by Cecelia Tichi
4.5/5 Stars
I would like to start off this post by thanking Cecelia and her team for asking me to read and review this novel!
This is the latest installment in The Roddy and Val DeVere Gilded series. Some of you may recall my review of the previous book, A Fatal Gilded High Note. One thing I love about these books is the ability to read them as stand-alone novels, or as a series. Personally, I would recommend reading them as a series, as I felt a little lost/distracted in the previous book, but this one felt a lot more focused which could be contributed to my familiarity with the characters this time around.
To summarize, Roddy DeVere is slated to enter a business partnership with an old friend who is being investigated for the sudden and suspicious death of his wife. The DeVere’s team up to assist in clearing the name of their friend, or in sealing his fate. Set in the late 1890’s New York and Chicago, times are certainly different, and Val has a knack for going against the societal grain. Her headstrong, kind personality and intelligence helps the couple navigate some dangerous, life-threatening situations.
The journey on which the DeVere’s embarked was interesting and fast-paced – not once did I feel like I was sludging through the plot, which is sometimes the case with other books set in a similar time period.
It felt as though there were new, miniature plot twists/direction changes every chapter, which helped shed new light on the mystery at hand while also keeping the reader guessing. The suspect pool was narrow, but the prime suspect was ever-changing.
In the end, I loved how all of the pieces of the story fell into place. While reading some of the detail that was provided didn’t seem directly relevant to this plot, but felt like it was adding character development, or setting up for a future novel. However, all of the little details and notes became crucial to the conclusion and the outcome of the story.
My jaw actually dropped when the pieces all came together!
In the last book, we saw a lot of marital bliss and love between Roddy and Val – which you get in this story as well – but the characters began to feel more relatable/human as Tichi explored some tension between the two. And no, the tension wasn’t there just for tension’s sake, but was also relevant to the story.
If you’re a fan of mystery and crime, but not the gory detail that some crime writers include in their writing, this is a great series to pick up! The setting is one I haven’t encountered frequently in my reading journey, and I love getting a glimpse into life of New York’s high-society pre-Prohibition.
I can’t wait to read more!
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