Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder at the Elms (A Gilded Newport Mystery) by Alyssa Maxwell. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Murder at the Elms (A Gilded Newport Mystery)
by Alyssa Maxwell
Murder at the Elms (A Gilded Newport Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
11th in Series
Setting – Rhode Island
Kensington (August 22, 2023)
Hardcover : 304 pages
As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder arrives, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the actions of the cream of society can curdle one’s blood in the latest installment of this bestselling cozy historical mystery series . . .
1901: Back from their honeymoon in Italy, Emma and Derrick are adapting to married life as they return to their duties at their jointly owned newspaper, the Newport Messenger. The Elms, coal baron Edward Berwind’s newly completed Bellevue Avenue estate, is newsworthy for two reasons: A modern mansion for the new century, it is one of the first homes in America to be wired for electricity with no backup power system, generated by coal from Berwind’s own mines. And their servants—with a single exception—have all gone on strike to protest their working conditions. Summarily dismissing and replacing his staff with cool and callous efficiency, Berwind throws a grand party to showcase the marvels of his new “cottage.”
Emma and Derrick are invited to the fete, which culminates not only in a fabulous musicale but an unforeseen tragedy—a chambermaid is found dead in the coal tunnel. In short order, it is also discovered that a guest’s diamond necklace is missing and a laborer has disappeared.
Detective Jesse Whyte entreats Emma and Derrick to help with the investigation and determine whether the murdered maid and stolen necklace are connected. As the dark deeds cast a shadow over the blazing mansion, it’s up to Emma to shine a light on the culprit . . .
Character Guest Post: Emma Cross – Murder at The Elms by Alyssa Maxwell
Greetings! For those of you who haven’t met me yet, I’m Emmaline Cross, although most people call me Emma – except for my half-brother, Brady, and my cousin Reggie Vanderbilt, who call me, simply, Em.
Vanderbilt, did I say? Yes, I’m part of the Vanderbilt family, although I tend to say I dangle from one of the lower branches of the family tree. You see, my great, great grandmother was a daughter of the first Cornelius Vanderbilt—the Commodore, as many people called him. But because the old curmudgeon didn’t believe daughters should inherit much, relatively speaking, by the time of my father came along most of our family fortune had been spent.
Yet, my background does occasionally lend me a certain cachet in society, and I just as occasionally use it to my advantage. Perhaps more than occasionally. Case in point, I’m a journalist in Newport, Rhode Island, and back in the days when I covered society functions for a local newspaper, my being a Vanderbilt ensured I had access not only to the various properties along Bellevue Avenue, but the very ballrooms where the Four Hundred gathered. At times, I even attended as a guest, thanks to my Vanderbilt cousins being kind enough to include me. Nowadays I have the distinction of being Newport’s only “Lady Reporter,” covering real news, and my lofty connections are still serving me well. Not only can I go where others may not or dare not tread, but the wealthy will often tell me things they refuse to discuss with the police. That certainly comes in handy when, say, a murder is committed at one of Newport’s grand, summer “cottages.”
Such as the one that recently occurred at The Elms, Newport’s newest and most modern mansion. It’s so innovative that the owners refused to have a gas system installed as a backup, but depend wholly on electricity. Goodness, at my home we still use candles and kerosene! Of course, it helps when you happen to be a coal baron and can feed the electrical generators in your basement twenty-four hours a day with unlimited coal from your own mines. But living in a sumptuous, technologically cutting-edge home doesn’t make one immune to the ills of the world. Murder, grand larceny, mayhem—they can and will encroach upon your gilded bliss, and what’s more, your coal delivery tunnels might just yield up a dead body or two.
But it isn’t merely my ties to society that give me an advantage whether I’m helping track down a killer or reporting news for the Newport Messenger. My success equally hinges on my non-Vanderbilt side. I was born in Newport and have lived there all my life, except for a brief stint in New York City, which I had believed would benefit my career as a journalist. That proved utterly false, but no matter. I sorely missed my home—the rocky shores, the ocean tides, the hilly, windswept interiors, and my hardworking, forthright neighbors—and was never so happy as when I finally stepped off the ferry back in my beloved hometown.
In the case of the murder that happened at The Elms, I needed both legacies, both as a Newporter and a Vanderbilt. Although the victim was a “lowly” maidservant, it soon became apparent that this crime spanned the social stratosphere, and my duel pedigree allowed me to move among the suspects and witnesses far up and far down the ladder. If there are times when I feel I don’t quite fit
fully into either world, well, that’s a price I’m willing to pay to see justice served. In the end, though, I do have a strong if makeshift family unit consisting of my former nanny, whom I consider a grandmother, my housemaid, who is more like a sister, my half brother, and my new husband, who has seen me at my worst and my best and accepts both with an equanimity that makes me very glad he’s in my life.
Am I able to follow the clues and discover who committed the murder at The Elms? I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that I’ve never walked away from a challenge and never once gave up until the job was done!
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.
Author Links
Website www.alyssamaxwell.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AlyssaMaxwellauthor/
Facebook Sleuths In Crime https://www.facebook.com/SleuthsInTime
Twitter https://twitter.com/Alyssa__Maxwell
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alyssamaxwellauthor/
GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7163135.Alyssa_Maxwell
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org
Enter the giveaway
Murder at the Elms TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 18 – Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 18 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 19 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 19 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
September 20 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 20 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
September 22 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
September 22 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 24 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
September 25 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 25 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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Murder at the Elms (A Gilded Newport Mystery) by Alyssa Maxwell sounds like a mystery I would really enjoy!
Sounds like a romantic thriller to me.
Sounds like a book I will enjoy.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Christy, for having me–and Emma–on the blog today, and to all your readers, thanks for stopping by!
You’re welcome!
This sounds so so good and I love the cover too.
never read this author