Recipe for a Gilded Age Murder.

By special guest Shelley Freydont.

When I was asked to give the perfect set of circumstances for a historical mystery, I didn’t have to think long. It’s just like putting together a perfect recipe.


A Golden Cage: A Newport Gilded Age Mystery

Take one opulent era of history. 

Mark Twain called it The Gilded Age and it ran from around 1870 to 1900. It was an era of serious social problems masked by a thin veneer of gold. A time of industrialization, huge growth, incredible wealth and wide spread corruption. A time of power struggles in commerce, justice and morality. A time of conspicuous consumption by the haves and poverty and hard work by the have nots.

Add in one seaside Resort town. 

Newport Rhode Island in 1895. Where the nation's wealthiest families summered in sumptuous mansions they called "cottages".

Add a dollop of family. 

The wife and daughter of a prominent well respected judge threw him a huge birthday fete and invited all the richest families (among them, the Vanderbilts, the Astors, the Oelrich’s and the Fishes), mayhem ensued.

Mix with a professional theatrical troupe. 

Hired away from their theater for the evening to present a play called The Sphinx.

Stir in one ingénue who ran away from a rich and respectable family to seek her fortune behind the footlights.

Add spice with a handsome young actor who takes the town by storm.

Whisk all ingredients with a young debutante named Deanna Randolph, her maid Elspeth and her former fiancé Joe until the culprit is brought to justice.

Arrange on a bed of secrets and scandals, bicycles and tennis matches, zealot moralists and Women’s suffragettes.

Garnish with quirky local residents and extravagant fashions and serve in A Golden Cage.


All that is left is to enjoy!

Shelley Freydont is the author of several mystery series, including the Newport Gilded Age Mysteries (beginning with A Gilded Grave) and the Celebration Bay Mysteries, as well as those featuring Lindy Haggerty and Katie McDonald. She is also the author of several novels under the name Shelley Noble, and her books have been translated into seven languages.

Cozy Monday

A Golden Cage (Newport Gilded Age Mystery #2) by Shelley Freydont (Berkley Prime Crime trade paperback, 7 June 2016).  

Deanna Randolph is spending the summer with the Ballard family, at their "cottage" in Newport Beach, while her mother and sister are in Europe.  

Although one would expect Deanna to be disappointed about this, she is thrilled to be away from her overly-strict parent, and under the guidance of the enlightened (some might say radical) Gwendolyn Manon, whom she calls "Gram Gwen".  They are staying with Gwen's daughter Laurette and her husband Lionel Ballard, parents to Deanna's almost-fiance Joe.

As the story opens, the group are arriving at a birthday celebration for a local judge, whose wife and daughter have arranged a theatrical performance on the grounds of their house. Of course, nothing is done by halves, so they have arranged for a theatre to be built, and surrounded it by a carnival which includes a fortune-teller and a coconut shy.  

Deanna has no idea why Joe has joined them, but she suspects it's to keep an eye on her (and she's right).  Meanwhile, Laurette intends to look for with Amabelle Deeks, a member of the acting troupe, who is the daughter of a school friend.  

The gilded age being a time of excess, the party runs into the early morning. At least it does for Joe, who reluctantly accompanies an acquaintance to an after-party on a yacht.  Some of the female actors are on board providing "entertainment" for a rowdily drunk bunch of young men.  

Joe nabs a plate of food from the buffet, and is enjoying it on a quiet corner of the deck, when he hears a loud argument.  The voices are obviously male and female, though he doesn't recognize them.  When he spots Amabelle looking exahusted and barely dressed, he convinces her to return to his parents' home with him.

The next morning, she has vanished, and one of her fellow actors is found in the conservatory with his head bashed in.

The judge's family pressure the police to apprehend a culprit immediately, whether guilty or not.  Deanna intends to make sure that the right person is arrested, and Joe intends to keep Deanna out of trouble.  Joe, of course, does not succeed.  

As she did with A Gilded Grave, Shelley Freydont has produced a vivid portrait of the political and social changes occurring during the late 19th Century, especially the beginnings of the women's movement, wrapped in an intriguing and well-constructed mystery.


The publisher has generously offered a copy of A Golden Cage to one of my readers.  Please comment below before 12:01 a.m. on June 13, 2016.  Entries from the US only, please.  
Please don't forget to include an email address where I can contact you if you win!


FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.