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littletaiko's review
3.0
Overall this was a solid first book in a series set in Rhode Island during the late 1800's. Deanna is having her first season in Newport which she is cautiously looking forward to. She'd rather be doing almost anything than being a society girl, but there aren't that many options for her. When a maid is murdered at one of the balls Deanna attends she ends up investigating and connecting with a childhood friend. Deanna was a great character. The one huge drawback of the book was the depiction of the one black character in the book - a scary large man who everyone assumes practices voodoo? Really? The ending was a bit rough too with a sort of silly and offensive contrivance to unmask the murderer.
katreader's review
4.0
A Gilded Grave by Shelley Freydont
The First Newport Gilded Age Mystery
Deanna Randolph is trying to enjoy her first Newport season. It's somewhat of a challenge due to her domineering and exacting mother, plus the ramifications of a rebuffed engagement with a childhood friend who is now working amid the working class! A sugar plantation owner from Barbados has come to help her father's business, but he seems more interested in socializing that working. When a maid winds up dead Deanna decides to look in to the matter with the help of her own maid, hoping to gain information that she knows the police will never receive from the entitled crowd.
In A Gilded Grave Shelley Freydont brings us back to a time of opulence; where millions are made and frittered away. A world where the majority struggle to earn a living while a select few live in a self indulgent microcosm of excess. She also shows the other side of society, living side by side, dependent on each other, yet worlds apart. When a maid from the serving class is found murdered there are certain societal facts that can't be breached. The rich will protect their own, the maid's death will make little difference to the majority, and no one, rich, working class, or poor, will talk to the police!
Shelley Freydont has captured the essence of the era and brought it to life in A Gilded Grave. From the detailed descriptions of the clothing and social rituals to the realistic details of the murder and its investigation I felt immersed in the Gilded Age. The book is also a finely crafted mystery with subtle clues, interesting suspects, and a delightful way of capturing the villain. It also takes a look at society and its values and gives readers the opportunity to see what's changed and what hasn't. While a life of luxury and excess sounds lovely, I wouldn't wish to trade my independent life for Deanna's for all the sugar in Barbados!
The First Newport Gilded Age Mystery
Deanna Randolph is trying to enjoy her first Newport season. It's somewhat of a challenge due to her domineering and exacting mother, plus the ramifications of a rebuffed engagement with a childhood friend who is now working amid the working class! A sugar plantation owner from Barbados has come to help her father's business, but he seems more interested in socializing that working. When a maid winds up dead Deanna decides to look in to the matter with the help of her own maid, hoping to gain information that she knows the police will never receive from the entitled crowd.
In A Gilded Grave Shelley Freydont brings us back to a time of opulence; where millions are made and frittered away. A world where the majority struggle to earn a living while a select few live in a self indulgent microcosm of excess. She also shows the other side of society, living side by side, dependent on each other, yet worlds apart. When a maid from the serving class is found murdered there are certain societal facts that can't be breached. The rich will protect their own, the maid's death will make little difference to the majority, and no one, rich, working class, or poor, will talk to the police!
Shelley Freydont has captured the essence of the era and brought it to life in A Gilded Grave. From the detailed descriptions of the clothing and social rituals to the realistic details of the murder and its investigation I felt immersed in the Gilded Age. The book is also a finely crafted mystery with subtle clues, interesting suspects, and a delightful way of capturing the villain. It also takes a look at society and its values and gives readers the opportunity to see what's changed and what hasn't. While a life of luxury and excess sounds lovely, I wouldn't wish to trade my independent life for Deanna's for all the sugar in Barbados!
britks's review
4.0
Great start to what seems to be an amazing mystery series. Lead character, Deanna, is smart and resilient. She is young but that plays into the story and allows for much growth. Joe, her leading man, wants to protect Dee and wants to see her living a life far away from him. The two have much chemistry and I am sad to say there wasn't any steamy moments between the two characters in this book, which I was hoping for. I hope Deanna and Joe find a way to work things out and work on a few more murder mysteries together in future novels. Great history about the Gilded Age and Newport, RI in this book too.
peggyemi's review against another edition
4.0
I was given an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I have to say upfront that I am new to historical cozy mysteries. However, I am a huge fan of Shelley Freydont's Celebration Bay Mystery series so when I had the chance to review the first book in her new historical series I was happy to be chosen.
