Old Los Angeles

Latest release: November 28, 2023
Series
4
Books

About this ebook series

In Los Angeles in 1870, life was cheap and water could cost you everything. Then, the most powerful man in town was the Zanjero, or water overseer. And he was often the most corrupt, as well. When Zanjero Bert Rivers turns up dead in the irrigation ditch, or zanja, leading to young widow Maddie Wilcox's vineyards, Maddie has the odd feeling he was murdered.
Then the undertaker's wife, Mrs. Sutton, confirms that Rivers was shot, and not just hit on the head. Maddie finds herself drawn into finding the killer, first to see justice done, and then to save the skin of the one person she knows did not do it - the town's most infamous madam, Regina Medina.

Maddie quickly discovers that Mr. Rivers was not the kind, upstanding civic benefactor he presented himself as, but a most despicable man who preyed on the weak and vulnerable, and cheated everyone else. With nearly everyone having a reason to kill the zanjero, Maddie stumbles on more than a few secrets and the terrible truth about the people she thought were her friends. 

Death of the Zanjero
Book 1 · May 2018 ·
0.0
In Los Angeles in 1870, life was cheap and water could cost you everything. Then, the most powerful man in town was the Zanjero, or water overseer. And he was often the most corrupt, as well. When Zanjero Bert Rivers turns up dead in the irrigation ditch, or zanja, leading to young widow Maddie Wilcox's vineyards, Maddie has the odd feeling he was murdered.
Then the undertaker's wife, Mrs. Sutton, confirms that Rivers was shot, and not just hit on the head. Maddie finds herself drawn into finding the killer, first to see justice done, and then to save the skin of the one person she knows did not do it - the town's most infamous madam, Regina Medina.

Maddie quickly discovers that Mr. Rivers was not the kind, upstanding civic benefactor he presented himself as, but a most despicable man who preyed on the weak and vulnerable, and cheated everyone else. With nearly everyone having a reason to kill the zanjero, Maddie stumbles on more than a few secrets and the terrible truth about the people she thought were her friends. 

Death of the City Marshal
Book 2 · May 2019 ·
0.0
 It's October, 1870, and once again, violence has errupted on the streets of Los Angeles. This time, City Marshal gets into a gunfight with his deputy Joseph Dye, and is severely wounded. Fortunately, winemaker and physician Maddie Wilcox is on the scene to take care of the marshal. But the next day, she finds that the marshal has been smothered in his bed.The morning after the marshal's death, red paint is splashed all over the front porch of his home, and a list of his sins posted on the front.The list of people with grievances against the fiery-tempered marshal is long. But then another prominent citizen has his sins posted and house front splattered. Maddie takes an interest in the vandalism in the hopes of finding Marshal Warren's killer. But she soon finds out that she is up against a killer driven by a profound longing, and who is prepared to do the worst to keep that most basic of human desires: a home.
Death of the Chinese Field Hands
Book 3 · Sep 2020 ·
0.0
A night of chaos leads to more murders


Physician and winemaker Maddie Wilcox has always despaired of how violent Los Angeles is. But one night, in October 1871, the pueblo explodes in a riot and eighteen Chinese men are lynched. Shaken to her core and frustrated that she couldn't have done more to stop the violence, Maddie throws herself into her work, grateful that her three Chinese field hands were safe on her rancho that most terrible of nights. Until one of them is found strangled in her vineyard.


At first, the murder seems like a random act against the scapegoated Chinese. Then a second of the three Chinese hands is murdered in the same way. Is the killer acting out against the Chinese, in general, or only those working on Maddie's rancho? And if the latter, what does the killer expect to get?


A distinctive boot print and a bit of jewelry are all Maddie and her friends have to go on, as Maddie continues to battle the usual panoply of injuries and rampant diseases that plague the pueblo. Surrounded by prejudice, daunted by her own limitations, Maddie's hold on her passions starts slipping. Can she keep her temper in check long enough to find the killer?

Death of the Drunkard
Book 5 · Nov 2023 ·
0.0
One inoffensive drunkard. So many reasons to kill him.

A bold shooting ends the life of Mr. Hewitt, the buggy manufacturer on a cold night in December, 1872. Physician and winemaker Maddie Wilcox is particularly puzzled, since it was clear that Mr. Hewitt was soon to die of his own dissipation. Nonetheless, she is drawn into searching out his killer by the grieving widow.

Maddie soon finds out that there were several people who might have been offended by Mr. Hewitt, including those hoping to bring the Southern Pacific railroad to Los Angeles. As Maddie battles the usual winter colds and her own homesickness, the local men begin vying for her affections. Soon, Maddie realizes that she is searching for a killer determined to win the prize, no matter what the cost.