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“[A] bold narrator and chilling historical setting… unusually vivid.” -- New York Times Book Review

“Set in 1931 Berlin, Cantrell’s scrupulously researched debut tolls a somber dirge for Weimar Germany in its last days…this unforgettable novel, which can be as painful to read as the history it foreshadows, builds to an appropriately bittersweet ending.” – Publisher’s Weekly starred review

"A crime reporter investigates the murder of her brother, a cabaret nightingale, in Cantrell's haunting debut novel...Evocative, compassionate and compelling." — Kirkus starred review

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News:

A TRACE OF SMOKE is smokin'!

  • Review in the New York Times
  • Book club pick at dearreader.com
  • Review in Honolulu Advertiser
  • Starred review in Library Journal
  • On Deadly Pleasures "Best First Novel of 2009" list
  • A Writer's Digest Notable Debut
  • An Elaine's Pick at Book Passage
  • A First Pick from Barbara Peters at Poisoned Pen
  • A Top Pick from Romantic Times
  • Starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly
  • In Galley Talk at Publisher's Weekly and in the cover article in Library Journal
  • Front page newspaper coverage at West Hawaii Today, featured in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Big Island Weekly
  • Great reviews also from Booklist, Mystery Scene Magazine, The Book Case, and Crime Scraps