Deanna Randolph is a not your typical amateur sleuth. She is a young woman from a prominent family with a streak of independence during a time period where such a trait is not considered proper. However, I believe Ms. Freydont has done her character justice and created a story with a well crafted plot and interesting characters that keeps the reader engaged throughout the story. There are plenty of twists, turns and suspects to keep the reader guessing until the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Gilded Grave and will be looking forward to more installments in this series.
Deanna Randolph is a not your typical amateur sleuth. She is a young woman from a prominent family with a streak of independence during a time period where such a trait is not considered proper. However, I believe Ms. Freydont has done her character justice and created a story with a well crafted plot and interesting characters that keeps the reader engaged throughout the story. There are plenty of twists, turns and suspects to keep the reader guessing until the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Gilded Grave and will be looking forward to more installments in this series.
fieryfirefighter95's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
diannel_04's review
I should have liked this book but I really didn't. I guess I have no time for people whose only purpose in life is to flit from party to party and be decorative. I have no stomach for snobs and really all of these people were so boring. Even our heroine Deanna was really no better than any of her contemporaries. I couldn't even finish this. I got to page 95 and knew it was going back to the library.
greenbeem's review against another edition
DNF @ 143 pages. Too many anachronisms for me.
cwillis626's review
3.0
Well written, but a bit too long and kinda slow. I kept reading just to see how all the pieces fit together at the end, but I wasn't completely satisfied. And I would have preferred more romance myself
krisrid's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book. I especially liked the characters, and the setting, which is different from many other historical fiction stories I've read.
I haven't come across any other murder mysteries set in the Gilded Age or Newport, and I thought it was an interesting choice, offering a variety of clever and unique situations around which to build a murder story and investigation. The feel of the time, its excesses, and the situations for women were well presented and added to my interest and enjoyment of this book.
I loved the character of Deanna! I thought she was smart, determined and completely inappropriate for how a young woman of this time was required to behave. She bucked the rules at every possible opportunity, refusing to let convention force her to be less than she really was. That combination in a female character will always get points [and stars] from me.
The one gripe I had about this book - and really, it's a small one - was that the story felt just a bit longer than it really needed to be. The book dragged a bit at about the three-quarters mark. It picked up for the ending, but I think that about 50-70 pages could have been removed without negatively affecting the resolution of the main plot, and would have gotten an additional star from me had it been just a little shorter and tighter in focusing on the plot with some of the descriptions and other extraneous content edited out.
That said, I did enjoy this story, and I would read future installments in this series, with the hope of stronger editing and more focus on the main story and less on details and descriptions. I love Deanna and would enjoy seeing what troubles she gets herself into next!
I haven't come across any other murder mysteries set in the Gilded Age or Newport, and I thought it was an interesting choice, offering a variety of clever and unique situations around which to build a murder story and investigation. The feel of the time, its excesses, and the situations for women were well presented and added to my interest and enjoyment of this book.
I loved the character of Deanna! I thought she was smart, determined and completely inappropriate for how a young woman of this time was required to behave. She bucked the rules at every possible opportunity, refusing to let convention force her to be less than she really was. That combination in a female character will always get points [and stars] from me.
The one gripe I had about this book - and really, it's a small one - was that the story felt just a bit longer than it really needed to be. The book dragged a bit at about the three-quarters mark. It picked up for the ending, but I think that about 50-70 pages could have been removed without negatively affecting the resolution of the main plot, and would have gotten an additional star from me had it been just a little shorter and tighter in focusing on the plot with some of the descriptions and other extraneous content edited out.
That said, I did enjoy this story, and I would read future installments in this series, with the hope of stronger editing and more focus on the main story and less on details and descriptions. I love Deanna and would enjoy seeing what troubles she gets herself into next!