The Lace Widow

Starred review from October 2, 2023
What if there was more to Alexander Hamilton’s 1804 death than his duel with political rival Aaron Burr? That intriguing what-if animates Cox’s brilliant debut mystery, which sees Hamilton’s widow, Eliza, investigating his killing. Days after the duel, and before Eliza has had time to properly process its outcome, she witnesses the corpse of John Van Der Gloss being pulled from the North River near her Harlem home with his throat slashed. Van Der Gloss was not only Hamilton’s friend, but one of the only witnesses to his and Burr’s duel. The situation becomes even more personal when Eliza’s teenage son, also named Alexander, becomes the prime suspect in Van Der Gloss’s death. The night before his body was found, Van Der Gloss brawled with the younger Alexander, who told Eliza he’d become upset after hearing Van Der Gloss say “nobody knew the truth” about the duel. Resolved to exonerate her son and investigate Van Der Gloss’s claims about her husband, Eliza starts thumbing through Hamilton’s papers, which leads her down a rabbit hole of secrets and conspiracies involving the U.S. government and New York City’s elite. Cox plausibly recreates 19th-century New York without freezing it in amber, and wrings real emotion out of Eliza’s investigation. Admirers of Mally Becker’s Revolutionary War Mysteries will be delighted. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary.

June 1, 2024

It is 1804 in New York City. A short time before his death, Alexander Hamilton was unjustly accused of stealing money from the U.S. Treasury. However, just as he was about to uncover the true thieves, he was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. Searching through Hamilton's papers, Hamilton's widow, Eliza, discovers he has left her in financial difficulties with eight children to support. Then two men who attended the duel are murdered. Alexander Hamilton Jr. is implicated in one of the murders, as he was seen fighting with one of the men on the night he was killed. Eliza can't rest until she exonerates her husband and her son, revealing the conspirators and bringing them to justice. To this end, she enlists the support of a small group of independent businesswomen with connections to high society through kitchen, sewing room, and parlor gossip. Cox (A Killer Romance as Maggie Blackburn) uses historical information about the Hamilton family and early 19th-century New York to create a sensitive, character-driven historical mystery. Nicol Zanzarella narrates well, using a variety of voices and accents to good effect. VERDICT A layered and satisfying historical mystery.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

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