Murder at Vinland (A Gilded Newport Mystery)
In August 1901, the conspicuously wealthy families of New York are gathered in Newport, Rhode Island to spend the summer in their expansive vacation homes. In Vinland, the Viking-themed home of Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, a fundraiser for the local Audubon society is attended by the wife of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. The following morning one of the guests is found to have been poisoned. Reporter and sleuth Emma Cross Andrews, also a guest at the luncheon, suspects poison in a box of petit fours supposedly sent by Mrs. Roosevelt.
Quickly ruling the Vice President’s wife out, Emma works with police detectives to discover the identity of the poisoner. However, more poisoned desserts are sent to socially prominent women who had attended the luncheon, and tension increases even as the dangerous toxin used is identified. Emma herself appears to be a victim of the poisoner.
This, the latest novel in Maxwell’s Gilded Newport Mysteries series, continues her literary tradition of meticulously researched insight into the places, people, and social values of the Gilded Age. The extravagant mansions, lavish entertainments, and sumptuous lifestyle are revealed in detail on every page. This richly documented setting creates a stage for the portrayal of intrigue that stimulates the imagination. Each carefully crafted scene adds to the tension and drama that is sustained throughout the novel. Emma makes an attractive protagonist with some of the wealth, but also with a well-crafted viewpoint about the opulence around her and about her affluent peers.
Great reading for anyone who is fascinated by this vivid and grandiose age.
