Even more mystery in Chicago's Gilded Age -- Deception on Sable Hill

Shelley Gray's Deception on Sable Hill continues her Chicago World's Fair Mystery series in grand style.  It picks up very shortly after the conclusion of Secrets of Sloane House (my review is here) with Eloisa Carstairs as one of the main characters.

The extravagance of the Gilded Age is once again important in this story, set against the backdrop of the closing days of Chicago's World's Fair.  Although there is evidence of some changes happening in society, Eloisa and Sean find themselves caught in the struggle of the times as well as right in the middle of a dangerous crime spree.  

Some of the characters from the first book play roles in this story, but Shelley also brings in several new ones as well.  Watching Eloisa search for who she wants to become as she tries to overcome major hurts makes for a very intriguing story.  A variety of other characters who find themselves at various points along society's changing class continuum keep the story and its mystery moving at a very enjoyable pace.

I highly recommend both books in this series as great reads.  I don't know whether there are more books to come in this series, but I would certainly enjoy reading them if there are.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

The World’s Fair has introduced many new ideas to Chicago society—but can two individuals from very different backgrounds find love together?

It’s mid-September 1893 and Eloisa Carstairs is the reigning debutant of Gilded Age Chicago society. To outsiders she appears to have it all. But Eloisa is living with a dark secret. Several months ago, she endured a horrible assault at the hands of Douglass Sloane, heir to one of Chicago’s wealthiest families. Fearing the loss of her reputation, Eloisa confided in only one friend. That is, until she meets Detective Sean Ryan at a high-society ball.

Sean is on the fringes of the Chicago elite. Born into a poor Irish family, becoming a policeman was his best chance to ensure security. Despite social boundaries, he is enamored with Eloisa Carstairs. Sean will do anything to keep her safe—even if he can never earn her affections.

Eloisa longs to feel normal again, but a killer is on the loose. In the last month, three debutants have been accosted by an assailant wielding a knife, and Eloisa fears for her safety at every event she attends. As the danger in the city increases, and as the romance between Eloisa and Sean blossoms, they both realize they want to be seen as more than how the world views them. But will they catch the killer before all their hopes come crashing down? 

About the Author:

Shelley Gray is the author of The Heart of a Hero series. Her Amish novel (written as Shelley Shepard Gray), The Protector, made the New York Times best seller list. A native of Texas, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Colorado and taught school for ten years. She and her husband have two children and live in Southern Ohio.

Visit her website at www.shelleyshepardgray.com 
Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray
Twitter: @ShelleySGray

A mystery set in the Gilded Age -- Secrets of Sloane House

I have enjoyed several Amish books by Shelley Shepard Gray.  But I think this series set in Chicago's high society in the Gilded Age (written under the name Shelley Gray) might be my favorites of her books so far.  Secrets of Sloane House, book one in the Chicago World's Fair Mystery series, grabbed my attention from the first page and held it to the very end.

Shelley's vivid descriptions transported me to a fascinating time in America's history, a time I had not read much about until fairly recently.  The drastic distinctions between the "haves" and the "have-nots" come through sharply and set the tone for the mystery and romance that are so engaging throughout. There is a host of well-developed characters throughout the story -- some who are easy to love and others you love to hate.

In the introductory pages of this book, it is described in the following terms:  "Downton Abbey comes to Chicago . . ."  I would imagine that fans of that series would definitely find themselves enjoying Shelley's story with its similar setting.  I would recommend this book to anyone looking for well-written Christian historical fiction.

Thanks to Shelley Gray and her publisher for providing a copy of Secrets of Sloane House some time ago.  It was a pleasure to read and review this great book!

About the Book:

Against the backdrop of the 1893 World’s Fair, a young woman finds employment with an illustrious Chicago family—a family who may guard the secret of her sister’s disappearance.

Sloane House is among the most gilded mansions of Gilded Age Chicago. Rosalind Perry, the new housemaid, pours the morning coffee before the hard gaze of her mistress.

“It’s simple, Rosalind,” she says. “I am Veronica Sloane, heiress to one of the country’s greatest fortunes. You are simply one in a long line of unsuitable maids.”

