I’m pleased to announce my new mystery series featuring Wren Fontaine, an architect who specializes in restoring historic homes. In the first book, The Greenleaf Murders, Wren gets her dream job of working on one of New York’s finest Gilded Age mansions. More than a century ago, the house was the scene of a murder that was never solved, and now someone is killing again, in the same way. Wren can’t even trust her secretive client, and she finds herself distracted by an exciting new girlfriend. She must risk her career–and her life–to solve multiple mysteries and save New York’s most glorious residence. Welcome to Greenleaf House, where “skeleton in the closet” is not just a metaphor.
Coming in fall 2022 from Level Best Books.
Also from R.J. Koreto:
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From the Historical Novel Society on The Body in the Ballroom: “snappy dialogue…mystery fans should enjoy how [Koreto] brings turn-of-the-last-century America and the irrepressible Alice Roosevelt to life and look forward to her next adventure.”
From Library Journal on Death at the Emerald: “Lady Frances’s engaging third case is a good bet for fans of Rhys Bowen and Kate Saunders and for lovers of Downton Abbey.”
From Bookreporter on Alice and the Assassin: “The unlikely friendship between the Montana cowboy-turned-Rough Rider-turned-bodyguard and the beautiful, strong-willed teenager with resources and grit turns out to be a nice part of the story. St. Clair seems mystified at times with Alice, and she with him, and the friendship they establish is both lopsided and real.”
From Kirkus Reviews on Death at the Emerald: “Koreto’s third period mystery, beautifully appointed and written with measured authority, reads uncannily like a reprinting of an authentic novel from the early 20th century.”
From the New York Journal of Books on Alice and the Assassin: “Koreto has written a delightful book, full of the contrasts of Alice’s audacity with her social status. By all accounts, Alice Roosevelt’s life was lived as fully and flamboyantly as she could manage. The fictionalized Alice is an entertaining creation and one of whom the actual Alice probably would’ve approved.”
Signing books at the wonderful Mysterious Bookshop in New York
About R.J. Koreto’s Books:
Welcome to the turn-of-the-century, where in New York and London the world is rapidly changing: horses are giving way to motorcars, electricity is replacing gaslight, class boundaries are blurring, and women are demanding the vote.
But for now, the old families still hold sway in the great cities, and few see any change to their lives in the foreseeable future. As the Countess of Grantham tells her daughter in Downton Abbey, “Yes the world is changing. But not that much. And not fast enough for you.”
R.J. Koreto explores this world in two series, below. Click on the above images for more on the books.
The Lady Frances Ffolkes Series
In England, Lady Frances Ffolkes, daughter of the Marquess of Seaforth, returns from America with her degree from Vassar College, determined to get the vote for women and support a range of progressive causes. She shocks her family by living on her own, and when mysteries come her way, she fearlessly investigates, from London’s dangerous East End to the drawing rooms of the nobility. She’s ably assisted by her loyal maid, June Mallow, who sees her mistress is well dressed–and defends her while brandishing a rolling pin. And despite her busy schedule, Lady Frances also finds time for romance.
The Alice Roosevelt Series
In New York, Alice Roosevelt, the spirited and wildly unconventional daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, is trying to find her place in the world. When she catches a shadowy company trying to spy on her, she turns detective and enters a world of murder and conspiracy among the city’s lively ethnic communities. Alice forms a reluctant partnership with her Secret Service bodyguard, Joseph St. Clair, a former Western lawman and veteran of the Rough Riders. They learn to work together, as St. Clair tries to come to terms with his hard and violent past, and Alice struggles with her growing feelings for him.
R.J. Koreto's Mysteries 