Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper by Ana Brazil
Publication Date: November 1, 2017
Sand Hill Review Press
Formats: Paperback & eBook
Genre: Fiction/Historical/Mystery
Gilded Age New Orleans is overrun with prostitutes, pornographers, and a malicious Jack the Ripper copycat. As threatening letters to newspaper editors proclaim, no woman is safe from his blade.
Desperate to know who murdered her favorite student, ambitious typewriting teacher Fanny Newcomb launches into a hunt for the self-proclaimed Irish Channel Ripper.
Fanny quickly enlists her well-connected employers—Principal Sylvia Giddings and her sister Dr. Olive—to help, and the women forge through saloons, cemeteries, slums, and houses of prostitution in their pursuit.
Fanny’s good intentions quickly infuriate her longtime beau Lawrence Decatur, while her reckless persistence confounds the talented police detective Daniel Crenshaw. Reluctantly, Lawrence and Daniel also lend their investigative talents to Fanny’s investigation.
As the murderer sets a date for his next heinous crime, can Fanny Newcomb and her crew stop the Irish Channel Ripper before he kills again?
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About the Author
A native of California, Ana Brazil lived in the south for many years. She earned her MA in American history from Florida State University and traveled her way through Mississippi as an architectural historian. Ana loves fried mullet, Greek Revival colonnades, and Miss Welty’s garden. She has a weakness for almost all things New Orleans. (Although she’s not sure just how it happened…but she favors bluegrass over jazz.)The Fanny Newcomb stories celebrate the tenacity, intelligence, and wisdom of the dozens of courageous and outrageous southern women that Ana is proud to call friends.
Although Ana, her husband, and their dog Traveller live in the beautiful Oakland foothills, she is forever drawn to the lush mystique of New Orleans, where Fanny Newcomb and her friends are ever prepared to seek a certain justice.
Interview with Ana Brazil
1. What is your favorite part of this book and why?
The whole “last act” is really my favorite because this is where everyone’s hard work and determination pays off. Fanny and her crew have risked their lives and livelihoods to hunt down the murderer. Finally, Fanny knows…well, you’ll just have to read the entire book to find out what she knows and how she knows it!
2. If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
I really love Cousin Charlotte. I love her artistic pursuits, her calm mastery of every situation, her elegant Parisian sense of style, and her wide network of friends. To begin our day, Cousin Charlotte and I would have a leisurely petit déjeuner in her shabby French Quarter courtyard. We would talk about everything that’s happening in the city…which new books have arrived, who’s left town for the season, and when the rain will finally stop (the answer is never). Later we’d go into her studio and I’d read the newspapers or the latest Peterson’s Magazine to her while she worked on her pottery wheel. After a long day of laughter and confidences, we’d meet friends for dinner at Antoine’s on St. Louis Street.
3. If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?
The most stunning book I’ve ever read is The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War by Peter Englund. It’s an incredibly moving compilation of the stories of twenty eyewitnesses to WWI.
4. Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
Fanny, Sylvia, and Olive are definitely inspired by many of the strong, persistent southern women that I know. Many of the other characters are composites of people I’ve known or read about. Since I’ve studied the Gilded Age for years, I know who lived there: teachers and doctors; newspaper editors and journalists; policemen and attorneys; millionaires and maids. Very happily, some of these people have entered Fanny Newcomb’s New Orleans.
5. What made you want to become a writer?
I loved studying American history—and especially women’s history—in college. But I always wondered What’s the rest of the story? What else might women have accomplished in America? And eventually—because of my love for mysteries—I wondered What would happen if an ambitious woman in 1889 New Orleans thought that she was clever enough to solve a Jack the Ripper copycat murder?
The only way for me to find out was to write Fanny Newcomb’s story. So writing gives me a way to explore all of the “whats” and “what ifs” in my mind.
For more information, please visit Ana Brazil's website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Goodreads.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, November 6Feature at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, November 7
Feature at The Never-Ending Book
Thursday, November 9
Feature at The Bookworm
Sunday, November 12
Review at Carole Rae's Random Ramblings
Tuesday, November 14
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books
Wednesday, November 15
Guest Post & Excerpt at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Friday, November 17
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective
Monday, November 20
Guest Post at The Book Junkie Reads
Wednesday, November 22
Interview at The Maiden's Court
Monday, November 27
Feature at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots
Friday, December 1
Interview at T's Stuff
Tuesday, December 5
Feature at Just One More Chapter
Wednesday, December 6
Feature at A Literary Vacation
Sunday, December 10
Review at WS Momma Readers Nook
Wednesday, December 13
Feature at CelticLady's Reviews
Friday, December 15
Review & Excerpt at Locks, Hooks and Books
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a paperback copy of Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 15th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Fanny Newcomb
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