Alyssa Maxwell

"In the late nineteenth century, Newport, Rhode Island, society reporter Emma Chase witnesses a woman trying to approach Senator George Wetmore's wife at a polo match. The next morning Emma is called to the Senator's home--where the intruder lies dead atthe foot of the grand staircase--and asked to investigate the death"--

Responding to a frantic call from her cousin, Consuelo Vanderbilt, Emma Cross arrives at the Marble House mansion and learns Consuelo's mother, Alva, is forcing her into marriage with the Duke of Marlborough. Her mother has even called in a fortune teller to assure Consuelo of a happy future. But the future is short-lived for the fortune teller, who is found dead by her crystal ball.

"As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder darkens a glittering affair at the Vanderbilt summer home, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the actions of the cream of society can curdle one's blood..."--P. [4] of cover.

Covering Newport's first automobile parade, Emma Cross investigates a pair of accidents that implicate Ella King's inebriated son in the demise of the King family's disreputable butler.

Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls... Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe-with the tireless assistance of Eva-has organized a luncheon to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging the students to participate in the cooking and the baking....

Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid Eva Huntford investigate after a guest is found dead at a posh, but small, gathering at the home of her sister, Julia, where the presence of outspoken French fashion designer Coco Chanel and her entourage adds both glamour and tension to the proceedings.

"Following the death of her uncle, Cornelius Vanderbilt, in September 1899, a somber Emma is in no mood for one of Newport's extravagant parties. But to keep Vanderbilt's reckless son Neily out of trouble, she agrees to accompany him to an Elizabethan fete on the lavish grounds of Wakehurst, the Ochre Point cottage modeled after an English palace, owned by Anglophile James Van Alen. Held in Wakehurst's English-style gardens, the festivities will include...

"1901: Back from their honeymoon in Italy, Emma and Derrick are adapting to married life as they return to their duties at their jointly owned newspaper, the Newport Messenger. The Elms, coal baron Edward Berwind's newly completed Bellevue Avenue estate, is newsworthy for two reasons: A modern mansion for the new century, it is one of the first homes in America to be wired for electricity with no backup power system, generated by coal from Berwind's...

Lady Phoebe Renshaw investigates the murder of an illustrious china manufacturer with the aid of her lady's maid, Eva, who goes undercover at the ceramic works.

Having turned down the proposal of Derrick Andrews, Emma Cross has no imminent plans for matrimony--let alone motherhood. But when she discovers an infant left on her doorstep, she naturally takes the child into her care. Using her influence as a cousin to the Vanderbilts and a society page reporter for the "Newport Observer", Emma launches a discreet search for the baby's mother. But as Emma navigates dark undercurrents of scandalous indiscretions...