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2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


30 / 30 bookish books. 100% done!

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


48 / 50 books. 96% done!

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
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International:

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My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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25 / 25 books. 100% done!

2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

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35 / 50 books. 70% done!

Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge

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41 / 52 books. 79% done!

2026 52 Club Reading Challenge

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40 / 52 books. 77% done!

2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

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27 / 40 books. 68% done!

2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

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32 / 51 cozies. 63% done!

2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge

2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

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25 / 25 books. 100% done!

2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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47 / 52 books. 90% done!

Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)

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60 / 65 books. 92% done!

2026 Countdown Reading Challenge

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55 / 55 books. 100% done!

2026 Series Reading Challenge


30 / 36 books. 83% done!

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

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82 / 125 books. 66% done!

2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge

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20 / 20 books. 100% done!

2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)

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43 / 60 books. 72% done!

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

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12 / 40 books. 30% done!

European Reading Challenge 2026

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8 / 50 books. 16% done!

2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)

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87 / 125 books. 70% done!

2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge

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4 / 5 challenges. 80% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

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98 / 100 names. 98% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

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76 / 80 skills. 95% done!
Showing posts with label Shelley Freydont. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shelley Freydont. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2016

Gilded Age Murdered Mystery Atmospheric, Appealing


(Image from Barnes & Noble)

With her first coming out in New York City behind her, 18-year-old Deanna Rudolph is spending the summer season in Newport, Rhode Island.  She expects to participate in the usual activities—glittering balls, rousing tennis matches, beach-side barbecues, and flirting with eligible bachelors in order to find a suitable husband.  Although Deanna finds the frippery of her class exhausting, she has little choice but to engage.  She longs to have grand adventures like the kind she secretly reads about in lurid detective novels; knowing that will never happen, she's resigned to her fate.  Marriage, it shall be.  But first she must spend a whole season avoiding Joe Ballard, her pseudo big brother and ex-fianceé.  At least Lord David Manchester, a charming sugar baron with a large plantation in Barbados, should provide her with an appealing summer diversion. 

Deanna thinks she knows exactly what to expect from of her months in Rhode Island.  What she and her wealthy friends never considered, never saw coming, is murder.    

The dead body of Daisy Payne, a maid who works for one of Newport's poshest families, is discovered during a party at the place of her employment.  Suspicion falls almost immediately on Joe Ballard.  Deanna's on the outs with her childhood friend, but she knows Joe couldn't have done such a dastardly deed.  The question is, who did?  Was it Daisy's boyfriend, Orrin?  Or some murderous stranger?  

Though horrified by Daisy's death, Deanna is nonetheless intrigued by the mystery.  Like the detectives in her novels, she is determined to solve the case, to discover what really happened to the young maid.  Involving herself in the scandalous affairs of the working class will earn Deanna a one-way ticket back to New York if she's found out, so she'll have to poke around quietly.  The discoveries she makes during her inquiries shock her to her core—and put her right in the killer's path.  Can Deanna expose the villain?  Or will hers be the next dead body found on the beach?  

With an atmospheric Gilded Age setting, authentic characters, and a steady plot, A Gilded Grave by Shelley Freydont offers a promising beginning to a new mystery series.  Sure, the murderer's identity and motives become fairly obvious.  Yes, the story could have used more subtlety and surprise.  And yet, A Gilded Grave never got boring for me.  I enjoyed it.  I'm not sure when a sequel will be appearing, but I'm definitely looking out for—and looking forward to—the next installment.  

(Readalikes:  Nothing is really coming to mind.  Suggestions?)

Grade:



If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for language (no F-bombs), violence, sexual innuendo, mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of A Gilded Grave from Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015

TTT: When Fall Eventually Arrives in Arizona, I'll Totally Be Reading These ...

As much as I love Top Ten Tuesday, it's not always easy to come up with answers to the weekly prompts.  Sometimes I'm so stumped, I can't even think of one book that fits the bill.  When it comes to seasonal TBR lists, though, I always have to force myself not to make Top One Hundred lists!  Fall/Winter-ish reads are my favorite, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing lots of great picks around the book blogosphere today.

Want to join in the fun?  It's easy.  Click on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read the instructions for participating, make your list, share it, and boom, you're done!  Super simple.

Since Fall here in the Phoenix area really doesn't start until November, I'm going to throw in a few titles that don't come out until "Winter," just to keep things interesting.  In no particular order, here are the Top Ten Books on My Fall(ish) TBR List:


1.  Winter by Marissa Meyer—This much-anticipated finale to The Lunar Chronicles series comes out in November.  I can't wait.  I've loved all these books and can't wait to see what happens next in the story.


2.  Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs—The lovely folks over at Quirk Books are sending me a copy of the third installment in the Miss Peregrine's series to review in November.  Before then, I'm going to be re-reading the first book and enjoying the second for the first time.  Spine-tinglers always make for fun Fall/Winter reading.



3.  Backstage Murder and Foul Play at the Fair by Shelley Freydont—I just finished A Gilded Grave, the first novel in Freydont's Newport Gilded Age Mystery series, and enjoyed it immensely.  It barely came out, so no sequels are available yet (boo hoo).  Thus, I'm going to give the author's other series a go.  I'll pick up both these books, which are first books in two different series, from the library today.  They and their sequels should tide me over until the next installment in the Newport series becomes available.


4.  A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn—This mystery, which sounds like so much fun, is also the first in a new series.  I haven't read anything by Raybourn and I'm excited to give her a try.


5.  Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett—I get shivers just reading the plot summary of this one!  It sounds like a perfect read for a cold, blustery day.


6.  Banished by Kimberley Griffiths Little—Okay, so this one doesn't come out until February, but I can't wait so I put it on this list.  I loved Forbidden and am anxious to see what happens next in this exotic, exciting YA series.


7.  Always Will by Melanie Jacobson—Melanie's fun romances always make me smile.  I'm excited for this one, her newest, which comes out in a couple of weeks.  A light read will be welcome between these darker, heavier reads.


8.  Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson—I've had an ARC of this book about a girl with the magical ability to find gold for a while now, but I've yet to crack it open.  It sounds so intriguing that I must get to it—and soon!


9.  The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich—This haunting tale about a school tragedy sounds like a perfect Halloween read.


10.  The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young—This Southern gothic mystery sounds super intriguing.  I'm on the waiting list for it at the library—we'll see how long it takes for it to become available.  Until then, I'll TRY to be patient ...

So, there you have it, my picks for intriguing Fall-ish reading.  What will you be reading in the upcoming months?  I really am excited to see what everyone has chosen!  Leave me a comment and I'll happily return the favor.

Happy TTT to you!  

*Book images from Barnes & Noble and Amazon
 
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