This is the first book by this author that I have read. It kept me turning the page till the end. It was a wonderful read with well developed chararcters and a story line easy to follow. I enjoyed the underlaying war story. This made a great beginning to what I hope will be a long series. Although it was gruesome in some places, it was tastefully written. The romance was wonderful. I received this as an ARC from Netgalley and freely give my review.

Jenny beautifully paints a picture of Philadelphia in the Flapper Era mixing in history, science, and just enough chaos to make this mystery one of my favorite reads this year despite being outside of my usual category reads. You can really visualize yourself in each scene and are rooting for Edie and Gil to solve the case and to come together.

I could not be more excited to know there is more to come for Edie & Gil!!!

A very entertaining, multilayered, twisty and gripping mix of historical fiction and mystery.
Two damaged MCs, a serial killer who's killing women from all classes in Philadelphia in 1922.
Edie and Gilbert are fleshed out and likeable, the plot is tightly knitted and fast paced, the historical background vivid.
I hope to read other stories featuring these characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In 1921, Edie Shippen lives a life of luxury in her family's Philadelphia mansion. In spite of her affluence, Edie is miserable. After her mother died of influenza, a disease that nearly killed Edie, her father sent her to live with her Great Aunt Mae (now deceased) in Los Angeles. Not only does Edie miss her mother terribly, but she also suffers from frequent and debilitating migraines. Furthermore, Edie's twin sister, Frances, is engaged to Theo Pepper, the man Edie once loved and may still care for more than she would like to admit. Edie is annoyed that she must attend festivities celebrating her sibling's forthcoming wedding.

"A Deadly Endeavor," by Jenny Adams, is a murder mystery in which one woman after another is found dead and mutilated. Edie (who knew some of the victims) and Gilbert Lawless, an assistant coroner, team up to catch the culprit. Gilbert is a good-looking and sensitive but troubled man, who is racked by guilt in the aftermath of his late wife's death and his traumatic wartime experiences. The last thing he cares about is romance. Nevertheless, when he meets Edie, he is attracted by her beauty, intelligence, humor, and courage.

We have seen similar plots in other works of historical fiction. A murderous psychopath is at large, and the police do little to solve the case. Therefore, amateur sleuths like Edie and Gil decide to launch their own investigation. Gil, his sassy sister, Lizzie, and Edie are the novel's most appealing characters. Adams touches on standard themes in books of this type: the gulf between the idle rich and those who must work long hours to put food on the table, and the yearning of ambitious young women to be fulfill their dreams, in spite of society's strictures. Although this story starts out promisingly, it is weakened by clichés, far-fetched developments, and a chaotic conclusion.

I really liked this historical mystery! The characters and plot were interesting. I would definitely recommend to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I love a good historical mystery series with a woman protagonist spreading her wings in a society still trying to bring her down. Edie and Frances Shippen are twins who grew up in a wealthy Chestnut Hill/Philadelphia family with scads of servants and a father a councilman. It is sometime in the 1920s, that point where not everyone had bobbed hair yet and prohibition is on but the Shippens were careful to stock up on the good stuff before it was all gone. Edie and her mother contracted influenza in the great epidemic and her mother died. Edie was left with grief, survivor's guilt and a poor constitution. The family sent her off to California to be a companion to a maiden aunt. The love of her life and childhood friend Theo left for WWI just before she became ill. His letters dropped to nothing and now, she is returning home to find Frances is engaged to the man Edie thought she would marry. Edie is looking for a way to being her authentic self and unexpectedly finds a connection with a group of women artists who represent a range of classes and social and political views.

Gilbert Lawless, MD brushed up against the wealth community Edie lives in when he married Sarah, a member of one of the families. Sarah died in childbirth right before he left for WWI service. Penelope, their daughter survived. Gilbert has returned with severe PTSD and flashbacks to the war and so, instead of treating living patients, he works for the coroner's office. He grew up in an Irish neighborhood where his childhood friends became police officers and gang leaders. It is Gil who is assigned the first body, a headless female who quickly ends up in potters field, until there is another body and some of the methods of death and mutilations of the corpse suggest its the same murderer. Potters Field is not an option. This woman comes from a wealthy family.

Naturally, Edie and Gil meet, work together on getting information that touches each of their worlds and there's a definite fascination but Gil will never again get too close to one of the wealthy Philadelphia families. Very quick, enjoyable read with some fun characters. I like Edie and Gil, who matter the most as well as the general feel of the time and place. The solution ends up rather goofy but Adams did provide proper clues and a good investigation with lots of romantic moments and this was definitively entertaining. Recommend for sure.

