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Book Review of Still Life with Murder (Gilded Age, Bk 1)

Still Life with Murder (Gilded Age, Bk 1)
GainesvilleGirl avatar reviewed on + 215 more book reviews


Loved it! Not in the least because I come from the area in which the mystery takes place. Set in the time period of Boston's "gilded age," the descriptive prose is captivating.
Nell Sweeney is a nurse, a governess, and a detective all in one. Although her personal background is seriously questionable, her intelligence and dignity are not. She is hired by a Boston Brahmin family to become the governess/nanny to their adopted 4 year old daughter, Gracie. Two sons of the family supposedly died at Andersonville during the Civil War. But when the parents, the Hewlitts, discover that one is alive and living not far from them in Boston and that he has been accused by Boston police, of a savage murder, Nell soon becomes embroiled in the turmoil. The plot is intelligently written, the suspense builds well, and the end will be, for most, a surprise. Well worth five stars!