Death, Diamonds, and Deception

 In Rosemary Simpson's Death, Diamonds, and Deception, the 5th installment in the Gilded Age Historical Mystery series, this captivating caper would transport you to a most enchanted time in our history. In Fall 1889 in New York when heiress Prudence Mackenzie's Aunt Gillian arrives in town for London to escort her during her Social Season to find a suitable suitor for marriage. But she wasn't interested on being married to anyone anytime soon. During this time, she received a call for their next case with her investigative partner, Geoffrey Hunter, in their firm. They've been hired to find the missing diamonds that's been stolen from the De Vries Mansion. Right off the start, they talked to the staff and Lena and William DeVries about the missing jewels. As they search for clues, they learn that someone hung themself in the attic of the same home. This was when Prudence and Geoffrey run into the NYPD when it happened in the DeVries household and look behind the story of the footman's suicide. From there, they've became tangled into a web of deception and deceit when they've hit a snag or two  to discover another death, until Lena's own son lost his life due to alcoholism... and later her husband suffered a stroke and later succumbed to it. The closer they look for answers on unraveling the culprit's identity, the more surprised they were to find out it was under their noses right along until the climaxing and twisting ending. 

It's been a long time since I've read a historical mystery. And I loved how had taken place in the Gilded Age when life was simpler and rich in that time period. I loved the 1890s historical feel to old-time New York City and how it transported me to that time in your history. I did care for Prudence--such an old-fashioned and archaic name!--on how she took charge of her life by not being well invested into marriage and focusing on her private investigating career with her ex-Pinkerton partner, Geoffrey Hunter. Little did she know, her partner had designs for her. And I think Hunter is extraordinary to accept Prudence into his firm and letting them work together to save the most complex crime cases for their firm. The theme of the story is not let greed get in the way of happiness and ruining your family.

 If you love the razzmatazz of old-time capers to transport you to the hands of time, Death, Diamonds and Deception has plenty of non-stop gripping action and lots of dramatic suspense to keep you hooked from start to finish. 

 <iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=krisboojun-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B085LT77MV&asins=B085LT77MV&linkId=b6d5e167dd0df1b6d1fd8d0ab15dc526&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>