Wow! I'm blown away by this historical murder mystery/lovers from different worlds/thriller! Adams gets you right into the action with Edie and Gilbert and their families in 1921 Philadelphia (back when Chestnut Hill was considered rural. Heh.) The characters are finely drawn, the setting well described and the mystery engrossingly twisty. What I did not expect is that romance set-up between Edie and Gilbert is both absolutely smoking hot and clean (no sex). It's clear this is meant as the start of a series and I am really excited for more stories with Edie and Gilbert!

Philadelphia 1921

A new start to a series that will pull you in from the beginning! I am addicted to historical mysteries and this is a new to me author so was excited to read.

Edie returns home to find her fiance is now engaged to her twin sister. Determined to become independent, she begins to have fears due to women disappearing.

Gilbert works at the coroner's office and starts seeing the terrible demise of woman coming into the office. Then his sister disappears.

Gritty, real and set with historical atmosphere, this will keep your attention until the end. Looking forward to more..

Jenny Adams provides a solid, thoroughly engrossing mystery with a touch of romance. No spoilers, but I will say prepare to be shocked at who the culprit is and why. I certainly was!

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy, which I voluntarily reviewed.

Well-written historical mystery that started strong but got a little out of control toward the end. I really enjoyed the Philadelphia setting and well-drawn characters. Although I could see the direction the story was taking, I felt somewhat disappointed in the ending. But the strong characters and detailed setting still make this a novel I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with strong female leads.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a fun start to a new historical mystery series! Set in 1920s Philadelphia, a high-society young lady and a coroner suffering from PTSD, team up to solve a series of gruesome murders. I enjoyed the alternating POVs as Edie and Gilbert work to resolve their secret demons while also solving a demonic mystery. And the setting is lots of fun also. I look forward to Edie’s future mysteries.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This lively series debut is set in 1921 Philly, and finds it’s characters affected by both the war and the influenza pandemic. Heroine Edie Shippen has returned home after suffering through the flu and nursing her San Francisco aunt – she’s just in time for her twin sister Frances’ engagement party to her former beau, Theo. She almost doesn’t attend until her maid Jenny urges her to, telling her she looks beautiful. Edie, who seems remarkably unaware of her own charms, does agree, but for her the party is only saved by an encounter with her rebellious cousin, Rebecca.

Adams, so far, sets a complex and layered scene for the reader. I was all in. Then she introduces us to another traumatized figure, Dr. Gideon Lawless, who suffers from a severe case of what we now know as PTSD. In 1921, this was not so well known, and Gideon suffers mightily, administering morphine as needed to get through what he thinks of as “fits.” Because he can no longer work with the living, he works in the county morgue, and he’s beginning to see a spate of cases involving young women who were murdered as well as mutilated.
The killer’s tendrils touch both the high society Shippen family (a revolutionary war Shippen was married to Benedict Arnold) as well as the Irish working class Lawless family. Gideon is a widower, having lost his wife in childbirth. The one happy remnant of their marriage is their daughter Penny, who lives with her grandparents, as the traumatized and hard working Gideon cannot care for her himself.

While this is a traditional mystery in many ways, in other ways it’s the product of an uncertain world. In novels set even through the 2000s I think there was a settled sense of establishment. The world order was assumed, it had just been temporarily disrupted by crime. I think books written by younger writers are being written in a world that’s in flux and suffering trauma, and that’s reflected in their books. The sense that resolving the crime resolves all problems is no longer there. Edie and Gideon, both strong and admirable characters, are trying to discern their place in the universe as they work through their various problems.

As you might imagine Gideon and Edie’s paths do intersect and Edie, suffering as she watches her sister prepare to marry her former beau, is attempting to discover a new and modern path for herself. The plot and set up here are first rate. Adams has both a good sense of pace and sense of place, and the Philly setting is a little different from New York, though in the case of the Shippens, the blood is just as old and blue.

I was captivated by both the story and the characters and raced through to the end of the book, left with a desire to revisit both Edie and Gideon in another book. This is a terrific debut.

1921 Philadelphia Edie returns home after a stint in California to find that nothing has changed in her absence. A fun loving, very rich, very entitled being the same scenario exists. Except that the love of her life Theo has changed alliances and is now engaged to her twin sister.

