for the most part, there were definitely some issues for me. Matthews writes in a very matter-of-fact way that really works for the mystery aspect of the novel, but blocks off the ability for characterization to really bloom. I never really felt like I got a handle on who Quinn was and the romance between her and Garnick felt like it was shoved into the book haphazardly. In addition, the book wrapped up far too quickly considering how many incidents were being investigated. While the initial intrigue prompted me to give this book a 3 star, adding more depth to the characters in addition to the mystery could have easily made this one a 5 star for me.

It was ok, not really a rigorous and evocative historical such as I prefer. This was the type of historical that reads like a TV movie put to paper -- except for the bustles, and horses and bawdyhouses, it could as easily have been set in the 2020s as the 1860s.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Quinn Sinclair is a young widow who lost her husband during the Civil War. She teams up with a POW to form a detective agency in Chicago - 1867. As you can imagine - it is quite unusual for her to be a detective, let alone a partner in a business. The agency takes on two cases that seem to be non-related, but are they?

In addition to a murder and arson they are trying to solve, there are other factors at hand including a madam's house - two in fact!!! Add to that someone tries to murder Quinn - it is going to be an interesting read.

I really enjoyed how authentic the book came across - I could picture the times and the fashion.

This is a great beginning to an historical mystery series. The setting is post Civil War Chicago and feels real. Quinn and Garnick are both great characters with perfect chemistry for partners in a detective agency. There are romantic feelings between the two but they enhance their relationship without interfering with the investigation and suspense. In this first entry to the series, the pair have been given several cases to solve by different people. Do they, in fact have some connection? Investigations take the detectives from society members, to elected officials to brothels.. Quinn, a widow fighting for her inheritance from her upper crust in-laws, must at the same time, manage to function effectively in her profession and in every venue. Her partner, Garnick, is a grammatically challenged former Confederate, who is very much at home with Chicago's underclass. The investigations are engrossing, the cases interesting and the characters well worth spending time with. I look forward to the next in this series..