1/17/1832 A Tragedy at Tiverton

January 17, 1832.  On this day an advertisement appeared in a New York newspaper that led to a swindle that led to young attorney Christopher Randolph meeting shrewd Irish-American criminal lawyer Lon Quincannon, and his involvement in the investigation of a pregnant mill worker's murder.

The Tragedy at Tiverton (1984) is the first of three mysteries by Raymond Paul, all about the wily Quincannon, and each based on an actual murder of the pre-Civil War era.  One thing that makes the boks unique is that in each one, the narrator, the "Watson," is a different young man. 

The New York Times called it "a very quiet but very definite tour de force."  And that's no swindle.