The Party to Die at
I’ve long had Alyssa Maxwell’s mysteries on my radar. I even snagged Murder at the Breakers, the first in her Gilded Newport Mysteries, two and a half years ago when it was on sale. But finding out it is about to be a Hallmark movie prompted me to finally dust it off and read it. I’m glad I did.
This book is set in 1895 Newport, Rhode Island. Emma Cross is a distant, poor relation to the powerful and wealthy Vanderbilt family. While they are on the island for only a couple of months a year, Emma lives there year-round, living in a house she has inherited from an aunt. She works for a local paper reporting on society events.
And the event of the season is about to happen as Cornelius Vanderbilt and his family are hosting a grand ball. It is part open house for their recently completed “cottage,” The Breakers, and part coming out party for Gertrude, one of his daughters. However, the night ends in tragedy when Emma witnesses a man plunge to his death from the balcony. The evidence points to her ne’er-do-well brother, Brady. Brady was up to something at the party, but Emma doesn’t know what. Can she figure out what really happened and free her brother?
The book finds the perfect balance between introducing us to Emma and her world while also getting the story going. I never once felt lost about who everyone was and their relationships, but I was also intrigued by the events unfolding.
That pacing kept going as Emma starts investigating the murder. Since she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she makes some believable mistakes in her deductions, but I appreciated that she was falling for the red herrings. She also does her best to stay safe, although she still finds herself in some dangerous situations. The solution was perfectly logical when I reached it, and the climax kept me turning pages.
At the same time, we get to know the characters. While I can identify a few who will clearly be series regulars, I’m not sure who we might see again from those we met here. I love it when that’s the case in the first in a series. It means that all the characters are well developed, and the case is personal enough that the stakes for Emma are very real.
This book is hovering on the line of traditional, at least for me. It’s a tad grayer than a cozy, and there is some very mild language in the book. That didn’t dampen my enjoyment, and it’s not going to keep me from going on with the series.
I also loved how the time and place came to life. I was struck by how different life was in 1895 than even some of the other historical mysteries I read. Yet the book still had some very creative scenes with the technology of the time that made me smile. While Emma is outside of the world of her rich relatives, I also loved the glimpse of the fantasy of the uber rich on summer vacation.
I’m glad I finally read Murder at the Breakers. It’s obvious why this series is so popular. I will definitely rejoin Emma soon to see how her life unfolds.
Joining me in reading the rest of the Gilded Newport Mysteries in order.
I read the entire series in a matter of weeks last year, and then drove from Wisconsin to Newport to visit and tour three of the mansions. Loved both. Enjoy reading the rest....
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice when the first book in a series does more than just set up the scenario for future novels. Thanks for putting this on my radar.
ReplyDeleteI know I would love the Gilded Newport series. That's my fave time period.
ReplyDeleteI read a later book in this series and really enjoyed it. I've been meaning to read it from the beginning. Glad to see you enjoyed it and I do agree it's not quite as cozy as a typical cozy.
ReplyDeleteThat era does sound very appealing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge