Tag: A Gilded Newport Mystery

Murder at Vinland (A Gilded Newport Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
12th in Series
Setting – Rhode Island
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Books (August 20, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496736214
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496736215
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLZ43C91
AudioBook ASIN B0DC7515RJ
Audio CD ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D5K1LSPH

Reporter and sleuth Emma Cross Andrews must stop a bold poisoner who is targeting the society wives of the Four Hundred in Gilded Age Newport, Rhode Island . . .

August 1901: A fundraiser for a new Rhode Island Audubon Society brings Emma to Vinland, the Viking-themed seaside home of her relative, Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, where the guest of honor is Edith Roosevelt, wife of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. Listening to the speakers and observing the ladies in attendance, Emma is struck by the contrast of the Viking warrior–inspired elements in the house and the admirable but admittedly genteel cause of bird protection. Vinland bears the name of the Vikings’ first landfall in North America, but in this room today there is most assuredly no one to fear.

Emma’s observation of harmless philanthropy is proven wrong the following morning when one of Mrs. Twombly’s houseguests from the luncheon becomes mysteriously and dangerously ill. Accompanying police detective Jesse Whyte, Emma discovers a box of petit fours supposedly sent by Mrs. Roosevelt. They promptly rule out the Second Lady as a suspect, but someone has poisoned the cakes.

Soon another box of desserts as well as letters tainted with ink containing caustic toxins show up at other grand Newport cottages. Are the ladies from the luncheon being targeted? Emma and Jesse must sort through possible motives and means because now more than the birds need protection . . .

Dollycas’s Thoughts 

Vinland is a Viking-themed seaside home owned by Emma’s relative Florence Vanderbilt Twombly. Mrs. Twombly is hosting a fundraiser for the new Rhode Island Audubon Society where the guest of honor is the wife of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, Edith. Emma attends, listens to the speakers, observes the other ladies attending, and finds the cause of bird protection interesting and admirable but finds the Viking warrior-inspired elements in the home troubling. Thankfully there should be no need for them today.

The following morning though, one of the guests staying with Mrs. Twombly becomes gravely ill from an unknown cause. Emma agrees to help police detective Jesse Whyte with his investigation. While checking out the guest’s room she finds a box of petit fours with several pieces missing that appear to have been sent by the vice-president’s wife. Knowing that is a ruse, Mrs. Roosevelt is not put on the suspect list.

Soon more desserts and letters written in toxic ink are received by other ladies who attended the fundraiser. Why are these ladies being targeted? After a warning is sent out to watch for tainted deliveries Emma and Jesse try to piece together who had the means, motive, and opportunity to wage a strike against the group of supposed bird lovers.

Emma and Derrick are getting comfortable in their married life at Gull Manor and have some big plans. I am so pleased with the way these characters have evolved over the course of this series. Emma has always been very independent and Derrick knows she isn’t going to change. While he does worry when she takes on an investigation he supports her. She realizes his fears so whenever they can tackle something together they do. They want to do something special together but in this story that project could be in jeopardy. Again, they tackle it together.

There are a plethora of suspects that could have sent the toxic letters and pastry and Florence Vanderbilt Twombly doesn’t make the investigation easy. She takes Emma to task several times for questioning her guests and friends but Emma and Jesse need to follow clues and press for answers. Emma ruminated on all the options repeatedly but all the clues didn’t fall into place until Emma found herself in a dangerous situation. I scooted right up to the edge of my seat as everything played out unsure whether our protagonist would survive. I wasn’t totally surprised as to the guilty party but they had been low on my list.

I enjoy how Ms. Maxwell takes us back in time to mix history with mystery. Her descriptions of Vinland and the beautiful cover of this book made it so easy to visualize the manor and its rooms and grounds. Gull Manor is always clear in my mind after virtually being there many times. Everywhere Emma travels and everyone she meets comes alive with Ms. Maxwell’s words.

Murder at Vinland is marvelously plotted and written.  I know when I open a book in this series that I will escape into the pages and that it will be a struggle to return to real life. I was quickly engaged by the wonderful characters, captivated by the twist-filled mystery, and in awe of another historical Rhode Island manor that was notably enlarged by the Twombly’s in a surprising way. Another Perfect Escape from Alyssa Maxwell!

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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About Alyssa Maxwell

Alyssa Maxwell is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mysteries. She has worked in publishing as a reference book editor, ghost writer, and fiction editor, but knew from an early age that she wanted to be a fiction author. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain and Ireland fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles drew her to the mystery genre. She and her husband have make their home in South Florida. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the South Florida Fiction Writers.

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