“Thanks to the Pacific NW Writers Association, I recently discovered books by Bernadette Pajer. Her protagonist in the historical/scientific mysteries set in Seattle around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is Professor Benjamin Bradshaw. Bradshaw is a professor of electrical engineering at the fledgling Department of Engineering at the University of Washington. The first book in the multibook series is A Spark of Death.
The first book is set in the late Spring of 1901. The University of Washington is expecting a visit from President William McKinley to inspect their newly designed Electric Machine. A week before the presidential visit, Professor Bradshaw discovers the body of his disliked Department Chairman. The body is located inside a Faraday Cage. Unfortunately, the primary suspect becomes Professor Bradshaw. Bradshaw decides he has to clear his name and undertakes the investigation using scientific methods. Not only is the murderer not Bradshaw but is a complete surprise.
The book is definitely worth the read. The reader will also learn a little something about electricity but what life was like in early 20th C. Seattle. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of the series. There are at three more in the series, with more to come, hopefully.
GO! BUY! READ!”
—Jim Harris, retired book sales rep
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