Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York? As his widow, Eliza, pieces together the puzzle, she unearths a heartbreaking secret that threatens to tear her family apart.
New York, 1804. America’s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton’s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father’s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead.
Eliza searches for ways to clear her son’s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband’s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family—but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander’s innocence?
Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace—and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York’s high-society families. They know their dead husbands’ secrets—and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.
There’s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband’s and son’s names but keep herself out of the killer’s sights.
Praise for The Lace Widow
“Brilliant…Cox plausibly recreates 19th-century New York without freezing it in amber, and wrings real emotion out of Eliza’s investigation.” – Publisher’s Weekly starred review
“Wish there was a sequel starring the Founding Father’s widow? Cox has you covered . . . You’ll cheer the righteous heroine through thick and thin.”
—Kirkus Reviews“[Cox] masterfully re-creates a New York in its infancy . . . A treat for lovers of American history and connoisseurs of tightly paced, well-written mysteries.”
—Historical Novels Review
“Fans of “Hamilton” will gravitate to this clever, gripping mystery featuring Eliza Hamilton. We find Mrs. Hamilton just weeks after Hamilton’s death at the hands of Aaron Burr. As one might expect, she is not your typical widow, and is thrust immediately into a mysterious situation that threatens her family. She easily rises to the occasion. Recommended for fans of Hamilton specifically but also for historical mystery fans. Well written.” – Netgalley Reviewer
“It’s a constant frustration to historians that women’s lives are comparatively absent from the record, but here’s a silver lining! Mollie Ann Cox has fitted a deft murder mystery into the few weeks following the death of Eliza Hamilton’s famous husband. Delicious historical detail and a heroine of tremendous verve. What a treat.” – Catriona McPherson, multi-award-winning author of the Dandy Gilver mysteries and In Place of Fear
“In The Lace Widow, Mollie Ann Cox deftly portrays Eliza Hamilton as an unexpected but resilient amateur sleuth determined to solve a murder in the aftermath of her husband’s untimely death. Eliza’s foray into the discreet upper-class lace-making world, to preserve her family’s wealth and reputation, offers a particularly unusual method for gaining access to society’s deepest secrets. Readers, especially those who enjoy early American history, will appreciate how this well-researched and plausible mystery unfolds against the backdrop of an emerging nation, with all its social and political complexities. An engaging and thoughtful read!”
– Susanna Calkins, author of the award-winning Lucy Campion mysteries and The Speakeasy Murders