Murder at Beechwood

Murder at Beechwood PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 075829087X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
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… For Newport, Rhode Island’s high society, the summer of 1896 brings lawn parties, sailboat races…and murder. Having turned down the proposal of Derrick Andrews, Emma Cross has no imminent plans for matrimony—let alone motherhood. But when she discovers an infant left on her doorstep, she naturally takes the child into her care. Using her influence as a cousin to the Vanderbilts and a society page reporter for the Newport Observer, Emma launches a discreet search for the baby’s mother. One of her first stops is a lawn party at Mrs. Caroline Astor’s Beechwood estate. But an idyllic summer’s day is soon clouded by tragedy. During a sailboat race, textile magnate Virgil Monroe falls overboard. There are prompt accusations of foul play—and even Derrick Andrews falls under suspicion. Deepening the intrigue, a telltale slip of lace may link the abandoned child to the drowned man. But as Emma navigates dark undercurrents of scandalous indiscretions and violent passions, she’ll need to watch her step to ensure that no one lowers the boom on her…

Murder at Beechwood

Murder at Beechwood PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 075829087X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
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… For Newport, Rhode Island’s high society, the summer of 1896 brings lawn parties, sailboat races…and murder. Having turned down the proposal of Derrick Andrews, Emma Cross has no imminent plans for matrimony—let alone motherhood. But when she discovers an infant left on her doorstep, she naturally takes the child into her care. Using her influence as a cousin to the Vanderbilts and a society page reporter for the Newport Observer, Emma launches a discreet search for the baby’s mother. One of her first stops is a lawn party at Mrs. Caroline Astor’s Beechwood estate. But an idyllic summer’s day is soon clouded by tragedy. During a sailboat race, textile magnate Virgil Monroe falls overboard. There are prompt accusations of foul play—and even Derrick Andrews falls under suspicion. Deepening the intrigue, a telltale slip of lace may link the abandoned child to the drowned man. But as Emma navigates dark undercurrents of scandalous indiscretions and violent passions, she’ll need to watch her step to ensure that no one lowers the boom on her…

Murder at the Breakers

Murder at the Breakers PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 0758290837
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
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… As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder darkens a glittering affair at their summer home, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the cream of the crop can curdle one’s blood . . . Newport, Rhode Island, August 1895: She may be a less well-heeled relation, but as second cousin to millionaire patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, twenty-one-year-old Emma Cross is on the guest list for a grand ball at the Breakers, the Vanderbilts’ summer home. She also has a job to do—report on the event for the society page of the Newport Observer. But Emma observes much more than glitz and gaiety when she witnesses a murder. The victim is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who plunges off a balcony faster than falling stock prices. Emma’s black sheep brother Brady is found in Cornelius’s bedroom passed out next to a bottle of bourbon and stolen plans for a new railroad line. Brady has barely come to before the police have arrested him for the murder. But Emma is sure someone is trying to railroad her brother and resolves to find the real killer at any cost . . . “Sorry to see the conclusion of Downton Abbey? Well, here is a morsel to get you through a long afternoon. Brew some Earl Grey and settle down with a scone with this one.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

Murder at Ochre Court

Murder at Ochre Court PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496703375
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
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… In the summer of 1898, reporter Emma Cross investigates a shocking death among the bright lights of Newport's high society . . . After a disappointing year as a society columnist for the Herald, Emma has returned to the salty air, glittering ocean vistas, and grand stately mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, more determined than ever to report on hard news. But for now she’s covering the social event of the season at Ochre Court, a coming-out ball designed to showcase Cleo Cooper-Smith, who will be on display as Cleopatra in an elaborate tableau vivant. But as the deb ascends to her place of honor, the ballroom is plunged into darkness. When the lights come back on, Cleo sits still on her throne, electrocuted to death. Quickly establishing that the wiring was tampered with, Emma now has a murder to investigate. As Emma begins to discover this crime has unseen connections to a nefarious network, she puts her own life at risk to shine a light on the dark motives behind a merciless murder . . . “Plenty of red herrings and an intimate look at the world of the wealthy and famous make for a rich broth of a mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

