A Quinn & Gates Mystery Series

From the bestselling author of the American in Paris mysteries featuring Julia Child’s fictional best friend, and the Phyllida Bright mysteries featuring Agatha Christie’s fictional housekeeper, this spellbinding historical mystery stars Adam Quinn, President Lincoln’s clever new aide, amid wartime intrigue . . .

July 1861: On Independence Day, the citizens of Washington, D.C., are celebrating as if there isn’t a war. But the city is teeming with green Union recruits while President Lincoln and his War Department are focused on military strategy to take Richmond in Secessionist Virginia in order to bring the conflict to a swift end. Manassas, Virginia, near Bull Run Creek, is in their sights.

The very next morning, as Congress convenes once more, a dead body is found hanging from the crane beneath the unfinished dome of the Capitol. Lincoln’s close confidant, Adam Speed Quinn, is called upon to determine whether the man had taken his own life . . . or if someone had helped him.

With the assistance of Dr. George Hilton and journalist Sophie Gates, Quinn investigates what turns out to be murder. But the former scout is about to be blindsided, for a Southern sympathizer in the city is running a female spy network reporting to the Confederacy, and she has an insidious plot to foil the Union Army’s march to Manassas by employing the charms of one Constance Lemagne to get as close to Adam as possible . . .

From the bestselling author of the American in Paris mysteries featuring Julia Child’s fictional best friend, and the Phyllida Bright mysteries featuring Agatha Christie’s fictional housekeeper, this captivating mystery stars resourceful Adam Quinn, President Lincoln’s new aide, as war—and murder–test his skills like never before . . .

April 13, 1861: Rebel troops are across the Potomac River, only 800 feet from the White House and President Lincoln—but a murderer is even closer . . .


As the Civil War begins, an invasion of Washington, D.C., seems imminent. Lincoln’s trusted aide, Adam Speed Quinn, and Quinn’s old friend, Senator Jim Lane, hastily assemble a motley crew of just over 100 men and garrison them in the East Room at the White House. But even as dawn breaks, a single act of violence intrudes. One of the Frontier Guard lies dead in the oval library, throat slit ear to ear. There is a murderer among them.


Lincoln promptly assigns Quinn to deal with the matter, who is in turn aided by journalist Sophie Gates, and Dr. George Hilton. To Quinn’s chagrin, Southern belle Constance Lemagne insists on being involved in the investigation as well. But when Dr. Hilton examines the body, he makes a startling discovery that overturns all Quinn’s assumptions about the murder. With his president at grave risk from without and within, Quinn must act quickly to catch the White House killer . . .

From the bestselling author of the American in Paris mysteries featuring Julia Child’s fictional best friend, and the Phyllida Bright mysteries featuring Agatha Christie’s fictional housekeeper, this intriguing mystery stars quick-witted Adam Quinn, President Lincoln’s newly hired aide, on a momentous day . . .

March 4, 1861: On the day of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration gala, the last thing anyone wants is a hitch in the proceedings—let alone murder. But when the worst happens, fortunately, Mr. Lincoln has his resourceful aide by his side . . .

When a man is found stabbed to death only yards from the new president, Lincoln dispatches his trusted aide Adam Quinn to discreetly investigate. Was it an assassination attempt gone wrong or some other sinister motive?

Though he is new to the capital city, Quinn, an experienced tracker and seasoned soldier, is well-suited to the task. Though he must navigate the unfamiliar world of high society, political personages, and a city preparing for war, he finds an unexpected ally in determined young Sophie Gates, who lives in the Smithsonian Institution with her uncle and his family. Sophie is determined to make a name for herself as a journalist, and investigating a murder at the gala is the perfect opportunity.

Quinn and Gates, along with George Hilton, a free man of color and brilliant physician, plunge into a city teeming with spies and dark plots as it careens toward war. Together, they must make haste to apprehend a killer—for nothing less than the fate of the nation is at stake . . .