The Penny Mansions

by Steven Mayfield

With the Spanish flu pandemic on the rise, a former gold rush town— once the largest city in the Pacific Northwest— is threatened with extinction via eminent domain should their population fall below 125 citizens. To save their homes, former madam Maude Dollarhyde, her mixed-race grand-daughter, Bountiful, and their fellow council members agree to sell four abandoned mansions for a penny apiece if the buyers will stay in town long enough to be counted in the 1920 census. Soon, an eclectic cast of newcomers arrives, including a New York actor and his questionably-familial family; a lawyer with an agoraphobic wife, mute son, and austere nanny; six excommunicated Mormons; and the great-nephew of the town’ s hated former boss. As real estate developer and politician Gerald Dredd plots to foil the council’ s plan, the new families move in and knock over the first domino in a row that includes three romances, twelve sticks of dynamite, an unintentionally hilarious community theater production, an investigation by a Chicago insurance detective, and last of all, murder!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adult, Book Club

322 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2023

Reviews

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book the highlight was all the crazy, eccentric characters and the little town they lived in. The premise of trying to incorporate the town to get to 125 people and all that they do to sell mansions for a penny each. The play and the casting by Thaddeus Cooler was quite entertaining and near the end with the detective and sheriff trying to figure out "whodunnit" to the murdered man Dredd, just showed how all the townsfolk loved each other. Did have a little bit of language unique to certain characters, but I found the book a unique take on a murder mystery.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book by Oregon author. Recommended!

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the book is charming and full of quirky characters. I wouldn’t call it hilarious, but it is mildly amusing. I can definitely recommend it for historical fiction fans. A few major flaws stand out, though.

The frequent typos got annoying. There weren’t quite enough to go on my Where’s The Editor? shelf, but close. I started penciling in corrections in this library book. Future readers will thank me.



Then the female villain in this book is able to haul TWO bodies down TWO flights of stairs and into her car trunk. Absolutely impossible, according to people who deal with corpses for a living.



Finally, I have to nitpick the portrayal of “Mormons.” It’s clear the author didn’t do even five minutes of research. He knows nothing about the excommunication process, let alone the weird idea that a whole family could be excommunicated. You don’t “go to temple,” you “go to THE temple,” and there are no private rooms in there—the closest is single-sex changing rooms, in which multiple attendants ensure members of the opposite sex do not enter. There are attendants everywhere to point people in the right direction. Anyone practicing polygamy was excommunicated after 1890; it would be impossible for a practicing polygamist to cause the excommunication of anyone for NOT doing it.







*Reader’s Choice Nominee Spring 2025*

Language: Occasional strong language
Sexual Content: Implied scenes and vague references to rape
Violence/Gore: Murder, assault, attempted murder; somewhat graphic
Harm to Animals: None
Harm to Children: implied sexual abuse of a child (incest) in backstory by family member
Other (Triggers): Racism, sexism; abuse of power, corruption, blackmail; scams/cons; arson; sexual harassment and assault, implied rape and incest; somewhat offensive portrayal of person with achondroplasia

[Barbara Toomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story, Great Characters

Discovered this gem in the Chanticleer Book Reviews Newsletter. Great writing, believable eccentric characters, fine pacing and satisfying story resolution. Just an entertaining good time in Paradise. Read it! Well done Mr. Mayfield!

[Tonya Bryner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit silly at times, but it was fun. The author got a lot wrong about "Mormons," but what bothered me the most was the most trivial--anyone of that faith with that name would spell it Ammon, with two M's, like the prophet in the Book of Mormon. It's nitpicky, but I'm annoyed by bad grammar, spelling, and punctuation. And whoever proofread this needs to learn more about commas, because it was lacking quite a few.

That aside, it was an enjoyable book with a unique storyline.

