Murder at Chateau sur Mer

Gilded Newport Mysteries #5

by Alyssa Maxwell

For fans of HBO’s The Gilded Age, explore the dark side of the alluring world of America’s 19th century elite in this gripping series of riveting mysteries…

Late nineteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, is home to some of America's wealthiest citizens. For society reporter Emma Cross, a less well-heeled cousin to the illustrious Vanderbilts, trailing gossip and glamour will lead her straight into murder . . .

Covering a polo match for the Observer, Emma's job is to take note of the real players off the field--Newport's well-bred elite. But the fashionable facade is breached when a woman in gaudy clothing creates a scene demanding to speak to the wife of Senator George Wetmore--until she is escorted off the grounds by the police.

The next morning, police detective Jesse Whyte asks Emma to meet him at the Wetmores' Bellevue Avenue home, Chateau sur Mer, where the senator's wife, Edith, has mysteriously asked to see her. Upon entering the mansion, Emma is confronted with a crime scene--the intruder from the polo match lies dead at the foot of a grand staircase.

To avoid scandal, Edith Wetmore implores Emma to use her reporter skills and her discretion to investigate. When Emma learns the victim was a prostitute--and pregnant--she wonders if the senator was being blackmailed. As Emma peels back layers of deception and family secrets, she may have met her match in a desperate killer who will trample anyone who gets in the way . . .

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Romance

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2017

About the author

Alyssa Maxwell is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries, inspired by her husband’s family whose Newport origins date back numerous generations. The series features the glamour of the Gilded Age and a sleuth who is a Newporter born and raised, and also a less "well-heeled" cousin of the Vanderbilt family. Alyssa also writes A Lady & Lady’s Maid Mysteries, an English-set series that begins as WWI is ending. She and her husband live in South Florida, where she is a member of the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and the South Florida Fiction Writers. You can visit her at http://alyssamaxwell.com, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Reviews

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder at Chateau sur Mer is a fabulous addition to Alyssa Maxwell’s Gilded Newport Mysteries series. The characters are well-crafted and authentic, and the addition of real-life members of the Four Hundred crowd including the Vanderbilts and the Astors adds a fun element to the mysteries. The highly entertaining protagonist, Emma Cross, is a newspaper columnist for the Newport Observer and an amateur sleuth who is torn between two very different but equally likeable suitors. In this fifth installment, Senator Wetmore, his wife Edith, and their beautiful Bellevue Avenue home Chateau Sur Mer are at the center of the mystery when a prostitute is found dead at the bottom of the home’s grand staircase. To resolve the matter and avoid gossip, Mrs. Wetmore employs Emma to determine how the woman ended up at Chateau Sur Mer. The plot is clever and kept me guessing until close to the end. At the end of the book, Maxwell includes a phenomenal Author’s Note detailing both Chateau sur Mer’s and the Wetmore’s history as well as information on other real life characters and locales that played roles in her book. After I finished the novel, I enjoyed looking up pictures of Chateau sur Mer and hope to visit Newport again (I went as a child) to see the various mansions that play prominent roles in the Gilded Newport Mysteries series. I highly recommend Murder at Chateau sur Mer and the earlier books in the series too. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Melisa]

DNF, stopping at p.134. This is the fifth is the series, and while I read the first, I feel that I've missed too much to fully understand the character development. The story was not as engaging as the first and I found myself not interested in what was happening. I recommend not reading this one as a standalone, but to read the series in order.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Step back in time with Emma Cross in Newport, Rhode Island as a day reporting on a polo match leads to murder. A woman tried to make her way into the stands where the elite are watching the match to speak to Edith Wetmore, the wife of Senator George Wetmore. Security was escorted her off the grounds but it is not the last the Westmores will see of her. No, the good senator’s wife finds the woman dead in their home at the bottom of their grand stairway. Police detective Jess Whyte has summoned Emma to Chateau sur Mer. He knows Emma’s help on previous cases has been fruitful, but this time Edith Wetmore has requested her presence. She wants Emma to use her skills to investigate while at the same time keep any rising scandal out of the press. Trying to find a connection between the Wetmores and the dead woman Emma uncovers a web of secrets and lies that puts her own life in peril and others too. It could also cost her her job meaning she could lose her home.

