Through her exquisite prose, sharp observation and deft plotting, Mariah Fredericks invites us into the heart of a changing New York in her remarkable debut adult novel.
New York City, 1910. Invisible until she's needed, Jane Prescott has perfected the art of serving as a ladies' maid to the city's upper echelons. When she takes up a position with the Benchley family, dismissed by the city's elite as "new money", Jane realizes that while she may not have financial privilege, she has a power they do not—she understands the rules of high society. The Benchleys cause further outrage when their daughter Charlotte becomes engaged to notorious playboy Norrie, the son of the eminent Newsome family.
But when Norrie is found murdered at a party, Jane discovers she is uniquely positioned—she's a woman no one sees, but who witnesses everything; who possesses no social power, but that of fierce intellect—and therefore has the tools to solve his murder. There are many with grudges to bear: from the family Norrie was supposed to marry into, to the survivors of a tragic accident in a mine owned by the Newsomes, to the rising anarchists who are sick of those born into wealth getting away with anything they want. Jane also knows that in both high society and the city's underbelly, morals can become cheap in the wrong hands: scandal and violence simmer just beneath the surface—and can break out at any time.
From Goodreads:
The atmospheric, compelling follow-up to the stunning debut A Death of No Importance, featuring series character, Jane Prescott.
In 1912, as New York reels from the news of the Titanic disaster, ladies' maid Jane Prescott travels to Long Island with the Benchley family. Their daughter Louise is to marry William Tyler, at his uncle and aunt's mansion; the Tylers are a glamorous, storied couple, their past filled with travel and adventure. Now, Charles Tyler is known for putting down New York's notorious Italian mafia, the Black Hand, and his wife Alva has settled into domestic life.
As the city visitors adjust to the rhythms of the household and plan Louise's upcoming wedding, Jane quickly befriends the Tyler children’s nanny, Sofia—a young Italian-American woman. However, one unusually sultry spring night, Jane is woken by a scream from the nursery—and rushes in to find Sofia murdered, and the carefully locked window flung open.
The Tylers believe that this is an attempted kidnapping of their baby gone wrong—a warning from the criminal underworld to Charles Tyler. But Jane is asked to help with the investigation by her friend, journalist Michael Behan, who knows that she is uniquely placed to see what other tensions may simmer just below the surface in this wealthy, secretive household. Was Sofia's murder fall-out from the social tensions rife in New York, or could it be a much more personal crime?
From Goodreads:
The third in the compelling series, set in Gilded Age New York, featuring Jane Prescott.
Jane Prescott is taking a break from her duties as lady's maid for a week, and plans to begin it with attending the hottest and most scandalous show in town: the opening of an art exhibition, showcasing the cubists, that is shocking New York City.
1913 is also the fiftieth anniversary of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation speech, and the city's great and good are determined to celebrate in style. Dolly Rutherford, heiress to the glamorous Rutherford's department store empire, has gathered her coterie of society ladies to put on a play—with Jane's employer Louise Tyler in the starring role as Lincoln himself. Jane is torn between helping the ladies with their costumes and enjoying her holiday. But fate decides she will do neither, when a woman is found murdered outside Jane's childhood home—a refuge for women run by her uncle.
Deeply troubled as her uncle falls under suspicion and haunted by memories of a woman she once knew, Jane—with the help of old friends and new acquaintances, reporter Michael Behan and music hall pianist Leo Hirschfeld—is determined to discover who is who is making death into their own twisted art form.
My Review:
I really enjoyed reading these books! The mysteries were so entertaining to read, and this historical setting had some really interesting takes and details that were really fascinating to read! Each book kinda focused on a different social change-unions, suffragettes and views on immigrants, specifically Italians. The third book had too much going on to have more. And each of the first two had a pretty important moment in those changes-Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the women marching. So that was great!
Jane is an interesting character to read about. She's maybe an orphan, her mom died, and her dad abandoned her, and she was raised by her uncle-who had a place where prostitutes could be safe and learn new skills to enter the workforce with different jobs. And she's a lady's maid in a time of change.
Each mystery was different from the last. The first was personal because it was her charge's fiance. The second was a fellow servant that she barely knew. And the third, well, it was multiple people who had resided at her uncle's home, making it the most personal. And I loved how she investigated, because the servants do hear what their employers say, because they're pretty invisible when not needed.
We know from the beginnings and ends of these books that Jane is alive more in our time, though maybe a little earlier than now, if she was in her 20's in the 1910's, then she wouldn't be alive in 2020. But she's mentioned some details of her life, like having a daughter, and having dinner with Leo. So I'm wondering about who's the father of her child? What happened in her life after these books? Yeah.
Loved reading these books, and I would absolutely want more books in this series! Especially since at the end of American Beauty, they're headed off to Europe! I would love to see Europe in the 1910's!
Author: Mariah Fredericks
Series: Jane Prescott #1, 2, 3
Read: April 21st, 22nd, 22nd, 2020
Source: Ebook.bike, NetGalley
Reason Why: I saw Death of an American on NetGalley it sounded fantastic! And they're Historical Fiction 2020 Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2020 Books!
Publisher: Minotaur
Published: April 10th 2018, April 9th 2019, April 14th 2020
A Death of No Importance:
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
Death of a New American:
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
Death of an American Beauty:
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
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