Miss Fisher meets Downton Abbey in this critically acclaimed mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble. Roasted chestnuts from vendor’s carts, fresh cut spruce trees lining the sidewalks, extravagant gifts, opulent dinners, carols at St Patrick’s Cathedral, a warm meal and a few minutes shelter from the cold at one of the charitable food lines . . . It’s Christmas in … charitable food lines . . .
It’s Christmas in Gilded Age Manhattan.
And for the first time ever an amazing giant ball will drop along a rod on the roof of the New York Times building to ring in the New Year. Everyone plans to attend the event.
But the murder of a prominent newsman hits a little too close to home. And when a young newspaper woman, a protégé of the great Jacob Riis and old Vassar school chum of Bev’s, is the target of a similar attack, it is clear this is not just a single act of violence but a conspiracy of malicious proportions. Really, you’d think murderers would take a holiday.
Something absolutely must be done. And Lady Dunbridge is happy to oblige in A Resolution at Midnight, the third book in this delightful series.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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NYC, early-20th-century, gangsters, amateur-sleuth, reporter, murder, murder-investigation
Lady Philomena, the young Dowager Countess of Dunbridge, with the help of her maid Lily, and the family butler Preswick have previously been tapped for assistance by a shadowy representative of an unknown group (presumably working for good). Amid the hullabaloo approaching Christmas, she is told to meet someone who turns out to have been murdered. It seems that the victim worked at the same newspaper as Lady Phil’s society friends, but no one has been told of his demise despite his body having been removed by the police. Let the sleuthing begin! An interesting mystery with delightful characters!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Another exciting Lady Dunbridge adventure! I have enjoyed this series very much and A Resolution at Midnight did not disappoint. With a Christmas setting, a intrepid female reporter trying to get off the society best and a murder with ties to Tammany Hall, the plot is exciting and fast paced and as always the characters are interesting. We get a little more insight into Mr. X, as we have with additional story, and I’m hoping we get a better idea of who he is and works for in the next book which I am looking forward to! Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of #AResolutionatMidnight.
This is the third Lady Dunbridge Mystery, and they just keep getting better and better. I love the way the author weaves the history of NY in the early years of the 20th century into her stories. This one features the first New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, an event that also plays a pivotal role in the climax of the story. If you enjoy well-researched historical mysteries, this series is for you.
This was a fun book! I loved the setting of New York City in the Gilded Age. So much happening with new inventions and so much corruption! Phil reminded me a lot of Miss Fisher and I adore her! Having a Countess in America who is solving crimes surreptitiously is so fun. The mystery was good and the characters were delightful. You have quite a range too starting with the Countess, a load of society mavens, cops and politicians to servants and newsboys. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be looking for more of this series.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.
A Resolution at Midnight is the third book in Shelley Noble’s Lady Dunbridge historical mystery series. I didn’t read the first two books yet, and I think I would have enjoyed this volume more if I had. This mystery stood alone, but I believe I would have been better served reading about the backgrounds of the characters first, especially how the main character became involved in solving murders. The first third of the book dragged a bit for me, but then the mystery became rather exciting and I couldn’t put it down until I found out whodunit.
1907 Gilded Age Manhattan. Philomena Amesbury, the young Dowager Countess of Dunbridge – Phil to her friends – is getting ready to celebrate her first Christmas in the United States. She and her cohorts in investigations, Preswick the butler and Lily the maid, are going all out in preparation. Phil receives a note from the mysterious “Mr. X” she works for, telling her to meet with Tommy Green, a respected investigative journalist, at a nickelodeon to get some information. When Phil arrives, however, she finds Green dead. What was he working on? Where were his notes? Phil and the gang begin to investigate. The suspects are numerous. Was it the Black Hand? A crooked cop? Dirty politicians? Phil hopes she lives long enough to find out!
As stated earlier, this book took awhile to take off for me, but the fun mystery full of red herrings finally grabbed me and didn’t let go. Just when I thought I had it all figured out the tables were turned and I was left in the dark again. I was touched by the relationship between Phil, Preswick and Lily. They began as employer and employees, but their little group became more like a family. The supporting characters were excellent as well. I especially liked handsome Detective Sergeant John Atkins, paper boy Just a Friend and Phil’s chum Bev from finishing school. (Bev’s attempts to make the perfect Christmas cocktail were a lot of fun.) Then there was the enigmatic Mr. X… We don’t really know what he looks like and who he works for; we just know Phil is fascinated with him and is also wildly attracted to her mystery man. I am really looking forward to further adventures with this entertaining crew. Word is it will take place at the newly opened Coney Island; what fun that should be!
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
It’s Christmas in New York and it’s the first holiday for Phil (Lady Dunbridge) and her butler and maid. Now, in the third mystery in this delightful Gilded Age series, they have settled into life at the famous Plaza Hotel. This day each has been out doing last minute Christmas shopping and Phil is looking forward to relaxing upon her return. As soon as she arrives in their suite of rooms, she finds a message on the hall table. Strange, why wasn’t it left at the front desk? Reading it sends her racing out of the hotel to catch a cab and try to reach a picture theater, a nickelodeon. Once inside she finds the appointed seat but soon realizes that the man in the adjoining seat is very much dead – his throat has been slashed. As she makes her escape via a back door with the help of a mystery man, she realizes that the police got there way too fast and that she might just be crossing paths with one of New York’s most corrupt cops.
The message was from her mysterious Mr. X but what has he gotten her into and what was the dead man, Tommy Green involved in that got him killed? Now Phil has to investigate as well as deal with Christmas plans. As in the previous two books, Phil, her butler, Preswick, her maid, Lily and her friend, Bev all have their place in the investigations. Some new characters will soon join them. This is another top notch mystery and can be read out of order as the author gives enough background information to help the reader get the most out of the story. New York comes alive in all of its glitter and grime and the puzzle is very satisfying.
My thanks to the publisher, Forge and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
A Resolution At Midnight is the third book in the Lady Dunbridge Mystery series by Shelley Noble.
Philomena Amesbury(Phil), Dowager Countess of Dunbridge, Preswick, her butler, and Lily, her maid, have all gone their separate ways to do their last-minute Christmas shopping. When Phil returns to the Plaza, she finds a note telling her to go to the Theatre Unique at 1:15 and sit in the last row. Phil’s not sure who sent the message but feels that it is her Mr. X for who Phil has worked for before. Upon arriving at the designated spot, she doesn’t smell Mr. X’s exotic tobacco aroma but does sense the smell of death. Soon there is a scream, and an unknown person quickly escorts Phil out of the theatre. Phil makes her way around to the front of the theatre and notices the arrival of Sgt Becker, her nemesis, and a corrupt police officer. Since Becker is out of his district, Phil is sure there must be a cover-up in progress, and that feeling is reinforced when she sees the mortuary van arrive to take the body before the police can conduct an investigation.
Soon, Phil will learn that the body is that of the New York Times reporter, Tommy Green. Green had been working on a story about the Black Hand gang. The gang had been terrorizing individuals and bombing businesses in more impoverished neighborhoods.
Phil goes with her friend Bev to the Times Building to have lunch with Marty Rive, a reporter, hoping to break into the man dominated newsroom. Phil would like to obtain information on what Green was working on but knows that anything she might share with Marty would send her off, putting her in danger and Phil. Hopefully, no threat will come to Phil, and she will be able to enjoy the first time of the ball descending on New Year’s Eve.
The story is well-written and plotted and historically accurate. The characters are well-developed, believable, and enjoyable. The character that I enjoyed the most is Just A Friend. The young boy sells newspapers outside the Plaza and always seems to be there when Phil can use some help. There are plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing until the end.
I will be watching for the next book in this delightful historical mystery series.