Alyssa Maxwell knows Newport history and she uses that knowledge to create fictional stories that have enough real facts that readers may think the story is real and events may have actually happened. She does include some facts at the end of the story to keep the record straight.

Strong characters and a captivating mystery make it very easy to escape right into this story. Emma Cross is part of the not very well to do side of the Vanderbilt family. She has inherited her home with enough money to pay for basic upkeep but needs to work for necessities like food and clothing. She is the fashion and food reporter for the Observer newspaper but always keeps her ears open for information to get her byline on or close to the front page. She is a strong woman, unafraid to travel unaccompanied to the seedier areas of town, no matter how many times she is told how dangerous it is. Thankfully sometimes she listens. Other times she is just plain lucky.

Emma’s investigation this time to her down to the docks more than once, to a brothel more than once, and even to the scene of a fire. Ms. Maxwell puts our heroine in some precarious situations. I enjoy following Emma everywhere she goes. The author fully describes each place so perfectly, putting us readers right there on the scene.

The mystery is very complex. Suspects are unclear until Emma realizes an event from the past is affecting people’s lives in the present. Even then the suspects remain fluid until the final reveal. Usually when I read a mystery like this one my brain is always trying to be one step ahead of the story’s amateur sleuth. This time I was immersed into the culture and all the happenings that I just kept pace with her. I so enjoyed our tandem journey.

Like the other mansions in this series, Chateau Sur Mer is now owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County and is open to the public as a museum.

I have loved each book in this series. I do recommend they be read in order to understand the settings and the character development.

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️’s

I thought this might be my last book with this series. As much as I love Emma and some of the supporting regulars, the stories have become a little repetitive to me. However, Derrick is back and Emma has some major decisions to make about her life. I am curious as to what choices she will make, so this might not be the last book for me after all.

Emma is a young woman ahead of her time. She is a great character. Someone I can’t help but admire. The series started off so strong. And this is still a good book. Perhaps if I hadn’t read it in between another cozy series that I am loving more than this one, I would have rated it higher? I am not sure. But it feels like a lot of the same thing over and over.

It makes me a bit sad to not enjoy the series as much because it is cute, Emma is delightful, and well, I feel like I should continue to love it as much as the first book or two. But it’s a book series. Not a person. So I should get over this silly sense of guilt I am feeling. Right? Right. Good talk self.

Rating and brief thoughts posted: 12/15/25

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Emma covers the latest polo match between the local favorite, Westchester Polo Club and rival Meadowview Polo Club of Long Island, she is supposed to be noting who is in town for the season and who is wearing the latest gowns by Worth and other designers. What Emma is actually doing is keeping her ears open for any real news. When she overhears some men angrily discussing Senator Wetmore's proposed protectionist Dingley Tariff she feels she is onto something. Before she can investigate further, she is distracted by a nearby altercation. A gaudily and shabbily dressed woman is calling for Mrs. Wetmore while Senator Wetmore asks security to escort the woman of the premises. Emma is intrigued by the woman and wonders why the obviously down on her luck woman asked for MRS. Wetmore. Before morning Emma gets more than she bargained for when her policeman friend Jesse Whyte informs her the poor woman from the polo match was found dead at the foot of the Wetmore staircase.


I still love Emma. She is a great character and represents the middle class women of her time who struggled to find fulfillment in a career instead of marriage. This is very accurate for the time as new technology opened up new roles for women. Emma's debate about finding herself and continuing to work vs. marriage and family is an age old one that continues today. I do not think she can do both given the time period the story takes place. All the men she knows are products of their time and place and even Derrick, as progressive as he is, would probably be uncomfortable with his wife running off to investigate murders. What happens if Emma has children? She deeply resents her own parents' lack of involvement in her life. How can she do that to her own children? Nanny is getting old and deserves retirement. The romantic side of me wants Emma to end up happily ever after with Derrick running their own newspaper but the practical side of me wants her to stay unmarried.

