A Death of No Importance
A Novel
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- 6,99 €
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- 6,99 €
Publisher Description
“A taut, suspenseful, and complex murder mystery with gorgeous period detail.”—Susan Elia MacNeal
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, A Death of No Importance.
NEW YORK CITY, 1910. Invisible until she’s needed, Jane Prescott has perfected the art of serving as a lady’s maid to the city’s upper echelons. She works for the Benchley family, who are dismissed by the elite as “new money,” and who cause outrage when their daughter Charlotte becomes engaged to notorious eminent playboy Norrie Newsome.
But when Norrie is found murdered at a party, Jane discovers she is uniquely positioned to find the killer—she’s a woman no one sees, but who witnesses everything; who possesses no social power but that of fierce intellect. 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.
*BONUS CONTENT: This edition of A Death of No Importance includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guide
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
YA author Fredericks (Season of the Witch) makes her adult debut with a sparkling mystery set in 1910 Manhattan. Lady's maid Jane Prescott works for the Benchleys, who have the money but not the sophistication to be part of elite society. When the Benchleys' daughter Charlotte falls for Robert "Norrie" Newsome, the playboy heir to a mining fortune, drama ensues. At the Christmas Eve ball Norrie's parents reluctantly hold to announce his engagement to Charlotte, he's found dead, his eyes gouged out. Charlotte, the young woman Norrie jilted when he took up with her, and their families all have motives, as do local anarchists with a history of violent protest and the families of those killed in a recent Newsome mine disaster. Concerned for her employers, Jane looks into the murder with help from an attractive reporter and a chemist knowledgeable about emerging forensic techniques. The novel's voice, plotting, pace, characterization, and historical background are all expertly crafted, while the resolution which feels both surprising and convincing will leave readers hungry for more.)
