Murder on the Last Frontier by Cathy Pegau

An appropriate title, I was most interested in exploring Alaska in the early years of the 1900's. I visited Alaska a few years ago to work for the summer. Ms. Pegau's tale took me right back there and I could imagine myself visiting in that timeline. I had an additional interest in the time and place as my great-aunt had traveled to Wyoming from Michigan in 1905 to live near her brother who was the Picture Man of Cody Wyoming. Our heroine in the story fled the lower 48 to live near her Doctor brother. She was also hoping to leave behind her secret trauma from the recent past. 

It turns out her brother has a few secrets too and with his concerns about his sister's safety he tries to be as overbearing as his father was. No such luck. with Charlotte. This woman has a mind of her own and nerves of steel to go with it. She's not too meek to inform her sibling that there will be no such acceptance of his dominance over her, she's not as naive as he thinks she is. 

A beginning romance with the town Deputy alleviates some of the gloom that surrounds the murder of a 'lady of the night'.  Charlotte also is offered employment twice, once by the madam of the house of ill-repute and the other by the local newspaper. An easy choice for her as she's been writing for Modern Woman and sending her articles via mail - by ship and train. 

A thoroughly modern woman in a historic era answers the question I sometimes ask myself, what would I have done if I'd been born a hundred years earlier? I probably would have followed Charlotte's path.