Review of Murder at the Elms

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A high society party. A body. Something missing. Secrets. That’s what you find in this story set in the Gilded Age of America when so many advances were pushing the nation forward into a new age and money coated the walls of the homes of a few families. In this story, the reader is taken into the many worlds of Newport, Rhode Island during that time. The main character glides easily between the social structures of society as she has lived in many of them at one time or another while she pushes for her freedoms as a woman. But that doesn’t stop her from solving a mystery.

This is one book in a series, but you don’t have to have read the others to enjoy the story or understand the characters. There are references to previous stories and the characters’ past, but these references are not burdensome in the story as I have found in others that I have read. They are just enough to fill in gaps and help the reader continue enjoying the read.

An enjoyable read, the story had me hooked nearly from the beginning. Maybe it is my love of history that had me pushing further into the lives of these people that I do not know and only a few I have heard of in class or in documentaries. This was a time that was both shameful and amazing, explosive yet lagging, glitzy and bold while being secretive. I thoroughly enjoyed looking into the homes of the rich and powerful as well as the backstreets where all who actually held up society moved about.

Then there was the mystery. Was the woman found dead who we thought she was? Why was she there of all places? What secrets are the people staying in the house are keeping them quiet or causing them to sneak around? Then there is… Well, I can’t say too much more or I’ll ruin the story for you. Let’s just say that there are a lot of things that need discovering with only a few vital to the solution of the murder.

This is a really good read. So much so that I’m going to go back and read the earlier books in the series. Mystery, great characters, and magnificent settings. Can’t ask for much more than that.

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