Derrick is a nice enough man. I still feel kind of lukewarm about him. He stopped lying, at least, and is finally standing up for himself and his life. I don't think he will have an easy future if his father makes good on his threat and that could be difficult for his relationship with Emma. He does have a great plan at least. His mother is horrid. Mrs. Andrews is the American version of Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Pride and Prejudice). Emma sure understood the older woman's mindset. She reacted just like Lizzie but the situation is a little more complicated.

I really liked Lilah once her story was revealed. I felt so awful she ended up murdered. She illustrates how difficult it was to be a woman without money or wealthy, influential relatives. Emma acknowledges how close she comes to being like Lilah and if not for her great-aunt Sadie and Vanderbilt relations, she COULD be Lilah. Lilah did not deserve to die. I also really liked Madam Heidi. She's smart, funny and obviously knows how to get what she wants. At the end though, her situation is shown in a darker light and when the curtain of romanticism is pulled away, it reveals how terrible prostitution really was. I'd like to see Madam Heidi reappear in future investigations!

Most of the other characters were based on real people using their actual names. The Wetmores sound like very nice people. They appear to be a loving family and the couple devoted to each other. I liked how Mrs. Wetmore is the one who engages Emma's services. Emma could use a mother-figure and an ally in high society. The daughters come across as kind of shrewish at first but they're innocently trying to protect their mother which is understandable. I know a little bit about daughter Edith but nothing about Maude. Maude is shrewd and strong. I'd also like to see the Wetmores interact with Emma more.


James Gordon Bennett is my next favorite of the real people who populate the novel. His former antics sound very funny and I love that he was unable to hide from Emma. He sounds like a complicated character-possibly a villain but a good businessman with a sense of humor.


I love this series and can't wait to read the next one. Emma has a lot of thinking to do between now and then!

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fifth book in the Gilded Newport Mystery series. It is set in the 19 the century. Emma Cross, cousin to the Vanderbilts and newspaper reported for the Newport Observer is covering a polo match when a woman demands to speak to the wife of Senator Wetmore. The police remove the woman from the area. The next morning the woman, a prostitute, Milan lays dead at the foot of a staircase. Edith, the Senator 's wife hired Emma to investigate the case showing her husband was not acquainted with the Lilah. The police are told to leave the case alone. The autopsy showed the woman's neck was broken and she was pregnant. The case is reopened.
Derrick has return from Italy and the homicide detective, Jesse meets and dislike each other. Emma shocked The Four Hundred Crowd going to Blue Moon, a brothel. There she found an old scrapbook belonging to Lilah. There is a series of robberies on the wharf and a fire of a business. What is the importance of the scrapbook? Will Emma managed to clear Senator Wetmore's name? There is a cliffhanger at the end. I recommend the book and series.

Disclosure: I received a free copy Kensington Books through NetGalley for an honest review. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review the book. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Patrizia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devo confessare che il colpevole non è mai stato nel mio radar, anzi avevo pensato che fosse uno dei "buoni"... Beh, almeno così, una volta tanto sono stata sorpresa dalla soluzione: normalmente riesco sempre a capire chi sia il cattivo, forse perché ormai ho letto centinaia di questi libri.
Detto questo, mi piace l'ambientazione e la protagonista, spero soltanto che il triangolo si risolva presto e che l'uomo scartato, per così dire, trovi una compagna perché mi stanno entrambi molto simpatici.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t you love it when there are a ton of different threads in a book that have to come together as it concludes?

In this installment of the Gilded Newport series, we have a series of seemingly unconnected events: a series of break-ins/arson incidents in downtown Newport, a controversial handicapping situation in the polo circuit, and a dead body left inside a US senator’s home. Throw in Emma’s potential love interest, Derrick Andrews, coming back to town to complicate her budding relationship with Jesse Whyte and this book is a page-turner.

I do wish Emma’s behavior wasn’t quite as audacious, as she’s always gone to extreme lengths to look proper despite her modest financial situation. The fact that she does a few things that put her job in jeopardy seemed out of character.

Emma’s relationship with Derrick changes quite a bit in this book and I wish they’d get together, but realize they moved too quickly for a series that’s going to last for many books.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While covering a polo match for the newspaper, Emma Cross sees a woman approach security and demand to speak with Edith Wetmore, wife of Senator George Wetmore. Security turns her away because she clearly does not belong in polite society. Later that evening, Emma receives a call from the police asking to meet her at the Wetmore's home, Chateau Sur Mer. When she arrives, the police show her the body of the woman from the polo match. She is laying dead at the bottom of the grand staircase. The police believe she accidentally slipped on the stairs and are reluctant to investigate. Mrs. Wetmore asks Emma to use her sleuthing skills to discover this woman's identity and how she got inside the mansion.

This is the fifth book in the Gilded Newport Mystery series. I love that the author includes real people and real places in her story. The mystery is good with lots of suspects and red herrings. My only problem with the story is the two men who are pursuing Emma. It's getting old and she really doesn't seem that interested in either of them. My rating: 4 Stars.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder at Chateau sur Mer is the fifth book in the Gilded Newport Mysteries series.

Another exciting, well-plotted, and told story in this wonderful series.

Emma Cross is covering the Meadowview Polo Club match for the Newport Observer. As she is heading for a different vantage she catches bits of conversation of three men of means. They are discussing the acts of vandalism that have been taking place and the unfairness of The Dingley Tariff that is being supported by Sen. George Wetmore. As Emma is approaching the grandstand to learn of the latest fashions the ladies are wearing, she notices a commotion caused by a young lady who seeks to speak to Mrs. Wetworth. She is certainly not a member of society and the police send her on her way.

The next morning Emma receives a call from Jesse Whyte, a good friend and detective with the Newport Police, asking her to come the Wetmore home. Upon arriving she sees the body of the girl she had seen at the polo match. She is soon identified as Lilah Buford, a prostitute at the Blue Moon tavern near the wharf. After an autopsy, it is learned that Buford was pregnant. Emma is quite surprised when Mrs. Wetmore, having heard of Emma’s investigative skill in the past, asks her to look into who murdered Buford so her husband’s name can be cleared.

Emma, even though she is just a “poor relation” of the Vanderbilt’s she is able to use that to gain access to members of society to help with her investigation. She also uses the friendship she has with Whyte to share items that she has learned and to act as a sounding board for other sleuthing trails she might come across. But she also finds herself searching the seamy area around the wharves for clues where she encounters an adversary from the past, Mr. Dobbs. She also gets help from Derrick Andrews, a family friend and who she was engaged to for a short time.

I am anxiously the next book in this series to see what adventures are in store for Emma, where her career choice will take her, and if she will decide who will become a romantic interest.

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Mrs Maxwell doesn't disappoint. The characters are very well rounded and believable. Even the ones you love to hate I find myself cheering them on behind the scenes i.e. Anthony Dobbs it appears he may not be quite as unredeemable as one may think. Again, Emma finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and in the middle of a love triangle. As much as I want the relationships to be believable which typically takes time to develop I do hope Alyssa Maxwell doesn't make us wait to long to find out whom Emma thinks is the best life partner for her.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I thought there were too many things going on with the culprit's back story, I enjoyed the storytelling, pacing, setting and characters very much. This series is among the best I've read for cozy mysteries.


Content note: Parts of the story involve Emma questioning the girls at a house of ill repute, but there's nothing gratuitous discussed or shown.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we recently visited Newport, Rhode Island I saw this book series featured heavily. I decided to pick it up and I’ve absolutely been loving it.

