MURDER AT ROUGH POINT
A Gilded Newport Mystery
Alyssa Maxwell
Kensington Books
August 30, 2016
Emma Cross is one of the poor relations of the Vanderbilt family. She grew up in Newport and has always been treated kindly by the family but she is definitely not an insider. On her own for several years after her father, an artist, and mother decamped to follow their dreams in Europe, Emma is a reporter with the local paper and has dreams of following her idol, Nelly Bly, into fame and fortune reporting on serious stories. In the previous books in the series, Emma has proven that she has a talent for investigating crime, especially murder. The Newport Police even enlist her when a murder occurs among the rich summer crowd,
It's autumn in Newport when Emma is assigned to cover a gathering at Rough Point, the estate of Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. This gathering is unusual in that the people at the estate are all artists of one kind or another; a cellist, an opera singer, a theatrical producer, an English Lord, a ballet dancer, and surprisingly, Emma's parents. Among the attendees is Edith Wharton, the future Pulitzer Prize winner. All of the people are meant to be close friends, but Emma sees little but strife among the group and they all have varying agendas. They are all being picked off at an alarming rate, one after another, and the killer can only be a resident of Rough Point. A huge storm turns Murder At Rough Point into the classic "country house" murder. Everyone, including Emma, is trapped there with a murderer. Even Emma's parents might be suspects.
The Gilded Age Mysteries are very enjoyable and well-plotted. Emma is a likable character, feisty and independent. I particularly enjoy the inclusion of well-known people from the era. I can't say that I have sorted out all the many Vanderbilts and their ilk but have done some reading about them, directly inspired by these novels. I highly recommend Murder At Rough Point for readers who enjoy historical fiction and classic mysteries. Thanks to NetGalley.com and Kensington for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING- 4 Stars
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