Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Death at the Dock: An Alyssa Chalmers Historical Mystery by Carmen Radtke. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Death at the Dock: An Alyssa Chalmers Historical Mystery
by Carmen Radtke
Death at the Dock: An Alyssa Chalmers Historical Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Portland, Oregon, in 1862
Independently Published
Publication date : February 27, 2026
Print length : 191 pages
A sharp tongue. An even sharper mind. A Victorian sleuth criminals overlook at their peril.
1862. A new home in a prospectors’ town, a new life, and two steadfast admirers: Alyssa Chalmers’ future is secure among her friends.
But when Captain Moore sends a message, begging for her help, she can’t say no.
With the doctor and the First Officer by her side, she travels to Portland, Oregon. She finds a situation worse than she feared. Two of the captain’s crew have gone missing and the local marshal is adamant they simply jumped ship. Even the discovery of a body is unable to change his mind.
Captain Moore knows better. He is convinced that something sinister is going on, and he needs sharp-witted Alyssa and her sleuthing partners to figure it out.
But dark secrets and vices are lurking everywhere. Alyssa needs all her wits to figure out who to trust – and how to save the missing men before there’s another murder.
Death at the Dock is the third mystery in this captivating series that transports readers back to the 1860s, with a heroine determined to make her own way in a society made for men. Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy and Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody.
Character Guest Post: Alyssa Chalmers – A Quantum of Freedom
It is with a sense of wonder that I sit down here, in my room at Starr’s Hotel, to write down my thoughts.
Ever since my mother’s death left me an orphan, I pinned all my hopes on a return to England, the place of my birth. Yet after growing up as the daughter of a man dedicated to serving Her Majesty in her colony of Australia, a strange twist of fate has taken me to North America. Without the restrictions pressed upon me as a young unattached woman, I’d be in London now, returned to a society I used to long for, but which by now surely would feel alien to me.
Indeed, I’ve been allowed a taste of freedom I’d never expected to experience, first across the border in the colony of Canada, and now, for a short while, in Portland in the United States of America (a name that rings hollow, with a big part of the country engulfed in a war between the states.
I attribute the slight relief in my situation to the relative lack of women on the Western seaboard. That said, I still must use subterfuge to go out and about, and without my two steadfast male friends I’d find myself trapped again.
But, oh, to see married women or widows as undisputed mistresses of their own fortune, be it from necessity or by choice, is heartening. And I’ve heard that on the other side of this vast country, women are already being accepted into colleges and universities. In that regard, my native country lags behind, even though the British Empire where the sun never sets has been under the benign rule of Queen Victoria for the quarter of a century.
I’ve found myself wondering what, if at all, I’d choose to study. Would I select the arts, or become a scholar of the law? Would I immerse myself in the wonders of civilizations of the past?
Just to imagine having all the knowledge in the world at your disposal! And the freedom to travel, without a chaperone and without the dangers that, alas, women are prone to encounter. I’m not naïve enough to dismiss the dangers I’d be exposed to without the unfailing protection my friends offer me.
But the very nature of our stay here, where I once again must uncover what I fear is another nefarious misdeed, without anyone outside my small circle the wiser, makes me long for the day when I will be free to use my own judgement and good sense without being ignored or censored.
Out of necessity I’ve become skilled in nursing and teaching, and in the pursuit of justice in the face of heinous crimes, yet I, Alyssa Chalmers, long to see the day where women are treated as equals. My mind I know to be second to none, and the women I’ve met here do lack neither in physical nor in moral strength.
Surely books to change minds and travel to open our eyes to the vast wonders of the world will be our salvation.
As for now, I must be content with solving a dangerous puzzle, with exploring a new city surrounded by wilderness, helping new friends in need, and with marveling at the strange path I’ve been led on.
I’ve come so far, over thousands and thousands of miles, to find a place I can call home. Yet I have the strange idea that more adventures are in store, for me, and for all of us who are wrongly described as the weaker sex.
The night is drawing in, and I shall end my musings. Whatever the future holds for me, I am glad that for now, I find myself here in Portland, on the cusp of what I hope is a future that keeps on offering me opportunities to shape my existence in a way that allows me to stay true to myself.
About Carmen Radtke
Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.
She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents.
When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.
The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s. The cozy midlife witch series featuring Bex Merriweather and her cat familiar are the latest addition to her literary output.
In real life, she’s only spilled blood once, when she swatted a fly, and even that was an accident. Although she’s a devoted cat servant, her feline companion doesn’t talk. Yet.
Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family.
Author Links:
Website – https://www.carmenradtkeauthor.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/carmenradtkeauthor
Purchase Link: Amazon
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Death at the Dock TOUR PARTICIPANTS
March 5 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
March 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
March 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 6 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 8 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
March 9 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
March 9 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 10 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT –
March 12 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
March 12 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
March 13 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
March 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
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