Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1424993 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 216 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In her third mildly pleasant encounter with villainy (after 2000's Killing Cassidy), full-time housekeeper and part-time sleuth Hilda Johansson suggests that "once upon a time" wasn't always what it was cracked up to be. Take turn-of-the-century America. Remember? Life was simpler. Men were men, women honored and obeyed, and you could beat the hell out of your kids. As described in Dams's novel, life 100 or so years ago in South Bend, Ind., was like being strapped into a behavioral corset that allowed little room to live and breathe. She is especially good at period detail, while her characters are very real. Immigrant families like the Johanssons worked long hours for little pay to bring their families from the old country. In this case, relatives of the man Hilda loves ask her to find Uncle Dan, the flamboyant Democratic candidate for the city council whom the police suspect of murder. Dan was last seen talking to the victim, his political rival. His blood-stained shillelagh was left next to the body. And the only eyewitness is the parish priest who swears it was Dan who did it. Hilda's wealthy employers allow her a week off with pay to find Uncle Dan. Her methods are largely guesswork, the plot thin and improbable. Dams's prose, however, moves smoothly along. This isn't a book for everyone, but if you want to know how to clean a sooty windowsill...

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The third Hilda Johansson mystery (after the excellent Death in Lacquer Red, 1999, and Red, White, and Blue Murder, 2000) is--no surprise here--a real treat for fans of historical mysteries. Set in early-1900s South Bend, Indiana, this outstanding series offers rich, detailed, thoroughly captivating mysteries that make readers feel like they've been plucked out of their own time and set down nearly a century ago. This time around, Hilda, a servant in the fabulously wealthy Studebaker household who seems to have a knack for solving crimes, looks into the murder of a local politician and the disappearance of the prime suspect. As usual, though, the mystery here is only half the fun. Dams, who also writes the popular Dorothy Martin novels, clearly knows a lot about Indiana at the turn of the last century, and--unlike many writers of historical mysteries--she's able to incorporate factual elements into her stories so seamlessly that we can't tell (and don't care) what's real and what's made up. This is the kind of book you don't just read, you step into. If you haven't met Hilda yet, don't put it off any longer. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Addition to the Series.
Great Characters, realistic plot, and interesting premise make this a wonderful addition to the series. Great Read

admirable heroine makes this seires truly brilliant reading
This series just keeps getting better and better! Perhaps it is because I spent more than ten years in Indiana, or because I really love historical mysteries -- probably it is a combination of both factors, but I really love the Hilda Johansson mystery series set in the early 1900s in South Bend, Indiana.

It's 1902, and Hilda Johansson is now the head housemaid at Tippecanoe Place, the home of the socially prominent and influential Studebaker family. And her relationship with fireman Patrick Cavanaugh is still 'on track' despite the disapproval of both Hilda's Swedish Lutheran family and Patrick's Irish Catholic family. However these days, Patrick's worries are totally centered on (as he terms it) his uncle Daniel Malloy's 'shenanigans.' Daniel Malloy has decided to stand for local elections under the Democratic ticket, and his very clever and sly campaign against his Republican opponent, John Bishop, has earned him his opponent's ire and contempt. Patrick thinks that his uncle is making the family a laughingstock in South Bend. But these political goings on take back seat when Bishop is found beaten to death at the County Fair. Suspicion falls on Daniel Malloy when first, his shillelagh is discovered next to the body, and when everyone realises that Daniel is missing! Hilda does not for one moment believe that Daniel murdered Bishop, and is all for offering her services to the Malloy family. But Patrick is adamant that she steer clear of this mess: not only does his family not like Hilda, but they also do not want her help. Hilda is both angered and hurt at the Malloy-Cavanaugh family attitude, and resolves to do nothing. However the next day, she is stunned when Mrs. Malloy, Daniel Malloy's wife asks for Hilda's help, in spite of her son's (Clancy) disapproval. Hilda decides to put her hurt feelings behind her and to help Mrs. Malloy. However her efforts suffer a setback when a witness comes forward with information of having witnessed Daniel attacking Bishop. Could Daniel Malloy be capable of murdering his political opponent in such a brutal manner? Hilda is determined to find out, no matter the cost.

This is a well written and well researched historical mystery. Jeanne M. Dams really made the South Bend of the early 1900s come alive for me. And what a heroine she has created in Hilda Johansson. In Hilda, Dams has created a truly refreshingly democratic and fair minded young woman who is able to look beyond race and religion. In the very first Hilda Johansson mystery, "Death In Lacer Red," Hilda went to the defense of a Chinese laundry man, and in this latest venture, she goes to bat for the Malloy-Cavanugh family, in spite of their disapproval of her. Hilda Johansson is a truly admirable heroine and detective.

"Green Grow The Victims" is a really excellent read. The plotting of this novel was virtually flawless, and the breath-neck pace at which the events unfolded was even and well sustained. Hilda and her family (sisters Gudrun & Freya, and brother, Sven) were well developed and depicted; as was Mrs. Malloy; however I felt that more could have been done with Patrick. I enjoyed reading this mystery novel very much, and look forward to the next Hilda Johansson mystery.

Superb mysery
In 1902 America, citizens looked down upon the new wave of immigrants, but the government could not close the door on them because they were needed as labor. Within the various immigration groups, friction exists. Swedish Protestants and Irish Catholics brought their animosity towards one another across the ocean. However, upper servant Hilda Johansson and firefighter Patrick Malley remain friends in spite of the objections of family.

At a fair attended by Patrick and Hilda, his uncle running for council disappears. The authorities believe that he ran away because he killed his rival, but Patrick's aunt feels her spouse's life is in jeopardy. She hires Hilda, who has solved several homicides, to find her missing husband.

Jeanne M. Dams provides a realistic portrayal of what life was like for an immigrant in the Midwest in 1902. The author also shows the deep social class divisions that hindered free speech. Hilda is an intrepid heroine who follows her convictions rather than social dictates. GREEN GROW THE VICTIMS is a fast-paced and fascinating historical mystery.

Harriet Klausner