[Katherine Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for an entertaining caper mystery with delightfully eccentric characters, set in the American West, Penny Mansions by Steven Mayfield is your book. The premise is that the 1920 census approaches and the residents of Paradise, Idaho will lose their homes to government requisition if they don’t reach a threshold of 125 people. The town council comes up with the cockamamie scheme of offering four vacant mansions for a penny apiece to whoever agrees to fix up the houses and stays on for the count. The names of the characters set the comic tone. The town council includes former madam Maude Dollarhyde, her gorgeous mixed-race granddaughter, Bountiful, and former gold prospector (when the local streams had anything of monetary value to offer), Goldstrike. Among the new settlers are actor Thaddeus Cooler lawyer Meriwether Peycomson and a Mormon family, the DeMilles. The novel’s villain, a Boise real estate developer and corrupt politician, is aptly named Gerald Dredd. Those who stand against the corrupt scheme to take away their houses are mostly scoundrels themselves. The author takes the reader on a rollicking journey full of twists and turns, complete with a fire, an avalanche (did someone intentionally blast apart the side of a mountain?), and yes, murder. Surprises abound. Readers, you will not be able to solve this mystery on your own. Penny Mansions is a most engaging book. I appreciate the author’s wit and humor. I also appreciate the way race is handled in this book, and that the most misogynistic of all the characters ultimately gets what he deserves. Readers of light mysteries will enjoy this book, as well as Western historical fiction and nonfiction enthusiasts. For its host of quirky characters, and its playful tone, Sons of the Profits by William C. Speidel comes to my mind as a comp title.

[Morgan Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

With The Penny Mansions, Steven Mayfield brings us life in an idyllic small town that has fallen into the crosshairs of a greedy land developer with powerful contacts and no moral boundaries. The characters, both good and bad, are wonderfully drawn by an author wise in the ways of the human condition. With his usual wit and humor, as well as quite the knack for the allure of a murder mystery, Mayfield pulls us in as decent people face near insurmountable odds in an effort to save their struggling little town from destruction. The Penny Mansions is a compelling, quick, and entertaining read: Mayfield’s best book yet, and they’re all good.

[Alli TK · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ (rounded up)

This approaches cozy mystery - a picturesque, isolated small town, a cast of flawed yet lovable characters, comedic relief, and a feel-good ending. Sure, there’s plenty of murder and intrigue, but overall it was pretty cozy.

I really liked the central conflict (Dredd vs. Paradise), but towards the end, things got a bit repetitive and the ending left me unsatisfied. There needed to be a bit more tension in the back third.

That being said, my biggest complaint is overuse of the n word 🥴 I get that “it was of the time,” but it was still obvious how certain characters felt about Black people without using that specific word.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A town left behind after the gold rush dwindles. The structure of this story reminds me of the TV show Poker Face; we watch the story unfold, then watch someone else try to figure it out based on clues left behind. A motley collection of characters, and a mix of true-to-life struggles and disarming humor.
Some small annoyance at one or two points in the Momon characters' backstory, but I wave that point. I do not press it. I look over it.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, I just can’t.

I was initially happy about the setting, although I don’t think it’s the same place I originally thought. We often drive Interstate 84 through Idaho and there is a valley that we pass that I find quite beautiful. It’s called Paradise. The book’s Paradise is up in the mountains and harder to access than the one I know.

One dimensional characters, cliched portrayals, bad accents. I grew more annoyed as I read instead of settling in and becoming interested.

[Emily Whalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely slice of life book somehow makes me want to move to a small town in Idaho. The characters immediately draw you in and the pacing and clever storytelling keep you engaged.

Super important trigger warning for racial slurs, rape and incest.

[Kemi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The characters were fun and well-written, but the story meandered for quite a while until it got going. I almost gave up on the book-- twice-- but I kept reading. I'm glad I did, because it was enjoyable, although I think the author tried to throw too many plot twists into the story.

[Christine Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at pg 85. I wanted to do many other things rather than read this book. Not for me.

[Jenalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little hard to get through the first third of the book, but so glad I stuck with it. Great story-telling, entertaining, well-developed characters, and a very satisfactory ending.

[Jenalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, funny. Warning: language.

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was slow at first but picked up 1/3 of the way through. the townspeople of paradise were so charming. a lot of swearing. the mr dredd character was so dark and evil.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly interesting but also boring.

[Rebecca Ipson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, except for the foul language. It is a fun story.