Murder at the Breakers
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4.0 • 128 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
For fans of HBO’s The Gilded Age, explore the dark side of the alluring world of America’s 19th century elite in this gripping series of riveting mysteries…
As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder darkens a glittering affair at their summer home, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the cream of the crop can curdle one’s blood . . .
Newport, Rhode Island, August 1895: She may be a less well-heeled relation, but as second cousin to millionaire patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, twenty-one-year-old Emma Cross is on the guest list for a grand ball at the Breakers, the Vanderbilts’ summer home. She also has a job to do—report on the event for the society page of the Newport Observer.
But Emma observes much more than glitz and gaiety when she witnesses a murder. The victim is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who plunges off a balcony faster than falling stock prices. Emma’s black sheep brother Brady is found in Cornelius’s bedroom passed out next to a bottle of bourbon and stolen plans for a new railroad line. Brady has barely come to before the police have arrested him for the murder. But Emma is sure someone is trying to railroad her brother and resolves to find the real killer at any cost . . .
“Sorry to see the conclusion of Downton Abbey? Well, here is a morsel to get you through a long afternoon. Brew some Earl Grey and settle down with a scone with this one.”
—Washington Independent Review of Books
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in Newport, R.I., in 1895, Maxwell's pleasant series debut introduces 21-year-old Emmaline Cross, a poor member of the wealthy Vanderbilt clan. She earns her own living, drives her own carriage, and helps rescue her half-brother, "Brady" Gale, from many minor brushes with the law. At the housewarming of Cornelius Vanderbilt's newly completed home, the Breakers, Vanderbilt's financial secretary, Alvin Goddard, is viciously murdered. The police arrest Brady, who's found dead drunk at the scene with railroad plans he has stolen from Vanderbilt in his hands. Coming to his defense once again, Emma discovers that an old friend's troubled marriage, the secret assignations of Vanderbilt's son, and a charismatic stranger who is not what he seems may all be linked to the crime. Maxwell's language and situations can be anachronistic, but Emma's ebullience and the glittering details of Newport's gilded age past give the novel a brisk energy.
Customer Reviews
Murder at the Breakers
Good story and characters. I loved visiting Newport and touring Breakers
For those who enjoy “seeing” what they read
Beautifully written—the way books used to be! Personally, I miss such rich writing. There’s a saying along the lines of, ‘books are what people Watched before TV’☺️ I still love watching books!
If you want to walk along the cliffs with Emma & be soaked in the rain riding with her in an open-sided carriage, or see the features of the characters’ faces & expressions... If you want to be transported... I highly recommend this wonderful book!
If you simply want to get to the point & are looking for a quick read, I’m afraid you’ll find this one boring.
*As for comparisons to Christie’s writings, her early works were far superior to her own later ones. The earlier being deliciously descriptive & not at all repetitious, the later ones sometimes lacking necessary detail & inundated with “said”. I wonder whether it was a “dumbing down” due to television overtaking her reading, her age, or rushing to meet publisher deadlines. Whatever the reason, there is a major difference in quality.
Back to Murder at the Breakers: If you’ve read a lot of mysteries, you’ll know “whodunnit” pretty quickly. Readers become wise to authors describing the physical prowess of a character early on in the book. It’s a dead give-away as to whom the killer is. Still, it’s a delight to enjoy the ride & figure out the whys & hows! I’ll likely read it again.
Stupid heroine, predictable ending
I don't like books about stupid people and about 30 pages into this book, you realize that this heroine is just that. This is not the independent turn-of-the-century feminist she tries to pretend to be. She constantly whinges about her parents' neglect, her poverty, her worthless brother whom she adores, and seems to be a constant victim of poor judgement, emotions and the vapours. I also don't like stupid books. You know those wonderful Agatha Christie books where halfway through, you think you know who committed the murder but then at the end there's a twist and it's someone else and you should have realized it all along? Well, this isn't one of them. Halfway through, you think you know and keep expecting that twist and it never comes. You spend the second half of the book wondering why the stupid heroine doesn't see what's in front of her nose. You also end the book wondering that. Sorry, but I just can't recommend this book.