Police detective and society young woman solve the murders of several of Newport's maids in a very Upstairs/Downstairs class distinction mystery. Not quite as good as Victoria Thompson's Gaslight series but a nice little mystery set in the Gilded Age of 1896. ( )

Newport, Rhode Island 1895. Three maids have been murdered along the Cliff Walk path but when another women is killed, a socialite wearing a maid's uniform, the wealthy residents are up in arms. Matt Devlin is the detective assigned to the case. He does not like the wealthy residents of Newport and they won't talk to him. Brooke Cassidy is one of the residents that will talk to Matt. Her father used to be a cop but when he and Brooke's mother died, she went to live with her wealthy aunt an uncle. Now Brooke is part of the world that Matt deplores. But he needs her help if he is going to solve this mystery.

my review:
I enjoyed Kruger's knitting mysteries and was excited to find that she had another series. While I liked the plot and her characters, I found that the setting left something to be desired. Despite the fact that it takes place in Newport 1895, it could have been anywhere at anytime for all the detail that other gives. Other than a couple references to horse and buggies, the author really dropped the ball on atmosphere and description which are important in any novel, especially a cozy mystery where the plot isn't usually brilliant.
I was disappointed and most likely won't read the next in this series. I hope Kruger write another knitting mystery. Those were wonderful.

my rating 2.5/5 ( )