A model town at war with itself . . . George Pullman created an ideal community for his railroad car workers, complete with every amenity they could want or need. But when hard economic times hit in 1894, lay-offs follow and the workers can no longer pay their rent or buy food at the company store. Starving and desperate, they turn against their once benevolent employer. Emily Cabot and her friend Dr. Stephen Chapman bring much needed food and medical supplies to the town, hoping they can meet the immediate needs of the workers and keep them from resorting to violence. But when one young worker—suspected of being a spy—is murdered, and a bomb plot comes to light, Emily must race to discover the truth behind a tangled web of family and company alliances.

 

Praise for Death at Pullman

“Set just one year after the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, this novel still wears vestiges of Devil in the White City, in its historical richness and the fact of a mysterious murder central to its plot. . . It unfolds with equal portions of naïveté and sophistication—just the right mix for revisiting an historical moment made all the more poignant by our own present recession . . . A little romance [and] a lot of labor history are artfully combined in McNamara’s third Emily Cabot tale. Creating a believable mix of historical and fictional characters. . . is another of the author’s prime strengths as a writer . . . McNamara clearly knows, and loves, her setting. Perhaps most impressive is the way the young, single Miss Cabot navigates the dangers of her terrain with a sense of belonging and purpose, steadfastly pursuing her mission of helping to bring justice to those the system shuns.” —Julie Eakin, ForeWord Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"McNamara's suspenseful third Emily Cabot mystery (after 2009's Death at Hull House) convincingly recreates a pivotal moment in American labor history. In 1894, independent reformer Cabot gets involved with the downtrodden residents of Pullman, a town south of Chicago founded by railway magnate George Pullman as a model community for his workers. When Pullman, despite his idealistic intentions, slashes wages in the wake of a national recession, railway men, forced to choose between food or rent, threaten to strike. After a suspected spy for Pullman's company is found hanged, the police discover that the man was bludgeoned to death first. Cabot fearlessly throws herself into both the murder investigation and the struggle to keep the violence from escalating. Besides plausibly depicting such historical figures as Eugene Debs and Nellie Bly, McNamara throws in some surprising twists at the end. Laurie King and Rhys Bowen fans will be delighted." (Mar.) 
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“Death at Pullman is a suspenseful re-creation of a critical moment in American social history, as seen from the viewpoint of a strong-willed, engaging fictional heroine.” —www.readingthepast.blogspot.com