Back on the farm in Wisconsin, Rosalind’s plan had seemed logical: Move to Chicago. Get hired on at Sloane House. Discover what transpired while her sister worked as a maid there—and follow the clues to why she disappeared.

Now, as a live-in housemaid to the Sloanes, Rosalind realizes her plan had been woefully simple-minded.

She was ignorant of the hard, hidden life of a servant in a big, prominent house; of the divide between the Sloane family and the people who served them; and most of all, she had never imagined so many people could live in such proximity and keep such dark secrets.

Yet, while Sloane House is daunting, the streets of Chicago are downright dangerous. The World’s Fair has brought a new kind of crime to the city . . . and a lonely young woman is always at risk. But when Rosalind accepts the friendship of Reid Armstrong, the handsome young heir to a Chicago silver fortune, she becomes an accidental rival to Veronica Sloane.

As Rosalind continues to disguise her kinship to the missing maid—and struggles to appease her jealous mistress—she probes the dark secrets of Sloane House and comes ever closer to uncovering her sister’s mysterious fate. A fate that everyone in the house seems to know . . . but which no one dares to name.

About the Author:

Shelley Gray is the author of The Heart of a Hero series. Her Amish novel (written as Shelley Shepard Gray), The Protector, made the New York Times best seller list. A native of Texas, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Colorado and taught school for ten years. She and her husband have two children and live in Southern Ohio.

Visit her website at www.shelleyshepardgray.com
Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray
Twitter: @ShelleySGray

A multi-layered beginning to a series -- Her Brother's Keeper

It has been a while since Beth Wiseman has started a new Amish series, but she certainly hasn't lost her touch.  Her new Amish Secrets series is off to a great start with Her Brother's Keeper.

This is a story with lots of layers and deals with some very difficult subjects -- like depression, mental illness and suicide.  Although those dark topics play prominent roles in the main plot, they are handled sensitively and balanced out with family, friendship, faith, and a healthy sprinkling of humor.

The characters that Beth so skillfully crafted definitely drive the story.  Charlotte/Mary and Hannah are two young ladies from very different backgrounds who are bound by a tragedy that neither of them understands and both want answers for.  Their relationship evolves through several stages throughout the story, as they each learn important lessons about themselves and about each other.

I highly recommend Her Brother's Keeper for fans of great Amish fiction.  For those who have not yet discovered the genre, this book -- with its mixture of Amish and Englisch worlds -- would be a great place to start.  I look forward to seeing what other secrets Beth Wiseman has to share in the rest of this series.

Thanks to Booklook Bloggers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

Charlotte came to Amish country to find answers. What she never expected to find was peace.

Charlotte Dolinsky is not above playing dress-up and telling a few lies to find out what happened to her only brother. In fact, that is exactly what she’s come to Lancaster County to do. Now, calling herself Mary and slipping on a kapp, Charlotte will lie her way into the confidence of anyone who knows why Ethan had to die. Unless she gets found out first.

But when Charlotte befriends a quiet Amish man named Isaac Miller, she begins to rethink her motives. And with a little help from a friend back home, Charlotte might find out that love comes packaged in ways she couldn’t have foreseen.

Isaac’s been caring for his cancer-stricken father and sympathizing with his frustrated mother for three difficult years. And that means he hasn’t been dating. He believes Hannah King is the woman for him, but Hannah is still grieving the loss of her fiancé, and Isaac has all he can handle on the farm. When Hannah’s family plays host to a woman named Mary, their new cousin shakes things up for all of them.

As Charlotte digs deeper into the mystery of Ethan’s death, she finds more than she’d bargained for in the community he once called home. But will she ever learn the truth? And what will the community—and her new family—do if they learn the truth about her?

About the Author:

Award-winning, bestselling author Beth Wiseman is best known for her Amish novels, including the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. She has also written several successful contemporary novels, set primarily in her beloved Texas, including Need You Now and The House that Love Built. Both have received glowing reviews. Beth's The Promise is inspired by a true story.

Website: www.bethwiseman.com
Twitter: @bethwiseman
Facebook: Fans-of-Beth-Wiseman