Along with this lavish lifestyle comes the use of recreational drugs such as opium and absinthe. After a particularly nasty night of debauchery, Kit awakens with no clear recollection of the night before, though through the haze he realizes it was nothing good. After an argument with Lucinda, Kit leaves the house and looks for other housing arrangements, though he is mostly without money, and certainly without a job. The next day, after she files theft charges against Kit just to be annoying, Lucinda is found murdered and Kit becomes the police’s number one suspect.

During this time, Kit’s uncle Brad and his fiancée Eden Murdoch arrive in Leadville asking Kit to be their best man. Also, there are labor disputes at the mine as there is talk of railroads and unions. Eden fancies Kit and knows he must be innocent, so she turns to Kit’s former girlfriend, mystic Bella Valentine, for help. Bella is rumored to be knowledgeable in certain black arts, and Eden hopes Bella can use her powers to help clear Kit. The two women team up to save Kit from a certain lynching and to uncover the real murderer and to restore what little of Kit’s reputation remains after his time with Lucinda.

The Second Glass of Absinthe shows a part of American history full of turmoil. People looked out for themselves, grapping whatever they could at whatever expense necessary. The people with a lot of money, such as the Ridenours, flaunted it and didn’t let poorer people forget it. Even Kit realizes he is being used, but enjoys the lifestyle it affords him. By contrast, the men who work in the mines and their wives are more rugged and very resentful of the mine owners, but are still out to get what they can and what they often feel is rightfully owed them.

Bella and Eden make an indomitable team, as Eden is very accepting of people, warts and all. Even when the events of the fateful night are revealed, Eden stands by her nephew-in-law while Kit’s blood uncle turns his back on him. The book goes on for several chapters after the murder is solved, revealing more about the individual characters, as well as the overall atmosphere of Leadville.

The mystery offers several viable suspects and Bella’s visions and Eden’s sharp senses help hone in on the murderer. Parts of the book are a bit overdone, such as the use of various shades of green in the first chapter, to describe everything from the color of the absinthe to the condition of a new horse. Still, this is a fun quick read, lending a new atmosphere to traditional mystery elements. The cast of well-imagined characters will also appeal as will a murder to solve along with the events of a mysterious night.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry