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Title: Murder at Beechwood

Author: Alyssa Maxwell

Narrator: Eva Kaminsky

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-05-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

For Newport, Rhode Islands high society, the summer of 1896 brings lawn parties, sailboat races...and murder.

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 babys mother. One of her first stops is a lawn party at Mrs. Caroline Astors Beechwood estate. But an idyllic summers day is soon clouded by tragedy. During a sailboat race, textile magnate Virgil Monroe falls overboard. There are prompt accusations of foul play - and even Derrick Andrews falls under suspicion. Deepening the intrigue, a telltale slip of lace may link the abandoned child to the drowned man. But as Emma navigates dark undercurrents of scandalous indiscretions and violent passions, shell need to watch her step to ensure that no one lowers the boom on her....

Members Reviews:

A Strong Historical Mystery

Emma Cross, a minor relative of the Vanderbilt family in 1894, wakes up one morning at her home in Newport, Rhode Island where she takes in all women in need, in Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell, but this time Emma finds a baby abandoned in front of her door. A fancy lace handkerchief suggests to them that this baby may be the child of someone from high society. This leads her police friend, Jesse, to tell her about the murder of an obviously working class man, wondering if there could be a connection between the cases. Knowing that as the reporter of the society news column of the newspaper, she will be attending the Astor ball for all of high society the next night, Jesse asks Emma to keep her eyes and ears open. She is to see if she can get an idea if a woman there might have given birth to an illegitimate child recently but stay clear of the question of murder. At the ball, Emma notices particular discord among the Monroe family, along with Daphne Gordon, the ward of Virgil Monroe, the family patriarch who tends to rule harshly. And then Emma hears a voice she recognizes. It is Derrick Andrews, the man whose proposal Emma turned down many months earlier but for whom she has discovered a growing love amid confusion over his disappearance from the island for a long time. But when Emma goes to greet Derrick, he gives her a cold shoulder, and his mother positively glares at Emma, creating all sorts of confusion for Emma.

The day after the ball, the Astors host a yacht race, and Emma finds herself invested in two of the 5-man yachts. One is sailed by five of Emma's Vanderbilt relatives, while the other contains the four Monroe men and Derrick. During the race, a storm arises, and the Monroe yacht finds itself losing control, almost running into the Vanderbilt yacht before turning on its side. The rescue boats manage to save four of the men, but no one can locate Virgil Monroe. With the yacht's passing a safety inspection before the race, could someone have sabotaged the yacht? Has another murder taken place?

This book begins with a powerful start and continues with gripping details until the end. The mystery takes many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.