In Death
of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur, 2020) business is
booming in 1913 New York City while poverty runs rampant. The gap between the
haves and havenots has never been bigger but lady’s maid Jane Prescott manages
to visit both worlds in this well-plotted historical mystery.
Jane takes a
week of leave to visit her uncle who runs a halfway house for women attempting
to transition from a life of prostitution. She’s happy to visit with some of
the long-term residents there but the house is being picketed by fanatics who
want the house closed down. In one great scene the most famous madam in the
area lines up with several of her employees on the opposite side of the street
and harasses the picketers relentlessly.
After a short
while, she’s called back to work by her employer Louise Tyler, a recently
married young woman not quite sure of the finer points of society. This
uncertainty, along with Jane’s absence and her mother-in-law’s trip out of
town, has allowed Louise to be pulled into the clutches of a social tyrant.
High-handed Dolly Rutherford is putting on a pageant featuring prominent
members of New York’s upper class and has co-opted Jane’s time to help with
costumes.
Jane returns
to her uncle’s house to find the newest and flightiest inmate is gone. She
fears the girl has returned to the man who abused her but instead the young
girl is found nearby savagely murdered. When Jane’s uncle cannot provide an
alibi, the picketers demand his arrest, and Jane is frantic to exonerate the
man who raised her after her father deserted her.
The vivid
historical detail is as well done as the mystery and threatens to overshadow
it. I especially liked the references to Madam Walker, the trail-blazing woman
who made a fortune marketing make-up and hair care to black women. Too, the
beauty pageants as described were a way for girls to leave the drudgery of
low-paid work for a better life, a lot like winning a lottery these days.
This is the third book in the series with the fourth due to be released in April 2021. Hopefully Fredericks will not run out of her well-researched tidbits any time soon. Highly recommended.
·
Hardcover: 272 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1250210887
·
ISBN-13: 978-1250210883
·
Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 14, 2020)
· Language: English
Aubrey
Hamilton ©2020
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
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