Eliza wasn't too torn up when her husband got himself shot in a bar fight. She didn't like him much anyway. But he did get her out of the coldness of Michigan when he brought her here to Monterey, supposedly to find gold. Eliza got herself a job at an establishment run by Mrs. Parks; one of the nicer and safer such establishments in town. Eliza didn't really mind the work. Overall, the men were nicer to her than her husband had been and Mrs. Parks took good care of her girls. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for some of the other girls in town. When a couple of them turn up dead and no one seems to care, Eliza and her friend Jean take it upon themselves to find a killer. I certainly enjoyed the premise of this book and while it is a murder mystery, it's unlike most others I've read. Time and place are covered more thoroughly than procedure and there didn't seem to be a lot of dialogue. That said, it is a mostly pleasant read and you can't help but like Eliza and her spunky attitude.