We follow Emma who is a distant relative of the Vanderbilts who has been earning her living as a society paper reporter. She has a different perspective than most because she has grown up on the island but also is included in some of the inner circles due to her close relationship with the Vanderbilt.

I particularly like how I recognize many of the things and sites that are in a new parts as someone she used to live there are many years ago.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Cross works as a reporter for the Newport Observer. She is responsible for writing the weekly Fancies and Fashion page. Emma is a poor relation of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. Emma lives in Gull Cottage with her Nanny. Although she has to work for a living, she still does all the can to offer a haven to someone looking for a fresh start in life.

Emma is good friends with a police detective and together, they have helped solve some crimes. So, when a prostitute is discovered dead at the foot of the stairs in the home of the wealthy Wetmore family, Emma is called upon by Mrs. Wetmore to help solve the mystery hoping to show that it had nothing to do with her family. This brings Emma in contact with some of the prostitutes in the town, as well as some of the dock workers in the not-so-nice part of town. As some of the wealthy and influential people in town start to get nervous when Emma is around, she knows she is onto something.

Emma introduces readers to characters from other books in this mystery series. If you enjoy a well-written mystery which makes you put on your thinking cap as you help figure it out, then this is the book for you. I have read the other books in this series and have enjoyed them very much. Be sure and check out the author’s “A Lady and Lady’s Maid” mystery series as well. Very good!

[Linda Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What begins as a routine task for reporter Emma Cross, covering the polo match at the legendary Westchester Polo Club in Providence, RI quickly turns into a story that threatens the elite summer residents. Emma herself is far from routine in the town of 1897 Providence. She is a less well-off cousin of the Vanderbilts who runs her own household, works for a living, and has decided ideas about women's equality. Her relations give her entree into most of the social events that she covers for the local paper, but Emma really wants to be an investigative reporter. When a shabbily dressed woman approaches the wife of RI Senator George Peabody Wetmore and asks to speak with her, it causes quite a stir and arouses Emma's curiosity. Emma becomes involved when that same shabby woman is discovered dead at the foot of a staircase in Chateau sur Mer, the Wetmore "cottage". Mrs. Wetmore denies any relationship with the woman. Neither she or her distinguished husband have ever seen the woman before, and she asks Emma to investigate. The investigation leads Emma into the seamier side of Newport, threatening her livelihood and ultimately her life. She is aided and sometimes hindered by Derrick Andrews, a former romantic interest who reappears in her life, and her friend, Jesse Whyte. Jesse is a detective on the town police force, who also has more than a friendly interest in her.

Murder at Chateau sur Mer is another well-researched and plotted book in Alyssa Maxwell's Gilded Newport series. She takes historical figures and builds mysteries around them without sacrificing accuracy in either history or the manners and mores of the day. This time Emma may have gone a little too far with her disregard for proprieties and may have to pay the price. It's an excellent build-up to the next novel in the series, which I will be looking forward to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING- 4 Stars

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of the Gilded Newport Mysteries series that I have read. Since this is the fifth book of the series I was a little concerned. While I could tell there was a previous story, I still enjoyed this. A young distant cousin of the elite of Newport finds herself in a few messes while trying to solve a murder. She is in a sort of love triangle. Seems to be discovering herself, I liked the way the surroundings and people are described. My only pet peeve is she ALWAYS says her Vanderbilt relatives. Other than that, this is a very good read.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has probably been my favorite of the Gilded Newport mysteries.

I like Emma as a character. She has a good heart, she’s fiercely independent, and has a determination to do the right thing. I’m not a super big fan of the love triangle, especially since I don’t really like Derrick. He and Jesse have this competition going on over who gets to accompany Emma places for crime solving and it seems a bit juvenile.

The mystery of this one was really good with a lot of action. And as always, the depictions of Newport are just really fun to read about.

[Pat Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Newport Series as I go to Newport. I enjoy the characters, the mystery and not being gory.

