A Trace of Smoke Excerpt 19
November 17, 2008
Still, Ernst thought those brown shirts and chocolate-colored shorts quite fetching. He’d only dated much older men. I had hoped that he would end up with a nice girl, in the end. Loving men was dangerous, and I would have shielded him from that danger if I could, or had him not choose to go down that path. But I knew that he had no choice. He had been exactly who he was from his earliest days. Still, he could have chosen a man less predatory than Rudolf. Perhaps this boy had been an improvement for him. I stifled a sob. Too little, too late. At least he’d been alive while dating Rudolf. I rubbed my hands over my face, trying not to think of Ernst as dead.
Would Ernst have left a good provider like Rudolf for a youth? He cared so much about his own comfort. When he betrayed Rudolf in the past (as he had often done), he’d been careful to conceal his affairs. Rudolf was a jealous and powerful man.
The bell for the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church rang ten. I was late for the trial. If I did not go, I might lose my job, lose everything. I thought about trying to convince Ernst’s landlady to let me into his apartment, but did not think I could face his rooms after all, with his dresses and his scent.
I plodded back toward the subway station. A sign with a white U against a dark blue background marked the entrance. Ernst called those signs empty smiles. He had preferred the confines of a taxi with a rich partner to the crush and noise of a subway car. And now he was to be buried alone, without the pomp he loved. I clutched Rudolf’s box and walked to the platform.
A Trace of Smoke Excerpt 18
November 10, 2008
A tiny scrap of red silk stuck out from under the flap of the box, and I stroked it with my fingers. One of Ernst’s handkerchiefs. I’d taught him to sew. We’d hemmed many handkerchiefs together, always red and always, when he could afford it, silk.
A cold wind brushed my face, and I turned up the collar of my coat. I tucked the corner of red silk out of sight. “Do you know the Nazi boy’s name or address?” I asked Rudolf.
“Certainly not.” Rudolf sniffed again.
I wondered if he’d been sniffing cocaine in Ernst’s apartment.
“I do not associate with that lot,” he said.
“Your nose is bleeding.” I dug for a handkerchief in my satchel.
Rudolf pulled a lace-edged handkerchief out of his pocket and held it to his nose. A red stain bloomed through the white linen. “Damn allergies,” he said. “I must be on my way. Inform Ernst that we have much to resolve.”
Rudolf raised his hand to hail a taxi. “Make sure he knows the consequences.”
“Which are?”
“Very unpleasant.” Immediately a taxi stopped in front of him, as taxis must have done all his life. He climbed in without a backward glance, and the taxi trundled off like a giant black beetle.
My mind filled with thoughts of Ernst and the Nazi boy. I had always wanted him to date a boy nearer his own age. But not a Nazi. I was a socialist, and despised Nazis for many things, including wanting to force women back into the home—children, kitchen, and church were to be our only realms. A particularly bad set of choices for those of us who neither had nor wanted a husband or children. And I did not want to think what would happen to the Jews and Communists if the Nazis gained power. I suspected that children, kitchen, and church were far better alternatives than what the Nazis would give them.
Welcome to Amazon!
November 3, 2008
After all this waiting my book is finally on Amazon! I thought I’d let people see what other authors are saying about “A Trace of Smoke:”
“A compelling and human story that captures brilliantly the atmosphere of
“Evocative and hauntingly crafted, Rebecca Cantrell’s debut mystery A Trace of Smoke is a treasure of suspense, romance, and murder. Her ability to spin history into a visceral reality is done with the artistry of a master storyteller. Truly a stunning start to a long career.” — James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
“Moving through the Berlin of 1931, with the monstrosity of the next decade stirring beneath the streets, Rebecca Cantrell’s characters illustrate the very human desire to cling to innocence and joy, to do right no matter the cost, to shelter light amidst growing darkness. Both personal and historical, A Trace of Smoke clings to the mind.” — Laurie R. King, New York Times bestselling author of The Game
“An absorbing plot, sharply drawn characters, and a fascinating recreation of the turbulent days in Berlin just prior to the Nazis rise to power make A Trace of Smoke a first-rate first novel. More Hannah Vogel mysteries of the caliber of this one would surely find an enthusiastic readership. But whatever Rebecca Cantrell decides to write next, her future is a bright one.” — Bill Pronzini, 2008 MWA Grand Master
“Step into the fun house world of 1931 Berlin where nothing and no one is what it seems…A Trace of Smoke is compulsive reading with all the juiciness of the tawdry world of Cabaret but told with keen insight to the historical criminality taking place.” — Sara Colleton, executive producer of Dexter and producer of The Painted Veil
“Brilliantly written and grounded in superb scholarship, A Trace of Smoke conjures up so evocatively one of the great twilight periods of history Berlin, in 1931, the Weimar Republic is dying and the nightmare of Nazism is taking root. Rebecca Cantrell’s lucid style and her powerful and dramatic depiction of the heroine Hannah Vogel is neatly balanced by a most intriguing and suspense-filled mystery against a background throbbing with menace…This is a novel on par with other classics written on the same period and place by the likes of Christopher Isherwood. I recommend A Trace of Smoke unreservedly to all readers of historical novels as well as to anyone with an even passing interest in the period. A Trace of Smoke enjoys the one weakness of all outstanding historical novels – when is the sequel?” — Paul Doherty, bestelling author of The Poisoner of Ptah
“Set in the final days of Weimar-era Berlin, Rebecca Cantrell spins an engrossing, poignant tale in A Trace of Smoke. Her tightly crafted debut grips one in the secrets, among the shadows and a redolent decadence that will linger with you.” — Cara Black, national bestselling author of Murder in the Rue de Paradis
“Rebecca Cantrell skillfully re-creates the decadence and terror of pre-war
“Riveting from page one, Rebecca Cantrell’s A TRACE OF SMOKE is a compelling mystery set amid the decadence of 1930s Berlin.” — Rhys Bowen, author of the Molly Murphy and Constable Evans Mysteries
“It’s hard to believe this is Rebecca Cantrell’s debut novel. A Trace of Smoke transports the reader to the murderous dark days of 1931 Berlin,and populates them with memorable people, particularly Hannah Vogel, who faces massive, historic terrors with only her wits as a weapon. What emerges is a chillingly compulsive, truly thrilling, and beautifully written novel. I couldn’t put down, and I look forward to whatever this author writes next.” — Gillian Roberts, author of the Amanda Pepper series
“Make room on your bookshelf for a talented new novelist named Rebecca Cantrell. In A Trace of Smoke, she delivers a historical mystery that works on every level. It’s a riveting page-turner. It’s an insightful study of a young woman in peril. It’s a unerringly accurate vision of a society slipping steadily toward madness. And it’s written with a sense of clarity, pace, and attention to detail that tell you this author is going to be writing terrific stories for a long time. So don’t miss her debut.” — William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of Back Bay and The Lost Constitution