Mark R Giesser

A Nude of Some Importance Mark R Giesser

"The author weaves the narrative thread between serious and funny ably and offers a compelling 19th-century mystery plot as well." - Kirkus Reviews
Cassius Lightner, Chief Clerk of the tiny US Patent Office, and his unconventional English fiancée, Amanda Crofton, return in a sequel to their inadvertent crime-fighting adventure, A Cheese of Some Importance. This time, it's the freakishly cold, dismal summer of 1816. American artist and entrepreneur Rembrandt Peale shows Baltimore the future by illuminating an art exhibit at his museum with the new technology of gaslight. But controversy surrounds both his star painting and the technology. An explosion hits the museum. Peale turns to Cassius and Amanda for help.

Would someone kill to protest the painting? Did a French baker die for his brioche? Is the nascent tobacco industry blowing a smokescreen? Cassius and Amanda race to find answers before another explosion causes international political havoc.
"As a work of darkly comic historical fiction, it's a resounding success." - Kirkus Reviews on A Cheese of Some Importance.