[Eileen Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast exciting fun story. Read it in one sitting.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great mystery set in Newport during the Gilded Age.

[Colin Sutter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was a rough read. Way too slow and Emma was particularly annoying in it. Worst in the series so far...can only get better???

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series a lot. On to the next one.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!! I couldn't put it down and kept reading for hours, because I wanted to know what happened next!

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid installment in this coziest of cozy mystery series.
I love how the author mixes in the true Gilded Age history in these novels.
Well done.

[Brenna Donahue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Newport Mystery! This one really kept me guessing the whole way through with plenty of twists. It moved very quickly. I am less interested in Emma's love triangle, and that plot point is becoming more of a focus as the series goes on...but the mystery itself did not disappoint!

[Leith Devine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in the Gilded Newport Mysteries series. I love reading about Newport and the Four Hundred, the Vanderbilts and Astors, and imagining what their lives must have been like. Alyssa Maxwell's descriptions are detailed and her plots are well thought out. It isn't easy to guess the killer's identity, which is a plus in a mystery.

Emma Cross is a Vanderbilt cousin, but sadly without Vanderbilt money. She has to work for a living (gasp), and she's a society reporter for the Newport Observer. Her family connections get her into places most reporters could never go. She's covering a polo match when she sees a strange woman approach the wife of Senator George Wetmore. Since all the important members of Newport society are present, she stands out and Emma wonders why the woman is there. When she is found dead in the Senator's home, and turns out to be a prostitute, the Senator's wife asks Emma to investigate the murder.

Her investigation takes her from the grandest houses in Newport to a local brothel, but Emma is tenacious and doesn't give up easily. She has to walk a fine line between her Vanderbilt family name and her desire to find the truth.

This is fantastic historical mystery, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ruhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A polo match sets the scene for this book which not only features a couple of entwined mysteries that feature polo and the world outside it. It was good to see Emma Cross back in action as well as Derrick back in Newport.

[Terry Mckone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun mystery in the series. This time the victim is a lady of the evening. Miss Cross as usual won’t stop until she figures it out. It was towards the end before I figured it out.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alyssa Maxwell’s murder mysteries at the various mansions run so true to the nature of Newport at the turn of the century. Being a frequent visitor to Newport over the past thirty years her stories are all the more interesting to me. I was able to recognize so many details of Chateau Sur Mer, which I have been fortunate to tour, as well as many locations in Newport which Maxwell uses in her novel.

This story, set in 1897, revolves around Senator George Wetmore and his family, the occupants of Chateau Sur Mer. We are reintroduced to most of the author’s previous characters along with some newcomers. The story revolves around the privileged “400” but also explores the rough and seamy side of Newport’s docks and the less fortunate who call this part of the society town home. And of course there is the murder to be solved by the redoubtable Emmaline Cross. Maxwell’s facts are well researched and the few liberties taken are understandable. I found this plot to be more convoluted than some the previous mysteries in this series, but still an enjoyable and satisfying read. This was just a hair shy of four stars. Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC.

[Bethany Swafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

While covering a polo match, Emma Cross observes a woman demanding to speak to Mrs. Wetmore, the wife of a senator. The next morning, she is summoned to the scene of a crime: the woman she had observed, dead in the Wetmore home. Secrets on secrets get revealed as Emma searches to find the truth.

This was my first introduction to Emma Cross. The book does a phenomenal job in leaving hints about what has happened in previous books for a new reader, but without annoying a reader who may have already read the other books.

Emma is a character I fell in love with from the start. As a distant relative to the Vanderbilts, she has access to the higher parts of society, but she must make her own way in the world. She is curious and tenacious in doing what she must to solve the crime.

The mystery is paced just right and the clues Emma (and we the readers) must know to solve the murder are found in a believable way. Secondary characters, who have been important to Emma in the past, make their appearance to aid her once again.

For a cozy mystery set in the American Gilded age, you won't go wrong with this one.

I received an ARC from Net Galley for reviewing purposes.