A Sinister Service

A Sinister Service PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496717473
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
A trip to Staffordshire for Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, leads to murder in a famed pottery works . . . Following the devastation of the Great War, England's noble class takes comfort in honoring tradition. To celebrate their grandparents' wedding anniversary, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her siblings travel to Staffordshire to commission a china service bearing the Wroxly coat of arms from the venerated Crown Lily Potteries, a favorite of Queen Mary. The two leading designers at the illustrious china manufacturer offer competing patterns. But when one of them is found dead—his body crushed in a grinding pan and his design pattern book missing—his rival is immediately suspected. The police are also suspicious of the dead designer's resentful young son, a schoolmate of Phoebe's fifteen-year-old brother Fox. When Fox gets involved to help his friend, Phoebe begins to investigate the rival artist. At the same time, Eva is enlisted to go undercover at the works so she can gain the confidence of the female employees, who are only allowed to paint, not design, which may have led to a grudge against the victim. Pursuing a killer who has no compunction about using a kiln as a coffin, Phoebe and Eva take their lives into their hands to discover the shattering truth . . .

A Deadly Endowment

A Deadly Endowment PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496734939
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
“Agatha Christie meets Downton Abbey…exemplary.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY To make ends meet, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, have decided to open up Foxwood Hall to guided public tours. Not everyone is pleased about it—even to the point of committing murder . . . The lean times following the Great War continue to require creative solutions for England's noble class. But Lady Phoebe’s proposal to open up the Renshaw estate to guided tours for additional income strikes many in the family as a “vulgar enterprise.” Phoebe’s grandfather, the Earl of Wroxly, however, reluctantly concedes the necessity. Their first tour group consists of members of the Historical Society, a magazine writer, and a flock of students. It’s a large group for Phoebe, her sister Amelia, and Eva to manage, and when the widow Arvina Bell goes missing, Eva goes in search of her—only to find her in the library, strangled with a silken drapery cord. The schoolchildren are promptly sent home, but the members of the Historical Society—many of whom also wandered off at times—remain for interrogation. There is also, curiously, a framed photo missing from the library. As the police hastily zero in on a suspect, Phoebe and Eva weigh the clues. Does the crime have to do with rumors of hidden treasure at Foxwood Hall? But they must make haste to solve the widow’s murder—before someone else becomes history . . .

A Silent Stabbing

A Silent Stabbing PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496717449
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
As England recovers from its costly involvement in the Great War, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, find the steady comforts of their lives unsettled by a local case of murder . . . Eva is excited for a visit from her sister Alice, who lives in Suffolk with her husband and three children. But when Alice arrives alone, desiring a break from her family, Eva becomes concerned. Her dismay deepens as Alice starts spending time with a former beau, Keenan Ripley, who owns the nearby pear orchard. At the same time, Phoebe's sister Julia, now a widow and pregnant, is in a fretful state, and Phoebe struggles to be helpful to her. When Keenan's brother Stephen, the new head gardener at the Renshaw estate, Foxwood Hall, is found impaled by a pair of hedge clippers, the police—including Eva's beau, Constable Miles Brannock—suspect his closest kin. Stephen had been eager to sell their orchard to an American developer, but Keenan had fiercely resisted. A table set with two teacups and scones suggests Keenan had company the morning of the murder—and Eva fears her sister was with him. If Alice were to provide Keenan with an alibi, her reputation and marriage would be ruined. She denies being there but is clearly withholding secrets, much to Eva's consternation. Now, to protect her sister, Eva and Phoebe set off to expose the gardener's real killer, putting their own lives at risk . . .

A Murderous Marriage

A Murderous Marriage PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496717414
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
A raucous wedding reception turns sober when the wealthy groom is murdered in this historical mystery set in post-WWI England. Since the Great War, the Renshaw family fortune has suffered, and Lady Julia Renshaw is under pressure to marry for money. She has settled on Gilbert Townsend, a much older viscount and wealthy industrialist. It’s clear to her sister Phoebe that this is not a love match. Nevertheless, the wedding takes place—and in a hurry. At the reception aboard the groom’s yacht, there appears to be tension between Gil and several guests: his best man, a fellow veteran of the Boer War; his grouchy spinster sister; and his current heir, a nervous young cousin named Ernest. The bride is also less than pleased when she discovers that Gil’s attractive young secretary will be escorting them on their honeymoon. The next morning, before the yacht can depart the harbor, Gil’s body is found in the water below—and Julia is the prime suspect. Now Phoebe and her maid Eva must discover who pushed him over before the Renshaws’ social standing is irreparably stained by murder.

A Fashionable Fatality

A Fashionable Fatality PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496734947
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Set in the Downton Abbey era of post-WW1 England, this evocative historical series features Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, solving crimes among the gentry, in a well-crafted mystery that will appeal to fans of Deanna Raybourn and Victoria Thompson. A house party attended by fashion royalty becomes the backdrop for a murder that only Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, can untangle ... Amid the aftermath of the Great War and its hardships, it’s no wonder that many wish to rediscover life’s pleasures—parties, fashion, dancing. Still, Lady Phoebe and Eva are disconcerted when a small gathering at the home of Phoebe’s sister, Julia, becomes a far larger and more glamorous affair . . . Julia has invited her favorite French fashion designer, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and Coco’s current beau, the Earl of Chesterhaven. Coco has brought an entourage of her own, including two models, and intends to use the gardens as a photographic setting for her latest creations. Madame Chanel is as outspoken as she is talented, offering a scathing critique of Phoebe’s fashion sense. There is tense competition between the models as well. When one of the guests is found dead of smoke inhalation, it appears to be a tragic accident. But was a footman really to blame for mistakenly closing the fireplace flue, or is there a more sinister explanation? Phoebe is determined to find out, despite the protestations of her sweetheart, Owen Seabright. Both above and below stairs, Phoebe and Eva uncover myriad motives—career ambition, romantic rivalries, and even deeper betrayals. For despite the surface beauty, there are ugly secrets in the world of Maison Chanel, ones that a killer will risk anything to protect.

A Devious Death

A Devious Death PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington
ISBN: 1617738409
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
In the sobering yet hopeful years following the First World War, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, find their summer plans marred by an instance of murder . . . Phoebe and her sister Julia are eager for a summer getaway at High Head Lodge, the newly purchased estate of their cousin Regina. But they are not the only houseguests. Regina's odd friend, Olive, is far from friendly, and Regina's mother and brother—bitter over the unequal distribution of her father's inheritance—have descended on the house to confront Regina. In addition to the family tension, Eva is increasingly suspicious of Lady Julia's new maid—wondering why she left her former employer so suddenly. And why does Regina seem ill at ease around the maid, as if they were previously acquainted? But things go from tense to tragic when their hostess meets an untimely end—murdered in her bed with no signs of struggle. Now, with suspects in every room, Lady Phoebe and Eva must uncover secrets hidden behind closed doors—before a killer ensures they never leave High Head Lodge . . . alive. “An unusual twist rooted in the recent horrors of World War I adds interest to a typical country-house mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews

A Pinch of Poison

A Pinch of Poison PDF Author: Alyssa Maxwell
Publisher: Kensington
ISBN: 1617738360
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls . . . Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe—with the tireless assistance of Eva—has organized a luncheon to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging the students to participate in the cooking and the baking. But too many cooks add up to a recipe for disaster when the school’s headmistress, Miss Finch, is fatally poisoned. The girls at Haverleigh all come from highly respected English families, none of whom will countenance their darling daughters being harassed like common criminals by the local police. So Lady Phoebe steps in to handle the wealthy young debutantes with tact and discretion, while Eva cozies up to the staff. No one is above suspicion, not even members of the school’s governing body, some of whom objected to Miss Finch’s “modern” methods. But Lady Phoebe and Eva will have to sleuth with great stealth—or an elusive killer may try to teach someone else a lethal lesson . . . “Colorful information on the postwar period is combined with plenty of suspects, all neatly wrapped up in the style of a classic mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews