Death at the Dock (Alyssa Chalmers) by Carmen Radtke ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

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.

AMAZON

“Thank heavens. That took you long enough.” Captain Moore, an imposing figure of a man in his fifties, appeared through a door. He wiped his brow with a handkerchief. He had secured them the back room of the tavern, as well as a meal of bread and cold meat.

“We came as soon as we could, sir.” Mr. Kendrick gallantly dusted off a chair before he offered it to Alyssa.

Mark, in his capacity as a doctor, had wasted no time to give the captain a quick visual once-over. The sailor had always been prone to turn red when his temper had been aroused, but now his skin appeared blotchy under its tan. Even more worrying, he clasped Alyssa’s hand with a gratitude head never shown her before.

“I appreciate your being here, Miss Chalmers,” he said. “The Lord knows I was at wit’s end what to do, until I thought of you.”

“I’ll endeavor my best not to disappoint you,” she said. “But I still have no idea what it is you need me of all people for.”

Captain Moore let his gaze wander across the small group, and towards the door.

Mr. Kendrick made sure it was closed. “No-one can hear us.”

Captain Moore drummed his fingers on the table. “Very well. It’s simple, really, and yet I’m at a loss on how to proceed. In the beginning, I didn’t make too much of it. These things happen, when your crew finds itself at large again, with a few coins in their pocket, after a long stretch at sea.”

“Has one of the men fallen afoul of the law?” Mr. Kendrick asked. “Do we need to seek out the justice or whoever is in charge here?”

“That was my first idea.” Captain Moore wiped his brow again. “But there was neither hide nor hair to be found when I had to set out to make enquiries myself, seeing that I had been foolish enough to deprive myself of both you and Mr. Wainwright.”

“Your generosity and kindness were much appreciated, sir,” Alyssa said. “Indeed, we’re very much indebted to you. But please go on.”

“Like I said, I made my way to town, and what a misbegotten place it is, full of adventurers and ne’er-do-wells. Insolent too, when I asked them for a bit of information.” His neck veins swelled.

Alyssa and Mark shared a tiny smile. This sounded more like the man they knew. He’d consider Portland a hellhole until his recent worries were over. Only then would he be willing to give the city a fair chance.

“So, we do not have one of our men languishing in prison?” Mr. Kendrick asked.

“No. It’s two of them, and they’re gone. I need you to find them, if they’re lucky enough to still be alive.”

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 and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.

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 Genie and Adriana Darling ghost mysteries and the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s.

Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family. Although she possesses no witchy powers, she’s known to be easily held spellbound by animals.

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