A Gilded Grave

A Newport Gilded Age Mystery #1

by Shelley Freydont

Berkley Prime Crime

Mystery, Mystery: Historical

August 4, 2015

ISBN-10: 0425275841

ISBN-13: 9780425275849

Available in: Trade Size

Read an Excerpt

A Gilded Grave
by Shelley Freydont

First in a new series from the author of the Celebration Bay mysteries

In 1895, the height of the Gilded Age, the social elite spend their summers in Newport, Rhode Island. Within the walls of their fabulous “cottages,” competition for superiority is ruthless … and so are the players.

During her first Newport season, Deanna Randolph attends a ball given in honor of Lord David Manchester, a Barbadian sugar magnate, and his sister, Madeline. The Manchesters are an immediate success—along with their exotic manservant and his fortune-telling talents.

But on the nearby cliffs, a young maid lies dead—and suspicion falls on Joseph Ballard, a member of one of the town’s most prestigious families.

Joe humiliated Deanna when he rebuffed an engagement to her, but while he may be a cad, she knows he isn’t a killer. Now the reluctant allies must navigate a world of parties, tennis matches, and séances to find the real murderer. But a misstep among the glittering upper classes could leave them exposed to something far more dangerous than malicious gossip…



Shelley Freydont's Bio

Shelley Freydont is the author of the Katie McDonald and Lindy Haggerty mystery series, and the upcoming Liv Montgomery, Celebration Bay Festival Mysteries (Berkeley Prime Crime). She has written several romance novels under the pseudonym Gemma Bruce. Her books have been translated into seven languages.

A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.