The dynamics amongst their inner circle has changed and Edie has begun to develop a social conscience due to one or two of her friends changed perspectives. She now realises that the people who serve their families are individuals in their own right with dreams and aspirations of their own. Sadly they are in a tiny minority and things are not going to change much.

When one friend is murdered in the most vicious way possible, followed by a maid, another close friend and another maid all interlinked to Edie, the signs point to someone mentally unbalanced and someone within their household. When Edie’s maid goes missing, her brother Dr Gilbert gets involved trying to unravel the mystery of his sisters disappearance and to connect the dots of the murders.

Macabre in the extreme as to the murders, descriptive as to the lifestyle of all in the 1920s and keen detective skills overall.

This was a joy to read! I loved the mystery of this book and the characters were very enjoyable to read. The love story between the two characters was adorable and i did enjoy the historical setting of this book. It was a fun and enjoyable read, even though I did figure out who the villain was pretty early on. I did overall enjoy the book and it was a nice palette cleanser book. a cute fun mystery with engaging characters

Historical mysteries are my jam. When I am in a reading slump they are my go to to as a way to try break it. So I like to always have one on the ready to read. Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane for my DRC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well, this was a tale that captured my attention during the first part of the book but then lost it in the second half. I feel like there was more of a focus on the mystery in the beginning with it shifting to the underlying romance in the second half. I did enjoy the characters and getting to know them and their backstories.

The ending left me thinking this may become a series. If so I may try the second book as I’m curious as to what the main characters will get up to next.

A nice start to what will hopefully be a new series. Edie, who set up her own business after her fiance ditched her for her sister (boo to both of them) and Gil, who has hidden himself away after returning from WWI find one another when his sister goes missing. There's a villain afoot in Philadelphia and while you might know who it is before they do, it's still an interesting hunt. These two make a good team. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to more from Adams.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS
-m/f historical suspense
-murder mystery
-single parent
-opposites attract
-migraine and PTSD rep


This was such a great read. A murder mystery, an atmospheric historical, and two people who love the first time around didn't work out. Edie and Gilbert were wonderful main characters, opposites in so many ways, pushed aside by society, and just trying to live their lives assuming love would never play a part again. I loved watching them clash together to solve the mystery as their chemisty built. The entire world including secondary character was so well drawn. I can't wait to read whatever Jenny writes next.

Philadelphia, 1921. Twin Edie Shippen on returning home finds her sister Frances engaged to the man she loves decides to become what she believes is a modern woman. This high society female (this group of people including Edie are mostly unlikeable) meets up with war veteran Dr Gilbert Lawless, coroner's assistant to investigate a series of murders.
Overall an enjoyable historical mystery.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is 1921 in Philadelphia and Edie Shippen has come home from California after recovering from the influenza that killer her mother and almost killed her. Her only souvenir is migraine headaches.

Gilbert Lawless has come home from fighting in World War I with severe shell shock which he is treating with heroin. He is working as a doctor at the morgue and raising his four-year-old daughter after the death in childbirth of his wife.

The two come together while investigating the same problem. There is a serial killer taking young women. One of the Shippen household maids has disappeared as has one of Edie's cousins. Then Edie's maid, this one Gilbert's sister, disappears. The police were quick to right off the first maid's disappearance but the disappearance of young women from the highest class isn't so easy to write off.

Meanwhile, Gilbert has been dealing with the bodies of young women found near the river with a variety of injuries. All of them have evidence of being strangled and have strange marks on their wrists and ankles. But the first body is missing its head, the second is missing all of her internal organs, the third has been skinned, and the fourth is missing her eyes and tongue.

Edie is determined to find her maid and Gilbert to find his sister. Their search takes them to the underbelly of Philadelphia with meetings with gangsters and an illicit boxing match before they determine that the killer is someone much closer to Edie's home and life.

This was an engaging story which stars two people who are damaged in various ways as a result of World War I and the influenza epidemic. I liked that Edie was trying to live her own life despite the pressure to be a safe, soft socialite. I liked Gilbert's struggles with his shell shock and his determination to give his daughter a good life.

This is a fine debut, though the villain is evident at 25% with the mention of electric shock therapy, but I still enjoyed the investigation. The characters on the "common," non-society side of the character list are appealing. Those on the society side of the character list are less likeable. The female main character is abrasive and it's hard to sympathize with her when she doesn't acknowledge that she created the situation she's in with her sister and former fiancé. The writing is a little goofy and unsophisticated.

Both main characters are working through trauma and it'll be interesting to see how they evolve.