A Gilded Death

by Cecelia Tichi

Overview

A formal dinner in palatial, Gilded Age Newport stuns Val DeVere when her closest friend whispers a terrifying rumor. The friend's ultra-rich auntie's fatal heart attack at Mrs. Astor's annual ball last winter was murder.

When the aunt's reclusive daughter-and heir-succumbs to "heart failure," Val and husband Roddy probe the deaths to shield their dear friend who is next in line to inherit the family fortune-and sudden death.

Society's "odd couple," Val and Roddy, a.k.a. Valentine and Roderick DeVere, blend his Old New York savvy and her mountain West vision to ask: Is Newport truly Society's "place to take root in," or a dear friend's place to die?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639725182
Publisher:	Cecelia Tichi
Publication date:	08/02/2021
Pages:	354
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

A fresh start for every new book, and author Tichi's zest for America's Gilded Age and its boldface names draws this seasoned writer to a crime fiction series while uncorking the country's cocktail cultures on the printed (and ebook) page. Tichi digs deep into the Vanderbilt University research library to mine the late 1800-1900s history and customs of Society's Four Hundred, its drinks, and the ways high-stakes crimes in its midst make for a gripping Gilded mystery series that rings true to the tumultuous era. The decades of America's industrial titans and Queens of Society have loomed large in Tichi's books for several years, and the titles track her recent projects: -Civic Passions: Seven Who Launched Progressive America (and What They Teach Us)-Jack London: A Writer's Fight for a Better America-What Would Mrs. Astor Do? A Complete Guide to the Manners and Mores of the Gilded Age-Gilded Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from the Golden Age-Jazz Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from the Roaring Twenties.-A Gilded Death (crime fiction)-Murder, Murder, Murder in Gilded Central Park (crime fiction)-A Fatal Gilded High Note (crime fiction)Cecelia is at work on the 5th in the series, A GILDED DROWNING POOL. She enjoys membership and posting in Facebook's The Gilded Age Society. You can read more about Cecelia by visiting her Wikipedia page at: https: //bit.ly/Tichiwiki or her website: https: //cecebooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

"A richly detailed, engaging whodunit set amid the glitter of 19th-century Newport." - Kirkus Review

"An intriguing mystery that took me most of the book to solve. The cocktail recipes are a plus - and you'll find those in the next 2 books as well. Escape from our present day troubles and spend a few hours back in the Gilded Age with Val and Roddy. It's well worth it." - A Goodreads Reviewer

From the Publisher

2022-06-01
A murder mystery focuses on the elites of the Gilded Age.

In this series opener, a silver mine heiress from Nevada and her New York Four Hundred husband team up to investigate the deaths of several members of the city’s high society. Valentine Mackle left the freedom of her Western upbringing behind to follow the strict rules of society when she married Roderick DeVere, a cocktail enthusiast and member of New York’s elite. Val, who is still sorting out which fork to use—while spending the summer in Newport, Rhode Island, as most of the Four Hundred do—relies on her friend Cassie Forster for both emotional and practical support. But as the book opens, Cassie is the one who needs help, having just discovered that her great-aunt’s recent death may have been murder. When Cassie’s cousin dies under similar circumstances and she seems to be under threat as well, Val and Roddy hire bodyguards, investigate clues, and chase down a killer. The variety of plausible suspects will keep readers wondering who did it until the novel’s final chapters, which provide a satisfying resolution. Tichi is the author of a nonfiction book about the Gilded Age elite, What Would Mrs. Astor Do?(2018). Although it can occasionally feel as if her research makes itself a bit too obvious as she re-creates the world of Newport cottages and private train cars in this story, she does an excellent job of bringing the setting to life with vivid language (Cassie’s “arched brow was a signal shot across the damask tablecloth and bone china plates with our host’s newly minted coat-of-arms”). Readers who prefer their historical fiction draped in satin, governed by strict rules of behavior, and blessed with fabulous wealth will enjoy the period-piece accuracy of the tale, while cocktail enthusiasts will appreciate Roddy’s recipes, which appear throughout the work. The mystery itself is a fresh twist on a genre trope, and the story as a whole is solid despite some uneven pacing.

A richly detailed, engaging whodunit set amid the glitter of 19th-century Newport.

Kirkus Reviews