Following in the steps of Beatriz Williams and Amor Towles, this richly atmospheric, spellbinding novel transports readers to the dazzling, glamorous world of Newport during the Roaring Twenties and to a mansion filled with secrets as a debonair lawyer must separate truth from deception.Spring 1921. The Great War is over, Prohibition is in full swing, the Depression still years away, and Newport, … and Newport, Rhode Island’s glittering “summer cottages” are inhabited by the gloriously rich families who built them.
Attorney Adrian De la Noye is no stranger to Newport, having sheltered there during his misspent youth. Though he’d prefer to forget the place, he returns to revise the will of a well-heeled client. Bennett Chapman’s offspring have the usual concerns about their father’s much-younger fiancée. But when they learn of the old widower’s firm belief that his first late wife, who “communicates” via séance, has chosen the beautiful Catherine Walsh for him, they’re shocked. And for Adrian, encountering Catherine in the last place he saw her decades ago proves to be a far greater surprise.
Still, De la Noye is here to handle a will, and he fully intends to do so—just as soon as he unearths every last secret, otherworldly or not, about the Chapmans, Catherine Walsh . . . and his own very fraught history.
A skillful alchemy of social satire, dark humor, and finely drawn characters, Newport vividly brings to life the glitzy era of the 1920s.
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I liked this book. It was so different and I liked the characters, I would read other books by this auther.
It was a good read. Some suspense and twists kept it interesting.
It was a really good read.
“Suspend disbelief” then enjoy the read; somewhat funny, but the characters were all predictable. The good guys were good, while the bad guys were bad. The seance scenes added another dimension but not enough of a story to really keep the story rolling.
I thought this.story would be !more about Newport during the turn of the century, although there is of that, there is lots of other fun stuff to keep you interested. I enjoyed and if you pay attention, you’ll figure it out !
Easy read. Ending confusing. Ladies fic6.
Disappointing novel that could have been set anywhere.
It was a fast read and some interesting twists and turns that I like in a mystery novel.
Séances and Newport come together in an engaging historic tale. Part mystery, part ghost story, part romance, this story begins with a wealthy elderly Newport resident summoning his lawyers to change his will, leaving most of his estate to his young bride-to-be. The patriarch’s greedy children want to prevent this from happening by convincing the attorneys that their father is insane because he claims he’s receiving messages from his deceased wife who is insisting that the marriage happen soon. The story flips between decades and unfolds amidst family drama, lawyers, the fiancé, and her niece who channels the séances. I really enjoyed the mystique, the atmosphere, the character dynamics, the dual storyline and the surprise ending. There were a couple things at the end that puzzled me (wish I could channel the author’s thoughts on those), but nothing at all that detracted from my overall enjoyment.
Adrian De la Noye and his young associate, Jim Reid, have been summoned from their Boston law firm to Newport by an elderly client who wishes to revise his will on the eve of his marriage. Not surprisingly, his two children – the never-quite-sober Lady Chloe and especially the threatening and overbearing Nicholas – object vociferously, openly questioning their father’s state of mind. Initially Adrian attributes this to their objection to the marriage generally, but when he discovers that his client is communicating with his long-deceased first wife by séance, and that he believes his first wife has explicitly chosen the decades-younger Catherine Walsh to be his new bride, even Adrian begins to ask questions.
Part Twenties Girl, part Agatha Christie, Newport is a delightful little read. The characters are well drawn and the story is entertaining to no end. Interspersed throughout the present day action Adrian’s memories of the last time he was in Newport , and though this tactic can sometimes be quite distracting, in this instance it worked well.
Newport should appeal to a wide variety of audiences, from historical fiction fans (I picked it up because I was in Newport recently and hoped for a glimpse of its gilded age past) to cozy mystery and quirky fiction fans.
(This review was originally published at http://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2016/05/newport.html)