Sophia Rose Reviews Murder at Marble House by Alyssa Maxwell

Today Sophia Rose is back this time with a historical mystery set at the turn of the twentieth century.
Enjoy!

Murder at Marble House by Alyssa Maxwell, narrator Eva Kaminsky

#2 Gilded Newport Mystery

Historical Mystery

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Published: 11.30.21

Time: 10 hours 4 minutes

Rating: 4

Narrator Rating: 5

Format: MP3 digital

Source: Tantor

Sellers: Amazon / Barnes & Noble/ Kobo

ADD TO: GoodReads 

GoodReads Blurb:

With the dawn of the twentieth century on the horizon, the fortunes of the venerable Vanderbilt family still shine brightly in the glittering high society of Newport, Rhode Island. But when a potential scandal strikes, the Vanderbilts turn to cousin and society page reporter Emma Cross to solve a murder and a disappearance. . .Responding to a frantic call on her newfangled telephone from her eighteen-year-old cousin, Consuelo Vanderbilt, Emma Cross arrives at the Marble House mansion and learns the cause of her distress--Consuelo's mother, Alva, is forcing her into marriage with the Duke of Marlborough. Her mother has even called in a fortune teller to assure Consuelo of a happy future.

But the future is short-lived for the fortune teller, who is found dead by her crystal ball, strangled with a silk scarf. Standing above her is one of the Vanderbilts' maids, who is promptly taken into police custody. After the frenzy has died down, Consuelo is nowhere to be found. At Alva's request, Emma must employ her sleuthing skills to determine if the vanishing Vanderbilt has eloped with the beau of her choice--or if her disappearance may be directly connected to the murder. . .

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

Following on the heels of the first book, Murder at Marble House returns to Gilded Age Newport, Rhode Island, the summer playground of families the likes of the Vanderbilts and the Astors.  I was captivated by the attention to historical detail, character descriptions, and exciting mystery plot of the first book as told by a good narrator so I easily settled right in for this next installment.

 

As book two in the series and directly following the previous book, Murder at Marble House works best in order, but the mystery is standalone so it could be listened to standalone, I guess.

 

Emma is shoring up her heart and settling in her own mind all the reasons she said no to a marriage proposal from a man she loves.  One of those reasons is that she has fought hard to stay independent and follow her newspaper journalism career.  Her own conscious niggles when her forceful Aunt Alva threatens a dire ‘or else’ if she doesn’t persuade her cousin Consuelo to accept the proposal of a duke interested in shoring up his fortunes with an American Vanderbilt heiress.

But, then she is distracted by the murder of her aunt’s fortunetelling guest and the disappearance of Consuelo.

 

The previous book introduced Emma, a strong-minded woman who grew up in old Newport, who strives to be taken seriously as more than a society reporter, and tends to downplay her connection as a Vanderbilt.  Now she adds detecting to her resume.  She can’t help it since each occasion involves family and she is well situated to work the case.  I have mixed feelings about Emma.  I admire much of what she does and her big heart for others, but as a detective, not so much.  She has a tendency to fling angry half-baked accusations about and stupidly rush heedless into danger.  There are exciting moments in the book and often this is the reason.  Fortunately, she can be smart and dig up clues, too.

 

Then there is the return of Emma’s love interest who definitely doesn’t take her ‘no’ as a ‘never’ so is busy working, even pushing her, to change her mind even while they are there for the mystery.  I admit to getting tired of Emma’s independence rhetoric, but Derrick wasn’t impressing me much either being pushy though that doesn’t mean I didn’t like him for Emma if they can work past their issues.

 

For all my mixed feelings about Emma’s detecting prowess and that romance, setting the mystery on the island and Newport among the lofty wealthy with it all detailed out so the listener can picture it all is fabulous.  I love these wealthy families and their ‘cottages’ as backdrops for a mystery.  So much rivalry, pretention, and hidden secrets to keep up reputation and place in society adds good color to the situation.  It seemed everyone was a viable suspect as things came out.  I know I didn’t figure out the who and the why, but Emma landed on the truth in the end.

 

Eva Kaminsky has long been a favorite narrator and I enjoy her voicing of the characters and capturing the tone of the story.  I’m glad to see she is doing the whole series.

 

All in all, it was lovely to experience the Gilded Age Newport and the lavishness of that long-gone world while following along as an intrepid amateur detective delves into secrets and followed the trail of a murderer.  I’ll recommend it to historical mystery lovers who lean toward the cozy rather than thriller end of the mystery spectrum.

 

Author Bio:

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, Sisters in Crime, and The Florida Romance Writers. You can visit her at http://alyssamaxwell.com, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/alyssa__maxwell

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/alyssa.maxwell.750

 

 Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

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GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose