Publisher's Weekly Review
Fredericks's wonderfully moving sequel to 2018's A Death of No Importance opens in 1912 with lady's maid Jane Prescott helping Louise Benchley, the shy daughter of an upper-class New York family, prepare for her society wedding to William Tyler. The wedding is to take place at the Long Island estate of William's uncle, Charles Tyler, an anti-gang activist famous for his ongoing crusade against the Italian Mafia. There Jane befriends Sofia Bernardi, who's nanny to the Tylers' youngest child, Frederick. Late one night, Jane is roused by Frederick's screams to find Sofia murdered in the nursery. The police believe that Sofia thwarted an attempted kidnapping-a warning to Charles from the Mafia-and paid with her life, but Jane soon discovers that Sofia's death may be much more personal. Fredericks has a sharp eye for the complexities of human nature and how even good people are capable of committing terrible deeds to protect the ones they love. This is a touching portrait of early-20th-century New York in all its glory and ugliness. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When ladies' maid Jane Prescott goes with the Benchley family to a Long Island estate to oversee the approaching wedding of daughter Louise Benchley, she expects the usual domestic dramasbut is shocked when a nanny at the estate is murdered.Jane is an astute and shrewd observer, and the news of 1912, especially the sinking of the Titanic, is on everyone's mind. But the press is also filled with news of the so-called Black Hand, the Italian crime syndicate. Leading the fight against this group is Deputy Police Commissioner Charles Tyler, who, with his glamorous wife, Alva, was already a press darling for his glamorous worldwide travels. Now Alva is a mother and oversees life at their Long Island estate, where their nephew, William, is to marry Louise. Once there, Jane befriends the Tylers' young Italian nanny, Sofia, but soon after their meeting, Sofia is found murdered. Was this retribution from the Black Hand? As Jane discusses the case with her journalist friend, Michael Behan, she begins to have doubts as to the killer and the motive behind the murder. Fredericks, who introduced Prescott in A Death of No Importance (2018), has obviously done her research about the period but sometimes seems to create scenes just to prove this. Otherwise, the plot moves along at a dull but leisurely pace to its unsurprising conclusion.Fredericks' heroine has an acerbic wit that occasionally flashes, but it's hard to sustain interest in this effort stocked with mainly stock characters. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Fredericks' Gilded Age New York is a maelstrom of clashing fortunes. In the upper echelon are the wealthy Tylers, whose crime-fighting patriarch maintains his family in Long Island luxury, hiding them from the Black Hand (as the book explains, this hysterical moniker was fabricated by the lurid-leaning press of the day). Among the less-gilded is the Tyler's nanny, Sofia, who is discovered murdered, with the Black Hand an easy scapegoat. Visiting servant Jane feels there's more to the killing and undertakes to find out what happened to Sofia, discovering a reality as unexpected as it is memorable. Although it works fine as a stand-alone, this fast-moving, second entry in the series (after A Death of No Importance, 2018) builds an immersive account of life in the early twentieth century; Downton Abbey elements make their appearance, and glimpses of the suffrage debate, Teddy Roosevelt's prospects, and the Titanic horror make the outside world more real. Readers will await more adventures with the plucky, wise Jane. Try this with patrons who enjoyed Jessica Fellowes' The Mitford Murders (2018) and with fans of mysteries that have solid historical-fiction underpinnings.--Henrietta Verma Copyright 2019 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Although the headlines in April 1912 are about the sinking of the Titanic and the women's suffragist movement, ladies' maid Jane Prescott is concerned with the upcoming wedding of Louise Benchley to William Tyler. She accompanies the Benchleys to Long Island, NY, to the estate of Charles Tyler, who is famous for finding a kidnapped child and putting down the Black Hand Italian mafia. Jane's surprised to find the Tyler children have an Italian nanny, Sofia, and befriends young Mabel Tyler, who rushes to Jane when her baby brother is screaming one night. Jane is the one to discover the nanny's body and the window open but doubts that Sofia was in league with the Black Hand. Louise's father seems to doubt it as well, because he asks Jane to once again work with reporter Michael Behan to uncover the truth. VERDICT This follow-up to A Death of No Importance (a 2018 LJ Best Crime Fiction pick) is slow to develop, but with an astute amateur sleuth whose evaluation of the roles and positions of women is a crucial element, and a topical story line that emphasizes the immigrant experience and women's lives, this title comes highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 10/8/18.]-Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
